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Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome Essay

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In today's society, it is easy ignore the common issues within peoples. Everyday life features a never-ending cycle of working, texting, eating, and sleeping in which human beings behave robotically. This cycle of being numb to humanity is almost never disturbed until an issue arises. Within the last few years the news has been flooded with stories of police brutality and murder. The hashtag, #BLACKLIVESMATTER, points out a cry for help within the black community. We have all been suffering from PTSS, also known as Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome, and are unaware of its detrimental grip. In order to understand, Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome, you must understand slavery within America. The act of slavery in general is the subjugation of a human …show more content…

People were forced to travel to America on overcrowded boats in a journey called the Middle Passage. During this journey, many Africans died from disease, malnutrition, murder, and suicide. Upon arrival, these people were instantly surrounded by confusion and hardship, these people underwent forced transformation in which they were stripped of their humanity and transformed into slaves. Purchased and abused, the new created slaves, "had been stripped of their status, their names, their families and friends, and their customs and culture… They stood naked to misery, not knowing what would happen to them" (Schneider 78). Along with the stripping of their identity, slaves were subjected to daily physical abuses such as beatings, lashing, and starvation. Other cruelties that slaved were forced to endure were unspeakable in certain degrees, "the punishments inflicted on slaves testify to the worst side of human nature… they were often tinged with perverted sexuality and sadism… a kind of sick fascination… the testimony of former slaves, the diaries of southern women… and public records teem with accounts" (Schneider 90-91). These horrors would deeply affect anyone who had an experience with this. However, the repeat exposure over several generations is what generated Post-Traumatic Slave

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After the first passage of slavery the next passage is middle passage. Middle passage is when the new slave coming to the new world would be on highly crowded ships. They had little to drink or eat. Some died from dehydration. The bad smells caused in outbreak in dysentery which took lives.

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The Middle Passage was a horrific voyage from Africa to the Americas that slaves endured. While aboard the overcrowded, disease filled ships the slaves suffered unimaginable horrors. The suffering was not limited to physical pain only. These people were essentially kidnapped from their homeland. They did not know or recognize the people who were taking them.

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Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, vacant esteem; ever-present anger and racial socialization are all very important to making America a fair and equal country. Post traumatic slave syndrome is the everlasting effect that slavery has had on African Americans for example how African Americans perceive other darker and “bad hair” African Americans less than fair skinned and “good hair” African American. This was practiced by the slave owners and would give more power and privileges to the fair skinned good hair slaves. This is just one example of PTSS and its effect on African Americans today.

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The brutality of American slavery prior to the abolishment of slavery after the American civil war of 1861 to 1865 varied depending on the conditions offered by slave masters and particular historical events along with the states which slaves were in (Source A). Evidence suggests that the treatment of slaves especially in the southern region of America (which includes the states South Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Georgia) was horrendous as it included various punishments which scared slaves not only physically but also mentally. The treatment a slave received was also based on the how long the slave or slaves actually worked for a particular owner (Source B). Many testimonials from former African American slaves go on further to show

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One example of this occurred when a ship’s captain ordered the “ship’s surgeons to stop the anus of each of [the slaves infected with flux] with oakum” (Document 10). This treatment was painful and humiliating to the already sick and suffering slaves. This practice highlighted the selfishness of the Europeans, who deceived other and hurt slaves in order to help themselves earn money. These cruel men did not abandon the chain methods on the boats either. The slave traders would chain poor slaves “to the decks by the neck and legs”, the position and feeling of entrapment resulted in so much pain and discomfort that meaning were “driven to a frenzy” (Document 6).

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Millions of African men, women, and children were plucked from their homes and shipped over to the colonies in exchange for goods. As a result of the absence of humanitarian concerns, slaves during the period of Atlantic

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The Middle Passage was the voyage from Africa to America, which the ships made, bringing their cargo of slaves. Some say it was called the middle section of the trade path engaging by many of ships. It was so many shackled with iron below deck. The young black slaves were considered a risk that they might over- turn their captures. They lived in deplorable conditions, which contribute to diseases and deaths.

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From this, derives a bond with the reader that pushes their understanding of the evil nature of slavery that society deemed appropriate therefore enhancing their understanding of history. While only glossed over in most classroom settings of the twenty-first century, students often neglect the sad but true reality that the backbone of slavery, was the dehumanization of an entire race of people. To create a group of individuals known for their extreme oppression derived from slavery, required plantation owner’s of the South to constantly embedded certain values into the lives of their slaves. To talk back means to be whipped.

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The conditions endured by slaves were so horrific that many slaves found comfort in the possibility of death, seeing it as the most possible way out of their situation. One common misrepresentation of PTSD in slaves is the idea of “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome”. Coined by Dr. Joy DeGruy in her 2005 book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome refers to the idea that Black people have “dysfunctional” and “negative” behaviors stemming from their trauma. Although trauma can prompt unfavorable responses to certain situations, the PTSS theory relies on anecdotal evidence and accosts it to a larger group. Today, this theory is considered racist, because even though its reasoning is rooted in understanding the difficulties slaves faced, it unfairly characterizes Black people as inferior.

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Over twelve million Africans were captured and taken against their will by Europeans in the Atlantic slave trade from about 1525-1866. The experience that the slaves endured was horrendous, unsanitary and overall the worst time of their lives. The middle passage was where the slaves were taken from Africa to the Americas via ships. After they arrived in the Americas, they were sold and forced to work for their new owners. Due to strong European force, slaves experienced dehumanization through being captured from their villages and tortured, living with awful conditions on ships, and being sold against their will to Americans.

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