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Assignment 4

Being far away from their own country, African slaves were forced into a life in America where they would be dehumanized and manipulated into tools for labor. They had to leave behind their whole lives and give up their way of living. However, according to the works of Davis and Morgan, contrary to their working environment, a home became a place where African slaves could actually live like a human being, similar to how they would have lived back in Africa, a life abundant with tradition and culture. Davis first introduces the concept of African slaves’ home and family through the work of Herbert Gutman and his book, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom. In it, Gutman emphasized how a family in slavery still flourished and exercised autonomy by living under traditional customs, in a way relieving themselves from the reality of being a slave (Davis, 1983:18). In an environment that was demoralizing and unrelenting, these slaves found the strength to live on by holding onto a part of their old life, remembering that they are part of a distinct culture and society. Davis shows that a home was a means of reminiscing their former lives and holding onto their African tradition and culture.

Morgan similarly portrays a home as a place of carrying out their African tradition. One example that Morgan provides is circumcision. The ritual of circumcision, particularly for female children, was meant to signal the start of adulthood, further symbolizing the linkage between a daughter and her mother, grandmother, and even ancestors (Morgan, 1997:65). Because of the environment that they lived in, where their social status was almost non-existent, it was necessary to find a substitute and alter the ritual in some way. Nonetheless, African slaves strived to carry on their tradition and customs even in Americas. This act of holding onto their origins and practicing traditional rituals within their families represent an effort to humanize themselves, and to not forget that they are more than what they are treated as. This further insinuates the importance of a home, a place that allowed them to live like a human being.

Both Davis and Morgan portray a home as an important aspect of lives of African slaves, because it provided comfort and familiarity by allowing them to carry out their traditional customs.