Race and prejudice is a hot topic in this nation and it seems that it always will be. People all around the world continue to be judged based on preconceived notions that have been passed down through generations. To understand why this happens, we must take a look at what exactly causes people to assume these terrible things. Mark Smith, (whether you agree with his style or not) definitely brings a different perspective to the table. Studying his work on how the former slaveholders used senses to determine race and who was "inferior" can be tough to analyze, critique and overall a hard pill to swallow. So… here goes nothing.
As previously mentioned, slaveholders used their senses to attempt to keep control of workers. According to Smith, they would use their sight (obviously) to see what the workers were doing but to also help judge how healthy they were. He gives an example of how one slave had gained a little weight and had particularly oily skin. This led the master to believe that he had been eating "good meat". Smith spends a tremendous amount of time on smell and the stigmas that are placed on it. If a person if forced to work in the hot sun for endless days without being able to bathe or wash their clothes, then they are obviously going to possess an offensive odor.
It is no secret that most slaves were not allowed to learn, to read, or become educated in any way. Therefore, if the race of a person was ever in question, the white people could often tell if the person was an escaped slave or a free person. I remember hearing another example from a previous class that helped the slave traders determine who was to be brought to the U.S. The traders would lick their sweat. Yes, lick sweat. They would do this to judge the salt content in their bodies to help determine if the person could survive the long trip. (the more salt content the more likely they were to survive.)
Whites, that first saw the Africans, quickly noticed that their senses were much better than their own. In general, the Africans could see farther, distinguish sounds better, smell better and feel much more accurately. According to Smith, this led the whites of the day to see these enhanced senses as "animalistic". Much like the Sarah Bartman piece explains, they believed that anything outside the white mindset was inferior. I personally believe that the whites took this as a threat. They saw that another type of people were better at virtually everything that comes naturally to humans. It seems that the white people thought they could not trust the African natives because they may use their senses to retrieve information faster. I believe that they were afraid and egos became a big player in the situation.
To me it sounds so bizarre to hear that someone licks someone's sweat and then afterwards calls that person animalistic 0_____o !!!! I feel as if this whole mindset of using all 5 senses to identify slaves is quite interesting. It makes me think of hating something so much that you hate it with every fiber of your being. You begin to hate the way they look, smell, talk, etc. However I think when you science to support your hate, it just makes everything that you think is right to be even more on your side. I think another disturbing thing in Smith's book is the mindset that slave owners had as far as it came to the strength of their slaves body. For example I recalled in the book that slave owners believed that their slaves could handle brutal beatings because of their "hard skin" being able to heal so quickly, probably also help to justifying their belief that slaves were of another species. Which is another reason why it is so hard for me to understand how slave owners had sexual intercourse with their slaves, yet consider them not only less than but animals 0_____o ! Can someone explain that to me ?
ReplyDeleteThe senses being the main ingredient in the recipe for race....for me was a hard pill to swallow. The southern motive was desire of the substantial profit that stood to be gained through the use of a strong and plenteous free labor source. They were willing to do just about anything to make that happen. Blacks were perceived through a sensory experience driven by the context of that motive. It is by no means an excuse for their horrible acts, but they knew they had to use harsh punishment and fear to control the large populations of slaves who lived on their property and served in their homes. At some point, I believe it was starting to sink in that blacks were not so different.
ReplyDeleteNormally developed mulatto children and adults were proof that blacks and whites were reproductively compatible. However, admitting this would undermine everything and result in major losses for southern whites. This was not a mistake that anyone was willing to admit to, so they continued on in pure hypocrisy as blacks breastfed and raised their children, cleaned their homes, and cooked their food, typically, without event. Would you let an animal breastfeed your child and cook for you? White men freely engaging in bestiality? NOT. The actions of southern whites amounted to telling someone they are inferior yet equal. A total mixed message and I agree with Ron that fear and ego played a huge role. It just spun out of control. There is no way that they could have TRULY believed that blacks were really animals, but they had to keep up the phisod in order to remain in control. No matter how much they may have thought about it, they were never going to say it aloud. Thus they further dehumanized blacks instead. Since all of this is being rested on the senses, I'm curious as to why the northern response to blacks was not entirely the same seeing as how northerners saw, tasted, smelled, and touched using the same human senses? If this was just an innate, sensual response, then why did "everyone" not respond in the same way? A hard pill to swallow......
I find it very problematic that white southerns used all of their senses in such a way to construct racial difference. Even though Smith offers fresh insights for understanding historical experience, how could this be used to justify slavery? Smith also discusses the various ways in which slaves (African Americans) resisted these physical stereotypes. When reading the part about how one slaved gained a little weight, it made me think of Langston Hughes, "I, Too, Sing America." In the poem he states:
ReplyDeleteThey send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
I can only imagine the thought of slaves during this time and how in the mist of all inhuman acts from whites they utilized whatever as a way to freedom. I also agree with Ron and Michelle in regards to the issue of fear and that whites continue to question the ability of slaves as a threat to their power over them. Despite adversities and hardships faced, slaves remained hopeful, which allowed for freedom and change today.
I also believe Whites were threatened by African natives who later became slaves. Slavery—which was all about economic gain —depended on the construction of African natives as non-human and animalistic. The sensory racism examples Smith presents and analyzes demonstrate how these sensory characteristics were used to oppress and exploit Black slaves.
ReplyDeleteOne example Smith uses is the smell of Blacks. Smith writes that the “African smell” was innate and not contextual (15). Slave owners clearly created the situation, as you mentioned above, where slaves would smell offensive (any person would) and then used that as a means to justify Black inferiority, which created Blacks suitable for demanding physical labor.
Smith builds on this olfactory sense. Blacks didn’t appear to be bothered by their smell so they possessed a “lack of ‘delicacy’”(15). Further proof that Blacks were inferior and best suited for the conditions and environments White owners provided them with.
There are so many facets to each different sense used to create race and support racism. The illogic used and the ability to suspend and twist those sensory meanings to accommodate whatever belief Whites needed support of at the time demonstrate, not only the hypocrisy, but the power of whiteness. Race is a thin construct and to maintain dominance, sensory racism became a great approach to assert that privilege. That’s the fear Whites had upon learning about new people. They feared a loss of control and dominance. Also, different ways of life challenged their firmly held beliefs about social hierarchy and religion. Different was bad because it flew in the face of their social constructs which supported white privilege.