"The Need for Slavery"

"The Need for Slavery"

The Nubian Message, North Carolina State University's African American student newspaper, was first published on November 30, 1992. In this March 9, 1995 editorial, Guest Writer George Gaitland argued that African Americans had forgotten the struggles that their ancestors endured in slavery and were taking their freedom for granted. He drew extensively upon the experiences of Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave from Maryland who became a leader of the abolitionist movement, to show how the hardships and brutality of slavery galvanized African Americans to push for equality, education, and self-improvement. He then contrasted this drive with the present-day decline in African American involvement in schools, communities, and the workplace. Because African Americans were no longer threatened by slavery, he wrote, they had become "apathetic" and indifferent to ongoing racism in society. Gaitland therefore concluded that "experiencing slavery over again seems necessary for the Afrikan-American race, as a whole, in order to realize the freedom that is slipping through our hands."

Gaitland's critique of African-American apathy and lack of community involvement was a common theme in The Nubian Message during the 1990s. Many writers, Gaitland included, argued that African Americans must stay socially engaged in order to prevent the erosion of their hard-earned individual and collective rights.

George Gaitland, Guest Writer

George Gaitland, "The Need for Slavery," The Nubian Message 3, no. 12 (March 9, 1995): 11. Digitized by the Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.

1995-03-09

Rose Buchanan

document

The Need for Slavery

By George Gaitland

The history of the Afrikan and Afrikan-American is and endless list of achievements; from Royalty and excellence, to slavery and freedom, to the struggle for redemption. However, in our whole history, there is no greater success story that American slavery. Considered the worst form of slavery known in history, slavery in America transformed people into animals and exploited for life.

The Negro slave is a powerful story of perseverance through slavery, freedom and eventually becoming men and women of value to this country. In spite of slavery's intention to reduce people for financial increase, it ironically inspired Afrikan-Americans to want to learn because they were forbidden to try new concepts because they were discouraged to, and to think like human beings because they were said to be beasts.

For Afrikan-Americans today, opportunities in education, employment, and equality have improved drastically, yet we do not know utilize [sic] it as our ancestors would have. In his narrative, The Life of Frederick Douglass, and [sic] American Slave, Mr. Douglass wrote in detail the restrictions of a slave and what they were willing to suffer just to read a book, be self-employed and be counted as men and women. The testimony of Mr. Douglass as a slave (and as a representative of the many testimonials of slaves) puts to shame the apathetic Afrikan-American who enjoys freedom today. Our decline in school, workplace and community involvement exist because the restrictions and prohibitions of slavery are no longer a direct threat.

In chapter 10 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass..., Mr. Douglass paints an elaborate picture of slavery at its worst. On January 1, 1833 Douglass, age 16, went to live as a fieldhand with Mr. Covey, known for his slave-breaking techniques. There are not many people who are still alive that can tell the story of slavery. Having never been slaves before, most Afrikan Americans today cannot truly relate to the concept of having nothing, being a nobody, continuous whippings and non-stop working to stay alive a little longer. After living in a free society all our lives, having equal opportunities and options as everyone else, losing all this is hard to visualize.

Our loss begins when appreciation for freedom is taken for granted. For Mr. Douglass slavery's boundaries turned into a greater appreciation for the freedom we neglect.

Mr. Douglass makes the fact known that regardless of slaves['] behavior, all were whipped as a constant reminder to the slave who was master.

["]Behave well or Behave ill, it is the duty of a master occasionally to whip a slave, to remind him of his master's authority["] (Douglass 118).

Today this would be considered assault and battery. The same law that in 1833 made flogging an Afrikan American legal now protects us under due process of law. Slavery's absence has given us few reasons to take advantage of freedom. As generation proceeds generation, we move further away from the awareness of what slavery would not allow us to do.

Mr. Covey was well experienced in slave-breaking and being a hard worker himself knew how much work the average person could handle. Douglass says Mr. Covey would spy on his slaves to make sure no one was slacking up.

["]...it was never safe to stop a single minute. His comings were like a thief in the night...he would turn short and crawl into a fence corner or behind some tree and there watch us till the going down of the sun["] (103-104).

We presently live our lives for ourselves and do what we want, when we want. With no one bearing over us, laziness and lack of initiative seems to develop. It is as if we need master watching over us cracking the whip to motivate us to produce success.

I made mention of our laws, none of which protected Mr. Douglass. He wrote of an instance when he fell sick in the middle of work. Covey kicked Douglass repeatedly and finally struck him in the head with a log demanding he return to work. After gaining consciousness, Douglass staggered to St. Michael's, where he would plead his case before Master Thomas. Master Thomas refused to believe Douglass, even in his condition, and threatened to whip him if he persisted. Being a negro slave, Frederick Douglass was denied any kind of trial or investigation. It was not even considered. If slavery were still instituted we would have a greater desire to contend for rights we should automatically receive anyway.

Reading of the hold-backs experienced by our ancestors, in our minds, would be threat to us because of all that we possess as citizens. On the contrary, slaves like Mr. Douglass viewed it as something to conquer because they had nothing to lose. Douglass says,

"It may be that misery in slavery will only increase my happiness when I get free. There is a better day coming" (107).

Being an Afrikan American myself, it is an unfortunate truth to admit, it seems that the threat of slavery or discrimination are the only sources of inspiration we have to prove our value. It is ignorant to believe racism does not exist. But just because it is not as obvious as it once was does not give any reason for Afrikan-Americans to slow the pace of progress.

With slavery still in their minds, our ancestors' purpose was clear: take advantage of freedom in every way we can.

No longer do I have to work for someone else. Now I can work just as hard for myself. There is no longer anyone watching my every move with the whip ready to encourage me to work. I can make up my own mind to do the work I want to do. Since I no longer have to hide my books and read them in secret, I will read them as much as I want, and I will even learn how to read. This attitude has died down in America, specifically with people of color. We are so free to do what we want, we have enslaved ourselves.

While still a slave, Douglass spoke of slavery as a cruel thing but a constant reminder of why we had to be free. Experiencing slavery over again seems necessary for the Afrikan-American race, as a whole, in order to realize the freedom that is slipping through our hands.

Works Cited
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Penguin publishers, 1986.

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