The Myth of the Happy Slave

A study of slave narratives sometimes reveals slaves who were happy with their environment. This idea is further supported by former slaves expressing their concern with freedom and the problems associated with the period we know as the reconstruction after the civil war. We read the documentation of these and we make historical conclusions that reference a particular time period and a reflection on the immediacy of the circumstances. If studying history in order to provide answers to current problems only looks backwards and only in the context of that which the environment at the time provided, then our ability to grow from knowledge is limited by our erroneous conclusions. The Happy Slave Narrative is one that finds the dutiful slave dancing, singing and working for their white masters and enjoying it. It finds said slave beginning to view their masters as surrogate parents and benefactors. The Happy Slave Narrative is a way to silence the truth and allows for a negating of any responsibility that this nation had/ has for its citizens. It divests black people of their humanity and reduces our representations, bodies, and minds to instruments happy to be of service to white masters (http://www.commdiginews.com/entertainment/leslie-jones-the-happy-slave-narrative-and-modern-day-minstrelsy-17849/#Bw5GopScDl3iyzx accessed 1/12/2015). 

I recall running away from home when I was six years old due to my father wanting me to sweep the garage floor. I packed a few items, wrote a note, got permission from my dad, and took off down the street. When I reached the end of the street, I stood there for awhile, felt hungry, knew I should not cross the street without help, and decided to return home. My dad hugged and welcomed me back, gave me a snack and reminded me that I still needed to do some sweeping. Eager to make amends, I swept the garage floor (which in retrospect I realize had rather feeble results), and decided that all was well. I was once again happy with my circumstances.

Now from the above story a historian might conclude that I was the happiest when I was at home with protection, and with my basic needs being met, and comfortable with the required work, and this would not be a wrong conclusion, after all I was six years old at the time. Recognizing this anecdotal story is far from analogous to slavery, it does point to the Hierarchy of Needs chart by Abraham Maslow where humans need to have their physiological and safety needs met before needing love, esteem, and self-actualization. I suppose that had I stayed eternally six years old, I would have remained happy, although it is well to note that the actual running away implied a desire to improve my current circumstances, at least from my perspective. But knowing my basic needs had to be met, I accepted the authority of my dad in order to meet my fundamental needs. I may have wanted something different but ultimately I realized that my hunger and my fear of the unknown world led me back to security, and sadly a little bit of work!

Not all slave owners were evil monsters and there were many owners who practiced kindness and benevolence to their slaves (https://sites.google.com/site/antiquariansquill/academic-writing/the-caring-slave-owner--accessed 1/13/2015). In some instances of slavery, wise owners provided basic needs for their slaves in order to have greater productivity of their land and their business, not to mention the inevitable building of relationships in any kind of living situation. Human beings who live and work together are bound to form relationships of some kind, and some masters and slaves genuinely cared for each other (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2956.html, accessed 1/12/2015). Obviously abuse of this idea did take place and no amount of needs being met can substitute for pain and suffering, but we should neither talk about the extreme and obvious situations nor we should point to the instances of slave owners who treated their property as equals. Instead, we must discuss the human right for freedom of choice and equal opportunity. Slavery as a practice and a concept is indefensible. We do, however, need to discuss the happy quotient as it relates to the role of slaves and their future. While there is no desire for historical revision, there is a need to address the problem of life satisfaction versus the human requirement for freedom of choice. Beginning with the conclusion, every opportunity for freedom of choice should resound with rejoicing and fully embraced by individuals and by society, always within the legal responsibility of providing equal rights for all.

When the slaves were brought to our country from South Africa, as well as the West Indies, they had been grossly mistreated, disallowed from congregating, and considered property not human beings. Paranoia and suspicion followed the slaves from birth to death and their exportation to another country was primarily considered an economic decision for the original owners. European slave traders carried out the shipment of Africans to the Americas. The rulers of West African kingdoms participated in the trade, too. On the coast of Africa, local kings gathered captives from inland. The local kings then traded these captives for European goods, such as textiles, ironware, wine, and guns (http://www.csun.edu/~ae11859/documents/pdf/textbook/86_76-81.pdf Accessed 1/12/2015). Arriving in America, in spite of the lack of freedom, many slaves suddenly had their basic needs met including food, clothing, and shelter. Certainly an improvement from their previous state and a way to live reasonably comfortably, regardless of their improved life situation and regardless of their emotional state, the people still went from slavery to slavery and they were imprisoned due primarily to the despicable view of being property not people. No matter how many sides there may be to the story, and no matter how many ways it can be seen, it was slavery of human beings.

Their happiness, if one could call it that, was short-lived and primarily based on the lower levels of the hierarchy of needs. The reconstruction following the civil war was a messy affair and grossly unfair to the former slaves, but it was still freedom and the alternative to freedom is imprisonment. The efforts to subdue an entire race of people through slavery were over and it was time to move forward toward equality and opportunity for all. Yet such noble goals were and still are difficult and unfortunately it takes many years, tenacity, dedication, and education to achieve even a modicum of equality and opportunity for everyone. Meanwhile as our country shifted its system and attitudes toward refinement, there were likely some who preferred the old ways of having their basic needs met. But whether slaves or non-slaves were happy is entirely irrelevant to the requirement for race equality. Slavery is indefensible and to make a feeble attempt to justify it based on some kind of nebulous happy quotient is erroneous and anathema at best. I further submit that efforts to support the position of slaves being happy is generally unproductive except possibly for the historical reminder of the hierarchy of needs where people must have their physical and safety needs met before pursuing higher orders of thinking.

This does not mean we should squelch those narratives referencing the preference for slavery over freedom due to the problem of basic needs, but we should also consider the implication that such emphases is suggesting. By expending great energy finding examples of how some blacks were happier as slaves inevitably lends itself to preferring race obsequiousness and slavery over liberty, certainly unacceptable and flawed thinking. Yet such endeavors do remind us of the social challenges that faced blacks after the Civil War. While liberty and freedom of choice is always the goal, it does not come without fear, without dedicated effort, and without relentless commitment to progress and improvement. Being told what to do is often safer and more comfortable than making one's own decisions and setting one's own vision for the future. 

At some point, however, justice and right need to prevail and need to express the wrongs of slavery and the rights of liberty and equal opportunity. Finding instances and examples of the benefits of slavery serve no purpose other than to cloud the issue and ultimately subjugate not only the people but also the concept of liberty and freedom. Efforts to justify the abject denigration of people based on some arbitrary "happy" quotient are to be disdained. The happy slave is a myth, and imprisonment is never to be desired nor embraced in any sense.