Did Slavery Destroy the Black Family?
In this debate, the discussion will surround whether or not slavery destroyed the Black family. A family is a social unit living together and people descended from a common ancestor. The debate focuses on Wilma A. Dunaway who posits that slavery did destroy the Black family, and her opponent, Eugene D. Genovese, who says that slavery did not destroy the Black family. By analyzing Dunway, Genovese, and a host of other writers I have gather my own ideas for one side to agree with.
As above stated, it is Dunaway's contention that slavery destroyed the Black family. She identifies that that there is a great deal of evidence to substantiate that slave family stability varied with the size of the slaveholding. It is also inferred that family separations, slave trading, sexual exploitation and physical abuse occurred much more often in societies where the masters owned small amounts of slaves.
Dunaway also speaks to the fact that small slave holdings permitted got more contact with the owner, which meant greater exposure to sexual exploitation. Consequently, slave families on small plantations were more often disrupted by masters, and black households on small plantations, were much more frequently headed by one parent.
Additionally, DuBois (1899) makes his feelings clear in discussion on the impact of slavery on the family. Du Bois ([1899] (1996) discussed how the concept of the monogamist home was new to Blacks. DuBois indicates that cohabitation was a common practice in the absence of legal marriage. The number of single parent households was increasing, and children were growing up without fathers.
In conjunction Dubois identifies that children lacked adequate supervision, and alleys and sidewalks became the primary agents for the socialization of children. Additionally, when men were not able to find jobs that paid enough to support a family, women had to go out and find work. Du Bois described how women were sometimes forced to go far from their homes
As above stated, it is Dunaway's contention that slavery destroyed the Black family. She identifies that that there is a great deal of evidence to substantiate that slave family stability varied with the size of the slaveholding. It is also inferred that family separations, slave trading, sexual exploitation and physical abuse occurred much more often in societies where the masters owned small amounts of slaves.
Dunaway also speaks to the fact that small slave holdings permitted got more contact with the owner, which meant greater exposure to sexual exploitation. Consequently, slave families on small plantations were more often disrupted by masters, and black households on small plantations, were much more frequently headed by one parent.
Additionally, DuBois (1899) makes his feelings clear in discussion on the impact of slavery on the family. Du Bois ([1899] (1996) discussed how the concept of the monogamist home was new to Blacks. DuBois indicates that cohabitation was a common practice in the absence of legal marriage. The number of single parent households was increasing, and children were growing up without fathers.
In conjunction Dubois identifies that children lacked adequate supervision, and alleys and sidewalks became the primary agents for the socialization of children. Additionally, when men were not able to find jobs that paid enough to support a family, women had to go out and find work. Du Bois described how women were sometimes forced to go far from their homes
Bibliography: Dubois, W.E.B. [1899] 1996. The Philadelphia Negro. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996), xxi. Dunaway, Wilma A. “The African- American Family in Slavery and Emancipation” In Taking Sides: Clashing Views in United States History. Vol. 1. 13th edition. Edited by Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle, 240-254. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Genovese, Eugene D. “Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made” In Taking Sides: Clashing Views in United States History. Vol. 1. 13th edition. Edited by Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle, 255-263. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Genovese, Eugene D. Roll, Jordan, Roll: The world the Slaves Made, (New York, NY, First Vintage Books, 1974), 71. Gutman, Herbert G. The Black family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925, (Toronto Canada, Random House, 1976), 258. Martin, Joanne M. & Martin, Elmer P. The Helping Tradition in the Black Family and Community, (Silver Spring, MD: National Association of Social Workers, 1985), 76-78.