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Assignment 4

Davis and Morgan both discuss the concept of motherhood in both of their works. During this time, black women were view as assets. They were objects and breeders who were of great financial value. Black women were only good for increasing the slave population during this time. Females were valued more than males because they were capable of bearing children and working in the fields simultaneously. In the works of Davis the concept of “motherhood” was mentioned on page 12, where the black mothers would still have to be working on the field while their babies would be on their backs. Black mothers would also go through the hardship of their own babies being sold off to slavery.  Black women could not be viewed as the weaker sex in the work force as while as black males couldn’t be considered the family provider since all men, women and children were considered to be provider for the slave owners. Black mothers would have to be very strong to be able to go through that much hardship and that is why in the works of Davis the concept of “motherhood” for black women was considered to be a very difficult struggle knowing the fact that your kids will be sold at any point in time. In Morgan’s work, she mentions how black women were depicted as animals due to their race. The concept of “motherhood” is discuss in Morgan’s work when she states that due to the race of black women their were only viewed as a form of income. Motherhood was a concept that was nonexistent for black women, they were forced into giving birth and their kids were sold in order to increase slave population and the slaves owners income. Whereas white women enjoyed the full affect of “motherhood” they gave birth to their kids and raised them without any fear of their kids being sold away. Morgan also talks about how in some culture women were shamed for having many kids and often their kids would be killed right after birth. Both Davis and Morgan’s work demonstrate the concept of motherhood and how black women were viewed as breeders instead of mothers and because of this the concept of “motherhood” was pretty much nonexistent to black women.