Dyani R
In the 19th-century colonial landscape, Barbados and Jamaica, integral British colonies deeply entrenched in the transatlantic slave trade, share a haunting narrative that sheds light on the traumatic experiences of black enslaved women. The economic prosperity of both regions became intricately tied to the labor of individuals primarily taken from Africa, with sugar plantations emerging as epicenters of exploitation. Enslaved women, crucial to the functioning of these plantations, faced relentless hardships, enduring harsh working conditions, and confronting the horrors of reproductive exploitation.Whether laboring in the fields of Barbados or the plantations of Jamaica, these women were subjected to systemic violence, encompassing both physical and sexual abuse, all while grappling with the heart-wrenching reality of family separations. This pervasive violence against black women during the era set the stage for a profound lack of adequate mental health care, contributing to the development of generational trauma. The repercussions of this trauma extended far beyond the immediate circumstances, casting a long shadow across subsequent generations of black women The impact of this historical trauma transcended geographical boundaries, echoing in other regions across the globe where similar systems were implemented.
Due to gaps in preserving historical records, we have limited original accounts detailing the experiences of black women during slavery. Often, their thoughts and emotions were interpreted or distorted through predominantly male perspectives. When they did have the opportunity to narrate their experience they utilized the archival space to make meaning and sense out of their suffering "through the telling of their story, rereading the residual marks of slavery left on their bodies and inscribing a new and different text. No longer the powerless objects of their own lives or within their stories…”(Baumgartner,p.1).
Another exception to this pattern is Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." Within the confines of her narrative, Jacobs unravels the tapestry of her life as a slave,shedding light on the brutal realities of slavery that are oftentimes glossed over or selectively refurbished in historical archives. “O, what days and nights of fear and sorrow that man caused me! Reader, it is not to awaken sympathy for myself that I am telling you truthfully what I suffered in slavery. I do it to kindle a flame of compassion in your hearts for my sisters who are still in bondage, suffering as I once suffered”(Jacobs). Throughout two chapters ,entitled “The Trials of Girlhood” and “The Jealous Mistress” Jacobs recounts her time as an adolescent and how she was “the chosen slave” who was forced into sexual relations with her slave master. She talks about how she was not the first black woman he had taken as his sexual object and she was not the last. She was threatened to keep her silence or be killed. “Sex was one more aspect of a slave woman’s “labor” and constituted what some scholars refer to as “sexual slavery within slavery”. Slave women knew that they could not refuse the advances of the men who held power over them without significant risk to their safety. This state of duress prevented enslaved people from consenting to sexual activity with their masters or other white men within their masters’ sphere. At most, slave women were able to give “the illusion of consent” in order to avoid punishment…”(Simmons,p.16). Later in the chapter she expresses that she believes “The felon’s home in a penitentiary is preferable. He may repent, and turn from the error of his ways, and so find peace; but it is not so with a favorite slave. She is not allowed to have any pride of character. It is deemed a crime in her to wish to be virtuous”(Jacobs). During the era of slavery, black women endured both sexual and physical violence, with these two forms of mistreatment inextricably woven together.
The poem titled "The Slave Dealer," written by Thomas Pringle, an anti-slavery advocate , unfolds a narrative through the lens of a slave trader tormented by the prospect of eternal damnation. This piece delves into the inner turmoil of a soul grappling with the guilt of taking the life of a black enslaved woman. “Her cry is ever in my ear, and it will not let me pray; her look I see –her voice I hear as when in death she lay, and said, 'With me thou must appear On God's great Judgment-day!”(Pringle). While only a poem, this composition provides a glimpse into sentiments regarding the mistreatment and abuse of black women. Unfortunately, it reaffirms the idea that the suffering of black women was often solely depicted through the perspective of white men, including those who opposed slavery.
The harsh realities of slavery extended beyond the physical separation of black women from their families, delving into the profound emotional toll of losing motherhood, ultimately leading to detrimental effects on their mental well-being. Three poems capture the anguish experienced by black mothers, navigating not only the deprivation of their autonomy and wombs but also contending with the loss of their ability to protect their children.
