Impact of Slavery on Modern African American Lives
Slavery in the United States has left a heavy mark on the African American Community. Many Aspects of the modern African American experience are can be directly attributed and traced to life on the plantations. Modern conditions of mental health and family structure of African Americans can be connected through history to the experiences of modern early American slaves in their lives, practices, and realities.
Mental health[edit]
African American slaves had no legal protection from abuse from their masters. Slaves were forced to work and punished for not satisfying their masters' demands. Punishments included "smoking them", putting slaves in caskets and rolling them down hills, tying rope around a slave's body and raising them from the ground, burning them with grease, beatings from brooms, shovels, tongs, and oak clubs. They were lashed with whips, hung by their necks, had bones broken, iron collars placed on their necks, limbs amputated, castrations, and could be sentenced to death for crimes against a white person.[1][2]
Slaves who were emancipated in 1865 would have had much psychological trauma. People who are survivors of slavery will often dealt with forms of depression and anxiety and post traumatic stress syndrome. Steps through treatment are needed in order to help victims psychologically heal.[3] Emancipated African Americans who became free after the civil war were not educated on how to cope with the trauma of slavery, nor were they offered psychological therapy. This resulted in generations of African Americans to face the psychological affects of slavery, but no opportunity to heal.
Adult African Americans are 20% more likely to report psychological issues than adult White Americans. Black Americans often deal with some form of depression, post traumatic stress syndrome, and schizophrenia.[4] Because of stigmas and misconceptions about Black depression, many African Americans shy away from getting proper treatment.[5]
Familial relations (marriage and the nuclear family)[edit]
Before 1865 slaves could not legally marry in the United States, which meant they had no marital rights.
Nuclear families with a two parents and children were usually only possible when the whole family was owned by the same owner, otherwise families could be broken up among several different plantations. Members of a slave family could be sold or inherited at any moment and be separated from each other for the rest of their lives.[6]
Slaves were often raped by overseers and their masters with disregard of their consent, or their husbands as their rights were non existent. These women would have children for the master of the plantation along with those of their husbands.[7]
Female slaves were seen by white American society as sexually promiscuous, and white men would be absolved of any sexual misconduct; rape of slaves was considered normal by the majority of U.S. society.[8]
The trauma of rape, and the breaking up of families on a ethnic level has had long lasting affects on African American relationships.
Only 45% of modern African American households contain a a married couple, compared to 80% for whites, and 70% among Hispanics according to the U.S. Census, and compared to a century ago there are half as many African American Children living in coupled households. African Americans are the least likely ethnic group to get married, but the most likely to divorce. African American women are also the most likely to become single mothers. High mortality rates caused by poor health care, crime, and growing incarceration rates have decreased the black male population[9]
References[edit]
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:0 - ↑ "Slave Punishments". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
- ↑ "Treatment of mental trauma - Freedom Fund". Freedom Fund. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
- ↑ "Black & African American Communities and Mental Health". Mental Health America. 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
- ↑ "Depression And African Americans". Mental Health America. 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
- ↑ "How Slavery Affected African American Families, Freedom's Story, TeacherServe®, National Humanities Center". nationalhumanitiescenter.org. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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