They were punished twice over, in a sense. On the one hand, the slave literally belonged to the master, who could therefore have his way with her any time he pleased.
On the other hand, the master’s wife was aware of this — and would at times be particularly cruel or unkind to the female slaves, in particular the pretty ones.
Today, about 19.6 percent of African Americans are of at least 25% European ancestry — roughly the equivalent of one fully white grandparent. These statistics reveal a rather harrowing fact… the majority of enslaved women were subject to systematic rape and sexual abuse. As a result, in virtually every single African American family tree, we find a white ancestor. A foreman, a plantation owner, some passerby who fancied her. She couldn’t resist. Not even if she was already married to an enslaved man on the plantation. And yet in spite of the fact it wasn’t her choice, the mistress of the plantation would still blame her. And punish her for merely existing and being attractive.
The fact that one-in-five African Americans today is at least a quarter white, is a statistic that tells a frightening tale. You cannot overstate the degree to which slaves utterly lost their dignity. Interracial marriages being illegal for most of US history until only about fifty years ago, virtually all of this white ancestry is the direct result of brutal rape.
Comments
Post a Comment