In their own voices, slaves invariably present a different view of
how well they were treated in the south. One place to read of their
treatment is in a book edited by Dorothy Sterling titled "We are Your
Sisters, Black Women in the Nineteenth Century." The book contains reprints
of the diaries and correspondence of black women, slave and free -- with some
commentary by Sterling. Just opening a page at random to get a feel of how
well slaves were treated, from the section on Childhood: (p. 10)
"... old Missus was a common dog. She put a piece of candy on her
washstan' one day. I was 'bout eight or nine years ole, ... I seed dat candy
layin dere, an' I was hungry. Ain't had a father workin' in de fiel' like
some of de chillun to bring me eats -- ... I went straight in dere an' grab
dat stick of candy an' stuffed it in my mouf ... Next mornin' ole Missus say:
"Henrietta, you take dat piece o' candy out of my room?" "No mam, ain't seed
no candy." ... Well, she got her rawhide down from de nail by de fire place,
... Den ole Missus lif' me up by de legs, an' she stuck my haid under de
bottom of her rocker, an' she must have whupped me near a hour wid dat rocker
leg a-pressin' down on my haid. ... Seem like dat rocker pressin' on my young
bones had crushed 'em all into soft pulp. I couldn' open my mouf an' dey
warn't no bone in de lef' side. I ain't never growed no mo' teef on dat
side. Ain't never been able to chaw nothin' good since. Been eatin' liquid,
stews an' soup ever since dat day, an' dat was eighty-six years ago."
As the book points out, this was considered excessive even in slave
days, however, the owners of this slave girl suffered absolutely no legal or
social approbation. I supposed being treated well is a matter of degree,
opinion, and perception.
p. 12 "Miss Cornelia was the finest woman in the world. Come
Sunday morning she done put a bucket of dimes on the front gallery and stand
there and throw dimes to the nigger children just like feeding chickens."
p. 57 "He owned a woman who was the mother of several children, and
when her babies would get about a year or two of age he'd sell them, and it
would break her heart. When her fourth baby was about two months old, ...
she just got up and give it something out of a bottle, and pretty soon it was
dead."
maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
