In Chapter I, “Childhood,” the author is giving a description of her “early formative years,” and through this, provides a lot of information regarding her family’s experience with slavery (Jacobs, p. 7). Linda first introduces her grandmother’s youngest son, Benjamin, stating that, “There become so little distinction in our ages that he seemed extra like my brother than my uncle” (Jacobs, p. 7). This line points to the way in which slavery made enslaved families reconcile with the constant threat of separation, redefining the way in which they viewed their familial relationships and holding closer those that they were able to remain with.
Starting with Linda’s introduction of her grandmother’s youngest son, this line points to the way that the disruption that slavery inflicts on family units effectively alters the traditional ways in which family members are viewed. She notes that all of her grandmother’s five children were sold and split up amongst different masters, indicating that the generation above her own in her family tree had been broken up and separated. She hones in on the youngest son, Benjamin, who she sees more like a brother than an uncle. Yes, this can be attributed primarily to their close proximity in age, but I argue that this shift in her understanding of their relation indicates more. Because the slave trade was constantly breaking up families and enslaved people were always on edge about whether or not their family members would be sent away. Therefore, enslaved people were forced to value the family that they had around them even more, cherishing the few family members that they may still have around them and hoping that the day where they were separated, and their family fragmented even more, would not come. Linda grew close to Benjamin and saw and valued him more like a brother than an uncle – in part because of closeness in age, but also in part because slavery forces people to hold their loved ones that they manage to stay close to near and dear to their heart. By calling him her “brother,” she emphasizes the closeness and strength of their bond as they surpass the more traditional uncle/niece dynamic. Yes, the word “brother” indicates a sibling, but I think that the use of the term here has more to do with the closeness of the relationship, which is spurred by the way in which the slave trade is always lurking around the corner, ready to split up another family. This nuanced use of the word “brother,” and in conjunction ”sister,” are still used by the Black community, bringing people that are not traditional siblings into this closer bond together, often in pursuit of racial justice.
Discussion Questions:
- Can you name specific locations (on protest signs, in music, etc.) where “brother” and “sister” are used in the way described above?
- From the information we know about family psychology today, what can be said about the impact of the separation of families during slavery? For a modern day context, think of how immigrant families are separated at the border and undergo traumatic events separately.
I feel like you made a lot of salient points in your post and I appreciate your attention to detail in explaining the familial bonds between Linda and Benjamin. As we’ve discussed in class, the trauma of slavery was expansive and dehumanizing and I agree with your point that it caused enslaved individuals to hold on to their family members tighter due to the frequent separation of families. Your post reminds me of a section in UTC when Haley was discussing the separation of enslaved children from their mothers as an inconvenience to slaveholders. The callous and cavalier air of their language is reminiscent of someone complaining about why the food they were waiting on took so long. And in that context, it’s easy to see why enslaved families were always so tight-knit because you never knew if you were ever going to see any of your family members again.
I think that the effects of splitting up the traditional family nucleus are already widely understood. The roots of this practice likely lie in the way that slaveowners viewed slaves. These humans were fundamentally understood to be cattle; as such, they were treated in the way that we treat cows today. Furthermore, it seems that splitting up the familial nucleus likely aided the suppression of uprisings (if you have less people you consider close you will less likely riot). This way of treating people is extremely problematic (you do a great job of explaining the slave POV).