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Slavery Era

Race is a social construct. Implemented by the first European colonizers to assert dominance and obtain the needed labour to ensure the survival of their masses, race was created to maintain a hierarchy. Who has the authority to determine what humans have power over others? Apparently the Europeans thought they had this godly power when they socially constructed the idea that the “white” race was superior and could therefore exploit the native populations for their own financial gain. The origins of slavery began in the 17th century. These white European settlers wanted what they didn’t have, but without breaking the bank. Suddenly a switch went off in these colonizers that all of a sudden determined that the lives of this indigenous population were worth less than even the poorest white European. With this mindset, those who settled in North America began to exploit cheaper, African slaves as their new labour source, over the much too costly poor white indentured servant. It is unclear the exact number of slaves that were brought over to America from Africa; however, it is estimated that six to seven million black slaves were taken from Africa and used as this abused labour source. Millions of able men and women taken from their homeland, so white settlers didn’t have to farm their own land, or grow their own crops.

While conducting research on the topic I came across a song called Southern Man by Neil Young. There are two main things that stood out to me in regards to this song. The first was the lyrics, “I saw cotton and I saw black/ Tall white mansions and little shacks/ Southern man when will you pay them back?” (Young). This specific stanza shows the exploitation and complete disregard for the lives of these black slaves. These white settlers only cared for the accumulation of their wealth and were willing to obtain this no matter what the costs. They used this black labour force to cultivate their land without having to pay for the work being done. They dehumanized them and degraded their standard of living to these “tiny shacks,” while they thrived in their extravagant houses with their families. Another thing that stood out while researching this song was Neil Young’s reaction to his own music. In response to this song, which commentated on the southern plantation owners rise to wealth due to slavery, a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote, “Sweet Home Alabama.” This piece was supposed to be, “a southern man’s response to this song as well as the song ‘Alabama’ from Neil Young’s album” (Song facts). It is no surprise that these southerners would have a response to being called out for their exploitation through slavery during this era, especially with our current “white saviour” society. However, what shocked me most about this was Neil Young’s response. Being a white man himself, it clearly took a lot for Young to write and perform such an accusatory song. However, when “Sweet Home Alabama” came out and called out Young, his response was more defensive to the accusations then proud of his claims. He said, “I don’t like my words when I listen to it They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out and too easy to misconstrue” (Young, Song Facts). The second he came under attack for standing up for what he believed to be the right thing, he took back his opinion. Too many people nowadays silence their voice because they are too afraid to stick up for what they believe in. In the slavery era these people were tortured, dehumanized and exploited, so these white settlers could selfishly benefit. They were seen as property, not even a human being, with no rights or real value in this newly developing country, besides labour.

The slavery era was one of the worst moments in our nation’s history. Through this new concept of race that was socially constructed to exploit this labour force, the colonizers dehumanized and abused this population. However, this behaviour went unpunished. Nowadays if we think about this kind of treatment towards a group of people within our society, we would never be able to imagine they would get off punishment free from these heinous acts. This society saw the abuse and neglect of the black slaves as legal and allowable, yet developed slave patrols to handle the crimes of this degraded, innocent population. If these slaves ran away, or stood up for themselves they were punished for acting out. However, if the white plantation owner were to brutally beat, murder, rape, or whatever else, they were perfectly in the right because they had the right to do with their property as they please. These enslaved African Americans were not property. Black people today are not lesser than anyone else in society. For so long there has been a perpetuated cycle of this socially constructed hierarchy and the constant oppression of those who were placed at the bottom.

Now a days the criminal justice system understands the concept of self-defense. There is a difference between killing someone in cold blood and killing someone because there is no other way of protecting yourself. In the era of slavery these African Americans weren’t given the same understanding. A very disheartening case I found pertaining to this topic is the case of Celia versus the state of Missouri. Celia was accused and tried for murdering her owner. While everyone can agree that murder is a serious crime, we have to look at the context. Imagine being repeatedly raped for 5 years by someone who viewed you as nothing more than a piece of property. You would think the courts would understand that every human being has a point where they can just no longer take abuse. There was no other way for her to get out of that situation either. He owned her. He had the right to do whatever he wanted with his property. She couldn’t escape. She would never be free of his constant abuse, rape and dominance. However, on December 21, 1855, Celia was hanged for her act of self-defense against her attacker. Not to long after giving a still born birth behind the bars of a prison cell. There has to be a point where we view these human beings as people, no different than the rest of us. No one, absolutely no one, deserves the treatment these slaves were put through, yet it continued.

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Jim Crow Era

In the Jim Crow/ Reconstruction era slavery was no longer legal and therefore these southern whites needed to find new ways to continue their control and dominance over this once enslaved population. After the thirteenth amendment abolished and made slavery illegal, this oppressive force needed to find new ways to instill fear and restrict the rights of people of colour, who they still saw as lesser to themselves. Some of the ways they were able to do this was through black codes and voting restrictions. In the previously mentioned era these southerners were able to get away with enslaving human  beings for their own financial gain, treating them as property and nothing more,. While in the Jim Crow Era, people of colour were supposed to be seen as citizens; however, these white civilians were able to get away with lynching, beating and murdering them without punishment.

