"If slaves could fool white senses, what were masters to do? Some found answers in relying on noses better than theirs. Hound dogs that tracked slave runaways were extensions of the master's nose, enabling him to continue surveillance out of sight. Slaves thought dogs could smell "nigger blood" and so developed strategies to fool masters' sensory aids. Sensory evasion mostly involved fooling canine noises, using "remedies" so that "the hounds could not scent them, so they could not be trailed" even "within five feet." (How Race is Made, Chapter 2, pg.35)
The senses include seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting. When we talk and think about the senses we imagine delicious foods, sweet smells, soft fabrics, or noises that peak our interest. When I think of the senses nowhere in my thinking do I imagine having to rely on my sense of smell to live, I cannot imagine having to use my sense of sight to be aware of the way people’s mood change to make sure I stay out of harm’s way. The excerpt that I have above in so many words shows the impact that slavery had on these people. The culture of these people was so entrapped and laced with fear. Their culture was doing whatever they could to stay on master’s good side so that they could complete the tasks asked and expected of them.
This week we continued the discussion of culture. We talked about what we thought culture was. I remember a student in our class stating that culture is fluid and ever-changing. the definition of culture that I found is "A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next." My culture is who i am and it defines me. Did slavery define the enslaved. Do you think that their harsh reality and culture shaped their personalities or the relationships witheach other? What do you believe your culture has specifically done to make you who you are today?
-Deayana
Deayana,
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad you brought up the idea of culture. It’s something I’ve been struggling with myself in this class… Like a lot of our classmates, I’ve grown scared to use the word because I’m able to realize it’s a social construct. To answer your questions at the bottom of your post- As much as I hate to say that slavery defined the enslaved, it must have. Slavery dictated the way in which these individuals act. And although they are most certainly individuals, in some cases, they were not allowed to act that way. I think that the position that enslaved individuals were forced into forged their relationships, personalities, and perception of the world. We’ve talked about it quite a bit in my African American studies course: the familial relationships that came to be because of the environment. Back to culture though… I think I’m finding it so hard to grasp because I was never raised being told what my culture was. I have always been told that I am an American, so I guess that has shaped my culture and who I am. But then, thinking about it, everything I’ve ever experienced has made me who I am. My parents have worked hard to instill specific values in me: religion, philanthropy, working hard. I think my religion is a part of my personal culture that really has shaped me though. I guess I don’t even really know my culture- because well, is culture even real?
Deayana,
ReplyDeleteThe descriptions within the readings were pretty graphic, as that one you put in. The idea of culture until this class i never really thought to look at, id just use the word and not even blink an eye at it. But the concept of it as seeing culture defined through words has really put it in perspective how loosely defined it is from person to person. obviously there is the one definition in the dictionary but, when you ask anyone what is culture? Then everyone seems to have a different way to describe or define it. Culture to me is a means of how you present yourself I guess, by that I mean my parents raised me to understand tolerance, stand for what I believe in, and work hard to get what I need. So besides that and my religious beliefs I guess "culture" might be defined person to person
I think circumstances does define culture. I remember reading in my gender communications class that black men were studied to be more communal than white men. It reminded me of a video I saw of a man filming himself jokingly going up to another black man, and asking him if he could have some of his food. The black man generously offered to split the food he was eating and the filmer was shocked, laughed and said he was just kidding. I think dependency on one another, especially in the antibellum period for slaves was probably a greater necessity to survive. Maybe I'm wrong, but I could see that circumstance being the source of that sense of community. When they were segregated and not given access to the same resources, i think it makes sense that altruism would occur as people would need to replace that access to resources with help from one another.
ReplyDeleteOn a separate note, I think that the role of slaves and that of prisoners in Jewish concentration camps are similar. I've seen a documentary where a survivor, Shelly, gives an account of what it would have taken to stay alive and how she stayed alive in Auschwitz. Similar to a slave, prisoners heavily relied on their senses to stay alive. Shelly compared it to becoming more animalistic with your sole focus being to survive. You could be killed for any perceived provocation and sometimes there was none. Similar to How Race is Made author Mark M. Smith indicates, prisoners in concentration camps would avoid eye contact with authority for fear of provocation and the consequential harm. Similarly, prisoners would take up the least space possible and try and make themselves invisible as possible. You can see that in the movie Schindler's List as prisoners would stand in a line up and not even look up when the person next to them would be shot. The goal for slaves and prisoners was probably more often than not to stay invisible for fear of harm. I can't imagine a life where all of my actions are driven from fear and survival.
I'm so happy we're talking about culture, because I have always been confused with what my culture is. I am half Cuban, but my dad and his family decided to assimilate to the American way of life as much as possible. Growing up when I would tell people about myself and they would always ask about my 'Cuban culture" and I was always hesitant to answer this because I didn't really know what it was or what they thought it was. To me, we didn't do anything very different from my friends' and neighbors' families. To me, I think that my culture is how I was raised and taught to act, and how I act in day to day life, not just where my family came from.
ReplyDeleteBack to your question about how slavery defined African Americans. Unfortunately I do think it affected them and how they behave from day to day. Sarah's comment about how black men are much more communal is interesting and I do think that when a group of people is in a situation like slavery they need to band together to survive. Although they might have wanted to act and behave in a certain way that made them feel more comfortable, they weren't allowed to act that way or they would be punished. So instead they learned what behaviors were appropriate and taught their children and families so that they could get by. I think that those teachings have been passed down and eventually created a way of life or "culture" for them.
Likewise, I believe that slavery did have a huge influence on African American culture in the long run. The fact of the matter, like in your quote, of how these men and women had to literally channel their animalistic qualities just to survive is just so mind baffling. Every day these people had to surpress who they were to become something else for someone else. I think this in the long run created a form of dependency in African American culture.
ReplyDeleteThey had to rely on others to survive every single day, constantly being dependent on someone else. I think this generally created an identity issue for many people in this culture, although at the time I'm sure it was a grain of sand concern for them. But over time, I believe that it has created a lasting impact in the morality of African American culture -- for example like when Sarah saif they were considered "more communal" and generally much less selfish than white men.
I think culture has paved the road for me to make my difficult and complicated life as easy as possible. I have always been aware of white privilege, but it wasn't until this class that I've really discovered how much my skin has blessed me without me even asking for it. It's been much of a wake up call and I have gained massive respect for anyone who has or is struggling adversity.