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nation’s history with slavery. In early America, and

especially during the decades when slavery was legal,
Africans or black people were believed to be a lower
species of human, even subhuman. Blacks were thought

to be barbaric, ruthless, treacherous, possessed of a low
intellect, untamed, and out of control. They were

thought to be a people who required saving from
themselves and needed to be controlled for their own

sake, and for the safety of others. By categorizing
Africans, or black people as a separate “race”, it served

the political interests of the property-owning class of
white men (and yes, some economically successful black

men). This ultimately justified slavery and all its
associated horrors – the “it is for their own good”

rationale. This sociological definition also served the
economic interest of the agrarian culture of the early
American antebellum south along with all others who

profited and benefited from the slave-labor economy.

A practice common to the slave holding class was the
misuse of scripture to further cement their definition of

race into the minds and hearts of their colleagues,
friends, neighbors, political leaders, children, and clergy.
More seriously, it also embedded this in the hearts and

minds of the enslaved. We will address this practice and
other myths in the section entitled, “Facts Don’t Always

Equal Truth.”

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