Breaking the Chains of psychological slavery: Dr.

Naim
Akbar
Psychological Legacy of Slavery: Chapter
Dr. Naim Akbar takes us through a tour of our history as a Black community, and
through many comparisons, links our modern behaviours to their historical roots.
He begins by frstly speaking about ork, hich, rather than being a naturally
rearding task, connotes inferiority and slavery in the minds of the black
community! specifcally, the African American community. He mentions ho an
"illusion of leisure# has been created hen orking for someone for a set
monthly salary, e$plaining hy independent businesses and institutions run by
us are very fe.
%he author then moves on to speak about property! both the desire for
possessions and the vandalism of thing that are not ours. &andalism is done in
disregard and disrespect of the property of someone else. 'f one does not
appreciate the poer or possessions of another, they could either copy them,
aim to progress or destroy hat the other individual has. A trend of destructive
(amboyancy has arisen in the Black community over many centuries. %hose in
captivity ho ere very much crushed and belittled had the persistent ish to
look like the master as, ith their look and colour, came supposed poer and
freedom. He linked this mentality to that of children playing dress! up) by
dressing like mum and dad, then e become like them, even if for a short hile.
%his temporary feeling of accomplishment proves to be destructive in the Black
community.
%hirdly, Dr. Akbar speaks about leadership, and ho ithin our community, the
trust, respect and upheaval of natural indigenous leaders has been and is
currently very lo. %his is an ac*uired attitude hich plantation oners tried to
ingrain in the minds of African Americans so that they as a people may not have
a leader of their on, and thus gro stronger. %he plot of plantation oners as
to set the Black +ommunity against leaders ho had the potential to lead their
people to freedom. %herefore, by setting them against natural leaders, those ho
had ideas of liberation ere thought of as trouble makers and did not receive
acceptance from most people of the community at their time. An e$ample of one
of the "trouble makers# is ,artin -uther .ing ho only began to receive respect
from the ma/ority after his ords ere deemed "acceptable# to the -iberal
+aucasian group at the time. %his legacy is seen even today hen it comes to
politics through the eyes of both those ithin and those ho are not members of
the Black community.
%he Black entertainer and "clon# is the ne$t topic of discussion in the book. %his
is probably one of the most visible remains of the "plantation ghost#! that is the
attitudes rooted in slavery that still haunt the black community. +haracters
"0iddler# from the %& series 1oots, ,artin -arence starring in his on sho and
22 3vans from comedy "4ood %imes# , ere used as prime e$amples of ho the
desire of the enslaved Black slave found acceptance from the master by
entertaining him. %his idea of entertaining for acceptance is still evident today
from lunch tables in schools amongst friends to being a full! time comedian. A
*uote that is very relevant to this issue is "A sense of humour brings necessary
balance to an organised life, but a life of humour blinds one to life#. ,eaning that
if the sole goal of the Black individual is to entertain others for acceptance, this
can lead to their decline and a decline of the community as a hole. %elevision
series such as %he +osby 5ho , shoed a balance beteen humour and
isdom, hich as truly a positive movement and good portrayal of the Black
family.
%hose ho oned slaves kne that those ith self respect and dignity ould
resist the dehumanising process of enslavement. %herefore, in order to maintain
their plantations and businesses, they needed to ensure that self respect as in
e$istent in the hearts of African Americans and that they constantly felt inferior.
As a result of the mentality of inferiority amongst enslaved Black people, a desire
to look like, act like, and think like the ",assah# as the only ay they could feel
as though they had any orth, as their value no seemed to be in their hands
only. %here as a lack of self a6rmation, hich has been passed don and links
to the many practices in the Black community today. %o be seen as important or
to have some kind of orth is to look like, act like and think like the +aucasian
individual. %his leads to many harmful practices such as skin bleaching, surgeries
and hair perming. %o reverse the e7ects, the author states that e should teach
our children their orth from an early age, so that ith nurturing, their self orth
ill be high. 'n addition, e must in(uence our environments positively, so that
seeing the changes e can make, our true orth can be positively defned.
+ommunity division is one ay in hich slave masters believed they could
control Black people. %his idea as voiced in 898: on the bank of the /ames
1iver, ;5A by <illiam -ynch, a slave master. %he speech stated that to make
sure that Black people do not seek their emancipation, a dependency on their
oners must be built. 5econdly, the masters must turn their slaves against each
other, as by doing so, the community ill be divided, and a community that is
divided cannot stand, much more fght for freedom. %herefore privellages ere
given to certain slaves and a concentration on acceptance from the slave master
became the main goal of many enslaved African Americans. Being a "house
slave# as seen as more favourable than being a "feld slave# as one could be
closer to the master. %hose ho ere usually house slaves ere those ho ere
the o7spring of the masters from a Black oman. %herefore, certain +aucasian
features ould be e$hibited in such people. 5o, there as a link beteen being
fair or having 3uropean features and being of more value or more important.
