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Lauryn Smith

Created on: August 20, 2007

The Psychological Effects of Slavery

The official records say slavery lasted around 300 years. The records only include the

physical enslavement and not the mental. Africans bodies were enslaved for 300 years but

the generations afterward are still psychologically enslaved. Going through something as

traumatic as the experiences Africans had during slavery will not only affect them then but

affects the future generations now. People may not know or choose not to believe that the

previous statement is true. I believe in order to fix or current psychological state we must first

learn how we came to be as we are.

In the first section of "Breaking the Psychological Chains of Slavery", Dr. Akbar states that

African Americans still carry the attitude we had towards "work" during slavery presently. He

explains of the toilsome and unprofitable (towards the slave) work Africans were forced

through on a daily basis. Then he explains how Saturday, Sunday, and holidays were a mini

emancipation from work. So because of this attitude slaves associated work with

enslavement and no work with freedom. Now African Americans are in a continual state of

mind were we work comfortable jobs for other people and only wait for weekends.

In this sense of work I highly agree with Dr. Akbar. For me school is like my job. I come to

school to go home and go home to prepare to come back to school. Then all the while I'm

waiting for five days to be up so I won't have to wake up in the morning and start the same

routine again. I want to learn but at the same time I want to just socialize. And I know I can't

have it both ways. I have to change my work ethic before I hit college otherwise I doomed to

fail before I even begin.

The next section was on property. Back in slavery slaves weren't given anything and if so it

was very little. Dr. Akbar seems to be saying that African Americans associate material

goods with power rather than knowledge and intellect. Then when we do get something it's

bought for no reason. In essence African Americans are willing to buy a $5,000 couch we'll

never sit on instead of taking that $5,000 and putting it towards books for college. As for

vandalism Dr. Akbar states that unconsciously we enjoy it because it takes a little prestige

away from "Massah".

Unfortunately I have to agree again. More so when I was younger I'd ask for a toy before a

book. I've observed how on television "the ghetto" is constantly being glorified. A few years

back I really didn't care about it

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so I didn't notice it. I have to admit before I became wiser to the world as it is I was more

interested in how big my mansion would be instead of planning the furtherance of my

education. I still want nice things occasionally but I don't value them more than an education

that can take me further than a $1500 tailored suit.

African Americans are unfortunately inclined to reject natural leaders. Through no fault of our

own we have been programmed to reject natural leaders that could lead us to true salvation.

We are held down by ourselves Dr. Akbar seems to point out. During slavery, slave masters

would as Dr. Akbar stated, "...either eliminated, isolated, killed, or ridiculed", these natural

leaders. In place of those leaders would "slave bodies with master heads." In other words the

replacement leader was nothing more than the master's pawn. Black people nowadays will

go along with a an oppressor's leader than our own.

I find this section to hold truth. When I was younger my role models were rich entertainers

not leaders of black people. To me the entertainers were more flashy than Malcom X or

Farrahkan because of the entertainers "bling bling." I too unfortunately rejected true leaders

because they weren't as flashy as the people I saw on television. Another reason I didn't

accept these natural leaders within my black community was because these leaders were

being put down by their very own people. Me being young, naive, and having very little

independent thoughts of my own I followed the mainstream. I know better now thankfully.

The clown is a big part of what is setting African American people back. In slavery "the

clown" was an essential tool for survival. Being the clown saved slaves from feeling the

wrath of their masters. Being the clown also somewhat gave that certain slave status

because they were in the master's favor. Today African Americans now carry this identity

with them. Comedy or athletics is primarily where you'll see African Americans. African

Americans are more prone to accept somebody is funny/entertaining rather than somebody

who has book smarts.

In a previous paragraph I explained how I looked up to mainly entertainers rather than

people with intellect. To me it seems we [African Americans] are programmed from birth by

our parents/guardians and environments to follow funny. When you're young if you don't

follow what's "in" your ultimately put outside of the group. It seems today television is a big

part of people's lives. The television

delivers pictures and words faster than reading something for yourself. Then behind the

television the only way you'll see another African American is if they're in a comedy or

playing some type of sport. The intellectuals are put down before they can even rise up.

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Personal inferiority is a key issue that holds African Americans back. Slavery was degrading,

dehumanizing, and took what little self-respect they [Africans] had left. The master was

looked upon as being surperior because of the power he had over the slaves. Another thing

that strengthened the thought white is right was that Jesus and all his disciples were all

portrayed as white people. In futile attempts we today unconsciously try to become

caucasion because we "think" it looks better. Little things like "My hair is so nappy. I can't

wait to get it straightened" which we do unconsciously because of the stigma left from

slavery.