The poem entitled, “A Negro Mother’s Appeal” was apart of a literary work created by abolitionists to further the cause of emancipation and has no known author. Within this poem the stark differences between white women and black women are articulated, particularly concerning their rights to their offspring. “Though she bears a mother’s name, a mother’s rights she may not claim, for the white man’s will can part her darling from her bursting heart.” This section speaks to the deprivation and theft of joy that typically should surround bringing life into this world . Black women were often fearful about bringing children into this world because they felt like they were inevitably exposing them to a life they would be powerless to shield them from.
Similarly in the poem entitled, “The Slave Mother” by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper , it speaks about the pain that accompanied black women when their children were stripped from their arms after birth. “They tear him from her circling arms, her last and fond embrace.Oh! never more may her sad eyes gaze on his mournful face. No marvel, then, these bitter shrieks disturb the listening air: She is a mother, and her heart is breaking in despair” (Harper).This poem's poignant expression of a black woman’s feelings surrounding being torn from their families is not a common occurrence within the archive due to the fact that children being separated from their mothers were seen as nothing more than a mere business transaction.
The third and final poem entitled “Eliza Harris” was also authored by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and focused on the story of a slave named Eliza Harris who ran away with her son to escape the bonds of slavery. “She was nearing the river—in reaching the brink, she heeded no danger, she paused not to think! For she is a mother—her child is a slave—and she’ll give him his freedom, or find him a grave!”(Harper). The portrayal of Eliza as desperate to the extent that she would prefer both her and her son’s death rather than enduring separation, subjecting him to a life of suffering, is a sentiment that goes far beyond being heart-wrenching. To find oneself in such an extreme emotional state as a mother, where the need to protect your child compels you to abandon all fear of danger, is an experience that can only be imagined as profoundly mentally damaging. This is not an isolated occurrence; instead, it represents a widespread experience and a psychological and emotional battle that black mothers faced throughout the period of slavery
The recurring instances of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse resulted in an increase in mental health problems among enslaved women. Rather than receiving proper treatment, these issues were exploited by white physicians and slave masters to perpetuate the mistreatment of black women through abusive practices.
In 1820, “A Treatise on the Diseases of Negroes” was published in Jamaica, shedding light on medical issues within the enslaved black population on the island.James Thomson's recommendations for medical treatments in this work were influenced by discriminatory and racist practices of the time. In this work, there is a chapter entitled “Management of Pregnant Women, and Diseases of Children”, where it outlines ways of treating black women who are pregnant. It further renders black women incapable of being fit mothers and properly taking care of a pregnancy due to, “the early and promiscuous intercourse of the young females ; their great aversion to becoming early mothers inducing attempts at abortion; obstinate menstrual obstruction”(Thomson). It further explained that, “The early and unbounded indulgence in venereal pleasures is a common cause of sterility. The parts are left in so morbid and relaxed a state as to be unfit for impregnation ; the uterine and vaginal vessels are distended, and a perpetual discharge, or Fluor albus, is the consequence, and it is not till many years have elapsed,and they become attached to a particular person, that they begin to breed, bringing to life a weakly, diseased offspring, that perish in a short time, or prove incapable of propagating their own race”(Thompson). The thorough objectification and commodification of the black woman's body, primarily for reproductive purposes, resulted in viewing them as sexual objects requiring control to ensure the production of a "healthy workforce" for slave owners. Instances of disease arising from sexual violence were manipulated to depict black women as promiscuous and unfit for nurturing children, reinforcing stereotypes about their inability to be mothers. The recommended treatment practices further exploited and abused the black woman’s body.