Although the slave masters ould probably see everyone as having "tinted
blood#, those ithin the Black community ere programmed to develop a
system of hierarchy based on physical features. %his has continued in the Black
community despite events such as the Black poer movement.
%he family as the penultimate point of discussion in the chapter. ,arriage as
seen as pointless to many enslaved Black people as all the vos could not be
maintained hile one is at the ill of an oner. Be this a male or female person,
the impact of being a slave on the individual meant that their body as no
longer theirs, therefore they could not give themselves aay to their spouses.
%he husband could not protect, and many times, the Black man as used to
breed and as a symbol of poer. %his is sadly evident amongst many Black
men in our society today. %hey ere seen as "studs# and in that and producing,
did they fnd orth. %herefore e can see that in many places today, a Black
male may resist the role of a true father, or may feel orthless if they are not
identifed as being a "stud# or able to produce many children. %he Black oman
as seen as a child bearer and an ob/ect to be used for the pleasure of her
master. Due to the nature of hich their children ere produced as a result of
rape, the Black omen became overprotective of her child or at times, even
abusive due to the remembrance of the pain of their conception. %his is seen
today in our community, and many omen still fnd acceptance in the rong
places.
-astly, colour discrimination as discussed. %he colour of ones skin determined
their social position. Black skin as seen as cursed and the cause of
enslavement. %herefore beauty, competence and orth as seen in having more
+aucasian features, hich is prominent in the Black community to this day
%o move forard, e must master the symptoms and conditions. %his leads to
the ne$t chapter.
C!AP"#$ %: L&B#$A"&'N ($') )#N"AL SLA*#$+
%he chapter begins ith the idea that to break the psychological chains of
slavery, e must frst realise that e, as humans, are special. <e are di7erent to
any other creature on earth as e have self! consciousness and e are able to
progress. <ith other animals, their roles are clearly defned and constant, ith
little, if change in roles. %he ant has been making the same form of ant hill for
centuries) hoever e as humans have developed massively over the ages. 'n
the process of this development, the idea of slavery has been continuous.
=ners of slaves realised that to control people, those ho ere captors needed
to be in control of "their thinking, in control of their minds, >and? in control of
their consciousness. As mentioned before, humans are self! conscious, hoever
hen their consciousness is taken aay from them, so is their humanity. 5lavery
is not about physical bondage, but is a psychological process here peoples
minds ill eventually be brought under captivity. %he lack of self! consciousness
has altered the human conduct of Africans, and e no rely on other civilisations
for guidance on ho to conduct ourselves. Destroyed consciousness leads to self
destructive conduct, and this is very prevalent in the Black community.
<e, as Africans in history ere builders, appreciators of Black femininity,
introduced medicines to the orld and healing to the planet. <e are no,
hoever, portrayed as clons, drug abusers and destroyers of our on lives. =ur
e$ample is a dramatic illustration of ho slavery destroys human poer. =ne
loses their human aareness as their rituals from eddings to marriages are
prohibited and substituted ith those of another culture. 4riots, ere knon as
trouble makers as they ould raise aareness of the former victories of the past
from 2amaica to 4eorgia. %heir tongues ere cut. %he fear that Africans ould be
conscious of their victories and their history, struck fear in the hearts of slave
oners. But this made the message clear@ 1estoration of African consciousness
has to be made by Africans themselves. %he desire for the mindset of those ho
are for hite supremacy shouldnt be our primary goal. Although this process ill
be long, our generations ill be the benefciaries.
%he author touched on the need for there to be a ".noledge of 5elf# amongst
African Americans. %o change African consciousness ould mean to change the
knoledge in the African mind. %here is a need for mental liberation. 'n history,
the 4reeks, 1omans, and fgures such as 4alileo are praised. 3uropeans taught
and are still teaching the greatness of 3uropean accomplishment. %his
aareness of ones history is a signifcant part of the liberation process. %his
restoration process began ith the likes of <.3.B DuBois, ,artin Delany and
many more. By learning our history, e open our minds to the fact that the
resources of the 3arth are open to all its inhabitants. <hen e realise that there
are no limits to our potential, e raise fgures such as ,ichael 2ordan and magic
2ohnson. <hen e realise there are no bounds to ho much e can discover in
the felds of science, e also raise great men and omen. 3very piece of
information moulds keys to "unlock the chains in our minds#.
'n addition to knoledge of self, the author e$presses the need for "5elf
+elebration#.%his celebration does not loer the esteem or accomplishments of
others. 1ather it sings of our greatness as a people, and our blessing to the
orld. He mentions that young people must kno the value of the fabric from
hich they came and be shon positive representations of themselves, rather
than fantasies of Black degradation and backardness. <e must sho our on
images and great ancestral fgures ithout shame) this includes pictures,
statues, street names, and even represent ourselves in fctional characters like
5anta +lause. 'f e take a look into cultures hose minds are free, there are
hundreds of self! representations and celebrations. <e shouldnt be apologetic
for this. %he failure of any culture, is hen the culture does not make those ho
are members of it, value and feel good about themselves.