One of the cases regarding this era that I thought was important to share was Williams versus Mississippi (1898).  This case dealt with a black defendant named Henry Williams who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the state of Mississippi. This case went to the supreme court because it was his appeal to the charges, stating his trial was unfair. William’s lawyer argued that because Mississippi implemented a literacy test to be able to vote or be a juror, African Americans were unfairly excluded in these areas thus making his trial unfair and impossible to win. However, in this case the verdict of the Supreme court ruled against the defendant claiming that these tests, “do not on their face discriminate between the races, and it had not been shown that [the tests’] actual administration was evil; only that evil was possible under them” (Newseum). This court case blatantly shows the ignorance of the United States during this time period. It also exposes the racism behind their supposedly “legal” method of voting disenfranchisement and even legal discrimination against who can serve on these juries. In a society full of outright racist and discriminatory views against African Americans, it is impossible to hold a fair trial for a black person when the entire jury is full of whites.

In a society where slavery was no longer legal, these racist whites needed a new way to keep the African American population from gaining equal rights or any basic powers within their communities. The main reason they were able to accomplish this in the Jim Crow Era was, as mentioned before, voting disenfranchisement. There were many other methods inflicted to restrict people of colour from exercising these rights and being able to have a voice in the political process. The worst of it being lynching and murder. Regardless of its obvious intentions to restrict black voting, the literacy test at least was able to hide their blatant racism. It fronted the fact that everyone had to pass these and it was distributed to whoever came to vote, regardless of their race. However, what many people failed to realize was that these tests were nearly impossible to pass. Rather, the white man distributing the test was really in control of determining who was allowed to vote or not, obviously discriminating against people of colour. Moreover, this literacy test was nothing compared to the brutality and violence inflicted on this innocent group of people. In order to prevent black people from attending the voting polls, these white southerners would threaten, beat and even kill innocent victims just trying to exercise their right to vote and have a say in the government, yet these crimes went unpunished.

Attached to this post is a short clip highlighting the elements on how Jim Crow was continuation of slavery. The speaker starts out mentioning how during the slavery era blacks and whites were living in intimate spaces, on the same property, but in awful conditions. However, in Jim Crow they were completely separated. They were still expected to treat white people as a superior being, as in the past, yet now they just had to carry out this hierarchy in completely isolated spaces. As the video mentioned the black codes were a legal way that Jim Crow southerners found to continue to restrict the rights and humanity of this population. They had to step off the sidewalk as a white person was walking down in and were even restricted on their ability to make eye contact. These black codes ensured they wouldn’t gain any status or rights within society and was a constant reminder that even though the government claimed they now had rights, that they would never be at the same level of their oppressors. One of the strongest points this short clip made was the idea in this southern atmosphere that these former slaves were constantly being reminded that their freedom did not mean equality. That is such a hard concept to grasp. Thinking of another human being, claiming that they have rights and citizenship, yet condemning them to a life of separate and unequal, constantly pushing them further and further down the totem pole. In regards to voter disenfranchisement, as mentioned before, allowing them to be killed off and beaten just for trying to participate in one of our most basic rights. While the United States tries to claim an innocent history, there is no doubt that this awful cycle finds new ways to repeat itself in the new conditions that emerge from our horrific past.

America is so quick to brag about its white savior history, when in reality they are nothing more than a white oppressor. People think that slavery ended after the Emancipation Proclamation and Civil Rights Act, but these legislations can’t fix a mindset. No matter the government's attempts at new laws and new freedoms this implicit racism is so socially embedded that we are nowhere near able to erase its presence. Yes, we do not force African Americans to unpaid labour on a plantation anymore, but our treatment of them today is not a drastic improvement. Jim Crow was not a step up from slavery, but rather a continuation of it’s sinister grips. A continuation that is still present and still growing today.

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Present Day

Mass incarceration is without a doubt, modern day slavery. Slavery, as mentioned in my previous post, was a means of exploiting labour, giving this population no rights and no freedoms. They kept black people from voting, holding any influence within society and being able to accumulate any wealth or property for themselves. These white settlers would separate families, break up marriages, take advantage of the woman and control just about every aspect of the black slave’s lives. Nowadays this domination and control is enforced and carried out through our criminal justice system. Being incarcerated is how our country has been able to once again strip the rights of black people, while functioning under our current laws.