This is further portrayed in the “Narrative of Rose” which was an account written by Christopher Nieves during his Voyage to the Islands about an enslaved woman named Rose who was under his ownership. “A Negro Woman of his called Rose, who us'd to be about the House, and attend Children, grew Melancholy, Morose, Taciturn, and by degrees fell into a perfect Mopishness or stupidity. She would not speak to any Body, would not eat nor drink, except when forc'd, and if she were bid to do any thing she was wont to do, before she had gone about it, she would forget what her Commands were. If one brought her out to set her about any thing, she would stand in the Posture she was left, looking down on the Ground, and if one further, as for instance, put a Broom in her Hands to sweep the House, there she stood with it, looking on the ground very pensive and melancholy”(Nieves). In this portrayal, he illustrates what would be recognized today as symptoms of depression. However, as an enslaved black woman, the treatment she received to address this "disease of stupidity" only exacerbated her suffering instead of providing assistance. He then goes on to explain in detail the measures he took to treat Rose. “I had her Cupt and Scarified in the Neck, ordered her a very strong Purge of Extr. Rud, to be forc'd down her Throat. This did not work. I gave her six Ounces of Vin. Emet. telling her it was a Dram,which wrought pretty well with her. I gave her also, several days very strong Doses of Diagridium, or Jalap amongst her Victuals…”, and the treatment continues throughout the account. This reflects a blatant disregard for the welfare of enslaved black women. They were beaten, they were raped, they were stripped of their children and their families, and then when they were depleted of everything else, they were subjected to medical treatment and experimentation.
The emergence of mental illnesses led to a distinct form of abuse against the black body through the establishment of mental asylums in the late 19th century. Despite the abolition of slavery , the enduring trauma and increasing attention to mental health resulted in racially biased evaluations of black patients in asylums, particularly in places such as America.
In 1896, John Miller released a report entitled “The Effects of Emancipation Upon the Physical and Mental Health of the Negro of the South”, wherein he contends that black people exhibited superior mental well-being during slavery and have endured mental suffering since emancipation. “ The untutored savage can exist and be healthy in mind and body under conditions that will seriously affect the man of finer sensibilities from culture and education. The negro in slavery had "no thought for the morrow, wherewithal he should be fed and clothed," nor did the claims of family press upon him to worry and affect his mind; no ambitious hopes stirred his brain as to the possibilities of his future; but "far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife," he spent his quiet, humble life in his little log cabin, with his master to care for every want of self and family, in sickness and in health”(Miller). Attributing the rise in mental illnesses to the elimination of the system that caused generational trauma, rather than acknowledging the inherent issues within the system itself, is another attempt by white men to distort the reality of what transpired during slavery.
The trauma experienced by black women during slavery had profound and enduring effects on subsequent generations of black women. In response, black women have sought outlets for expressing their emotions and managing their mental well-being through mediums such as songs and poetry. These creative spaces serve as places of resistance, remembrance, healing, and solace.
Maya Angelou’s famous poem “Still I Rise”, expresses resilience and defiance in the face of adversity, celebrating the strength and courage to overcome obstacles. It reflects the determination to rise above prejudice, discrimination, and challenges, emphasizing the unyielding spirit and intrinsic self-worth of black women. This poetic masterpiece stands as a powerful anthem of freedom, resonating with the triumphant narrative of black women reclaiming their power and affirming their rightful position in the midst of adversity.
In the song "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind'' by Lauryn Hill, she explores the pursuit of inner peace and liberation from the oppressive forces in the world that seek to restrain her. She reflects on the challenge of breaking free from these influences that attempt to convince her that true freedom is unattainable. Although the scars may persist, these spaces of healing offer reprieve and a place of re-energization for black women as we continue to pursue internal and external freedom.
1.Baumgartner, B. (2001). The body as evidence: Resistance, collaboration, and appropriation in the history of Mary Prince. Callaloo, 24(1), 253–275. https://doi.org/10.1353/cal.2001.0005
2.Simmons, C. H. (2018). The invisible woman. The Invisible Woman. https://original-ufdc.uflib.ufl.edu/UFE0052393/00001