African Culture: Southern Antebellum Slaves

Often times, antebellum slaves had to undergo brutal living and working conditions. The constant fight for survival created an overall characteristic of resilience for the slaves. The hardships of malnutrition, disease, and overall abuse brought forth the “tough skin” that slaves needed to survive. Families became an obligatory part of slave life; they were necessary to keep up the spirits and hopes of its members intact. The slaves also used religion to look to some greater purpose for relief in this world, or in the life to come. Due to the harsh nature of slavery, Southern Antebellum slaves sought ways to overcome the hardship of everyday life through incorporation of their African culture into their family structure and religion. These …show more content…
The family not only created a sense of unity and community, but it also created a sense of individualism and belonging for the slaves. Because there was so much negativity surrounding the slaves, there was a need for a positive force to maintain their balance of everyday life. In their previous African culture, slaves formed clan-like familial, matrilineal bonds. This family structure carried on to the New World where slaves still attempted to maintain their family bonds all the way from the roots to the tops of their family trees (“African-American Families” 1). The support system found within slave kinship was the foundation of community in antebellum slave life (Kaye 3). The family structures of the slaves allowed for them to bond with one another in times of extreme adversity. Because the entire family was forced to undergo similar trials, the bonds of the slave community were almost unbreakable. Families were a large part of antebellum slave culture and were able to give the slaves a sense of autonomy in a world of oppression, and a sense of belonging in a mass of …show more content…
As a female slave, horrific threats came on a daily basis. The whites that were in control were able to assault, rape, and abuse the women in which they owned with little to no consequences. In the state of Missouri the rape of a slave was considered a mere trespass (“The Slave” 1). Along with the hardships of family separation and physical strain, slave women and families also had to cope with the stigma of sexual assault and abuse (Jacobs 214-215). Women who were meant to be the head of household while their husbands or fathers were separated from them were subject to both physical and mental abuse. The stress of raising children, running a household, and being under the threat of sexual assault all the while endlessly laboring, made these slave women strong and made their family bond even more