I think we are exposed to this inferiority complex when we are young. As a young child I'd

watch on t.v. the commercials of the Barbies. The white Barbie always stood out and had

better accessories than the other "ethnic" Barbies. I didn't know at age six that I

unconsciously thinking, "I need the white Barbie because she better than the other ones."

The cycle wasn't broken until the experience I had in Toys 'R' Us. I was around eight years

old and looking for a Barbie. The particular Barbie I wanted the white ones were sold out. An

African American saleswoman pointed out to me there were still the black Barbies there. I

said I didn't want that one. Then she responded, "Why not? Isn't she just as good as the

other one?" That's when I kind of realized I was unconsciously thinking white Barbie is better

than black Barbie. I will forever be grateful to that one black woman who helped me to begin

accepting black is just as good if not better than white.

Since slavery African American communities have been divided by many factors. To divide

the community as a whole was to take the unity out and turn the hate inward. This method

has been effective past the 300 years of slavery Dr. Akbar explains. Anything that makes us

different, we use it to separate ourselves from each other. Two of the biggest dividers are

economic status and skin color. Lighter skinned slaves were taken in by the masters as

house slaves. The masters (although still feeling they were surperior) boosted the ego of the

lighter-skinned slaves so they in turn their noses up to the field hands.

This is still prevalenttoday. I notice how all the light-skinned people are more often told

they're "pretty" because of their lighter eyes and hair color. Sometimes those light-skinned

people turn their noses up because I'm darker than them. When I was younger my hair wasreally kinky and people wouldn't say much besides, "Ooh you got thick hair", or hear them

snicker "Her hair looks so nappy." Then when I got older and started getting relaxers and I

heard more "Ooh she got pretty straight hair." So now this got me thinking why do you think

my hair is so "pretty" when it's straight but the moment it gets a little kinky the complements

stop? Quite frankly it pisses me off. Unfortunately I'm a walking contradiction because I still

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get relaxers out of convience rather than necessity. Little things like that plus more, I believe

will keep us divided because we aren't looking at the big picture.

Slavery has had the affected the African American family the most Dr. Akbar explains. He

goes into detail how during slavery the role of the father was completely destroyed. Since he

couldn't do the basic things such as provide and protect his family black men have just stop

caring. They go from place to place having kids and moving on to the next one. The mother

role was destroyed because during slavery a mother could not properly nuture and protect

her children from the slave master. So now African American women have kids at a young

age and don't know how to take care of them, which just perpetuates the cycle of the missing

father and lone mother.

For me it wasn't uncommon for me to hear that somebody didn't know their daddy or that

somebody was being raised by a relative particularly a grandparent. I myself was raised by

grandma. I never really thought much of it because she raised me and my brother as best

she could with what she had. I know my dad but he's not exactly "the strong father figure" I

think I need. And so yeah I know my mom but she wasn't exactly "the nuturing mother" type

that I think I need. My Grandma had to be both of them rolled into one. Since I know of this

new information I kinda feel like not only I was cheated but so was my brother because are

parents weren't really there honestly. And this situation of other people and sources are

raising the children besides the paternal parents. All this information Dr. Akbar was giving

was really hitting home for me and honestly it hurts to know this now.

Yet another line in the sand that divides our African American people. Something as trivial as

who's lighter or darker. To make slavery justifiable whites passionately preached that their

God was white and said as punishment for your sins you'll get dark skin and now you must

be a slave for the rest of your life. White people turned religion against us and hell they even

turned us against ourselves. It is now apparent to me that the trauma of slavery still exsists!

Black people African Americans in particular we turn against each other and don't even

recognize it or we choose not to.

I personally think it's in clear view to see. We are being trained from birth to think let's know

as little as possible of slavery so we can think about for a month and then brush it off

because "we've moved past it." We're made to believe nothing can affect you if it wasn't you

who was the slave some 300 years ago. The system is still enforcing slavery many African

Americans ignore it because that's not what's in. We are being distracted by the likes of

Hollywood, CNN, and all these billion dollar business to not pay attention to our history.

Basically they're saying "Don't pay attention to your history, it's in the past; focus on the

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lastest fashion trend it's more important to be in style." And I hate to use this quote because

it came from a Disney movie of all things but the quote was, "It is true the past can hurt but

you can either learn from it or run from it." Well me I want to stop running and start learning.

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