The case I decided to focus on to further explain this oppression in the modern day was Johnson versus California. In this case there was a prisoner in California, Garrison Johnson, who claimed that the California Department of Corrections, “used race to assign temporary cell mates for new prisoners” (Oyez). He argued that this violated the equal protection clause under the U.S Constitution. However, unfortunately the courts ruled against him and instead referenced the Turner versus Safley decision of 1987. In this case the courts ruled in favor of a relaxed standard instead of a strict scrutiny, when dealing with whether or not certain prison regulations are constitutional. Strict scrutiny is the toughest and most severe standard of judicial review that is used within the United States courts. The problem with this is that the courts aren’t enforcing these discriminatory practices. By not enforcing strict scrutiny, but rather upholding this relaxed standard they are setting up and allowing these biased policies to thrive within the criminal justice system. The appellate court tried to argue this corrections facility was just trying to prevent racial violence, yet in doing so creates a segregated and tense atmosphere that just continues to place these black convicts in this perpetuated cycle of discrimination and recidivism. There is a strong argument being made that our prison system is modern day slavery. Regarding race, police are known to target these minority groups and create an atmosphere of brutality towards mainly innocent people of colour.

Police officers are specifically targeting this group and leaving them vulnerable to the rest of society. A song that I found to reflect this negative towards police, was in fact “Fuck The Police” by N.W.A. This song basically puts the police department on trial using their voice as rappers to be the judge and oversee the crimes and issue the necessary judgement for their actions. I found this song to possess a very interesting perspective. Throughout our history, minorities have been given unfair trials, stacked against them, because of the criminal justice system. However, in this song it is time for people of colour to take their voice back and put the other side on trial for their hate crimes and discriminatory acts. Although the lyrics are very vulgar they definitely resonate a powerful message. They expose the unparalleled authority these officers think they have when they are in their uniform. One of the lines that stood out to me was, “You’d rather see me in the pen/ Than me and Lorenzo rollin’ in a Benzo” (N.W.A). This lyric stood out to me because it shows how society views black people. That they see them as members of low income neighborhoods unable to make a decent, legal living on their own.

I have personally heard many stories of people of colour telling me about their experience being stopped by a traffic car because they were driving a nice car that they just assumed was stolen or sketchy. I’m ecuadorian myself. My family immigrated  here and I was born a first generation on my dads side. I have experience  prejudice in my own life. Many people don’t know that I am hispanic. My mom is Irish and English and pale as they come; however, I relate heavily with my hispanic roots. Despite me not really looking as dark as the rest of my family I have still been stopped countless times to be asked about my race. I work in the Hamptons and there was one instance where some man talked down to me saying it was very nice to meet a mexican and that I was very pretty. I told him I was not mexican and he proceeded to try and set me up with his grandson. As I repeatedly told him no, he proceeded to try and bribe me saying his grandson drove a mercedes and would take me to a very nice place, as if I only cared about the money. Society looks down on minorities thinking they are dependant on the rest of the world to make it by, when we work for our money all the same. This is not a rare occurrence for many people facing societal prejudice and stereotypes. I’m lucky enough that I do not have to experience it myself as often; however, I have been present for this kind of treatment towards the rest of my family as well. As I dropped my brother off at a house party in college, my aunt merely stepped out of the car just to switch into the passenger seat, as one of the guys shouted racial slurs at her from across the driveway. This racist and white supremacist mindset is not just a thing of the past, but goes on everyday within our society.

The song also made light on drug crimes and how all officers assume that a black man will be selling or possessing narcotics. This relates heavily to the war on drugs where our government continuously and blatantly established legislation that directly targeted black people in their attempt to target drugs. One of the most obvious examples of this is the crack versus cocaine epidemic. When this law was first established it was stated that 100 grams of cocaine would result in a mandatory prison sentence, while only 10 grams of crack would result in this mandatory prison sentence. This legislation was portrayed in the media to be what the United States desperately needed to combat this drug problem; however, it significantly favored whites and left the black population vulnerable, targeted and severely mass incarcerated. Crack was the cheaper, powder form of cocaine, therefore it was more easily accessible and abused in low income neighborhoods. These communities were primarily people of colour because of discrimination and unequal opportunities that restricted them to less opportunities. These drug laws weren’t aimed to target a narcotics problem, but gave legal ability for police officers to arrest these minorities at crazy rates leading to mass incarceration and today’s modern day slavery.

When someone is convicted of a crime, they lose many of their rights. The major one that they lose is the right to vote. This is a clear correlation to the previously mentioned time periods. Within the slavery era, a slave having any rights at all was just simply unheard of; however, over time they got the right of citizen because they could no longer legally keep up this blatant, racist front Yet, in Jim Crow they didn’t like the amount of power they were potentially receiving so they executed voting disenfranchisement and found legal loopholes against actually following through on allowing African Americans to have these rights. Present day we haven’t changed. We have merely found more loopholes to continuously combat any legislation and rights given in favor of these people. Now we use the criminal justice system to take away their humanity. The social institution established to fairly implement justice within our society, is the same institution keeping us in our racist past.