"=nly the brave need apply# as another section of the chapter, here e learn
that freedom must not come passively. %he road to freedom is full of challenges
and danger. <e see this e$ample in the =ld testament hen many Biblical
+haracters ent through ilderness e$periences in order to have victory. 5o
those ho ant to break the chains must be brave. <e must not be afraid. %he
more e kno, the greater e become. %he stronger the self pride, the greater
our courage. %his ties into the ne$t points about ";mo/a# or ";nity#. +ollectively,
if e ally ith ourselves, as people full of self pride, talents and uni*ue *ualities,
our chains can be broken. <e must ally ith other Black people in various
communities, as it is not possible to attain this freedom alone. <e must bring our
special gifts e have together and break our chains.
0aith is also an element mentioned throughout this chapter. 't is the evidence of
things unseen and also, the sense that "3verything is going to be alright#. 'f
those ho ere enslaved did not believe in something greater than their
Amasters or themselves, they ouldnt have been able to attain freedom. =ur
faith as a Black +ommunity, as the author describes, has "come from ithin# and
our poer is in our spiritual resources.
-astly, the author emphasises that e must acknoledge then psychological
bondage and get more people involved in the healing process. %hese are
e7ective steps forard.
C!AP"#$ ,: $AC&AL $#L&-&'.S &)A-#$+ AND PS+C!'L'-&CAL
C'N(.S&'N:
%he author begins the chapter by bringing to our attention a problem of
stagnation in the Black community. Despite us thinking that e are in a better
position than e ere years ago, hen evaluating various stages in history and
situations of Black people in them, it seems like an oscillating cycle of positions.
0or e$ample, having African Americans in political poer as *uite common
before the end of the 8BCCs, hoever it seems as though the recent increase in
Black leaders in America is a ne phenomenon. 'n addition, the 2im +ro las
hich took almost 8CC years to abolish brought African Americans to the same
position they ere in before them. %his issue has brought about a lot of
confusion as to hy the Black community is not moving forard. %his problem is
very serious, and emphasises the need for psychological repair.
%he author moves on to speak about /$eligio0s &magery1. He says that ones
idea of ho 4od is, determines the limits to hich they desire to reach. He states
that "Human potential is broadened or limited by its concept of 4od#. %his means
that if one perceives 4od as being limited, then they themselves ill be limited
in hat heights they can reach. %his is because hen thinking that you have
reached the limit, as humans, progress is not made) you believe that you are at
the highest height anyone could possibly reach. Hoever, hen introduced to
ne challenges and hen one sees that their best is comparable to someone
elses orst, the person is driven to e$cel. %herefore perceiving 4od to be infnite
causes you be hungry for progress because if you kno there is an infnite 4od,
you ill also kno that there are infnite levels of success one can reach in life. 'n
addition, the psychological e7ects of portrating 4od as being a certain gender
are discussed. %he e7ects can be very damaging as those ho are not
represented may feel less favoured. Also, this limits the possibilities of 4od, as
He is restricted to only e$hibiting certain traits as a gender has been assigned to
DHimE.
%he limited images of 4od, as mentioned before, limits the minds of those ho
perceive DHimE to be fnite. %herefore, presenting 4od to an audience ho cannot
relate to His form, may limit His capacity in their eyes and conse*uently, the
heights they can reach. 't is an e7ective ay to enslave. 4od is a superior being,
therefore to see DHimE ith the image of somebody else causes one to develop
the idea that those ho look like His visual representation, are also superior to
those hom DHeE doesnt look like. 'n fact, the overrepresentation of +aucasian
images, shon in a positive light, results in many Black people perceiving their
colour to be less beautiful or pure. 0or e$ample the 8FGF study conducted on
young Black children, asked them to identify, out of Black and +aucasian dolls,
hich doll as the smartest or prettiest. ;nfortunately, the doll that received the
negative comments the most as the Black doll. %his proves that imagery has a
large e7ect on ho e see ourselves, and others! even from a young age. %he
Aryan race of blond haired, blue eyed +aucasians as Hitlers idea of natural
perfection, therefore very other race needed to be destroyed. 't is evident, that
having one image of perfection and divinity can be very detrimental to society.
0inally the author says that e must recognise that 4od has chosen to manifest
DHisE greatness in all of creation! not /ust to a chosen fe. 1ecognising that DHeE
is "a form superior to (esh# ill help us realise that e cannot assign a race to
DHimE. %his ill help us to overcome one of the many strongholds of
psychological slavery. Also, e must surround ourselves ith imagery and media
representative of ourselves to lead us to self! a6rmation. <e have to
acknoledge the in(uence of degrading images on our lives, and then e7ectively
rid our minds of them in replacement of the self positive ones.