History, Race, and Violence in the Arena of Reproduction Enslavement. :: Essays Papers

History, Race, and Violence in the Arena of Reproduction En buckle downment. In 1997, Dorothy Roberts wrote a salient book titled Killing the Black ashes Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty. Roberts explicates the crusade to punish Black womenespecially the destitutefor having children. The exploitation of Black women in the U.S. began in the days of thrall and, appropriately enough, Roberts introduces her first chapter with an informatory storyWhen Rose Williams was sixteen years old, her master sent her to live in a cabin with a male slave named Rufus. It did not head that Rose disliked Rufus cause he a bully. At first Rose thought that her role was just to perform household chores for Rufus and a hardly a(prenominal) other slaves. But she learned the true nature of her assignment when Rufus crawled into her bunk one night I says , What you means, you fool nigger? He say for me to hush up de mouth. Dis my bunk, too, he say. When Rose fended off Rufuss sexual advanc es with a poker, she was reported to Master Hawkins. Hawkins made it clear that she had no choice in the matter De nex day de massa entreat me and tell me, Woman, Is pay big money for you,and Is done dat for de cause I wants yous to raise me chillens. Is put you to live with Rufus for dat purpose. Now, if you doesnt want whippin at de stake, yous do what I wants.Rose reluctantly acceded to her masters demands I thinks bout massa buyin me offen de block and savin me from bein seprated from my folks and bout bein whipped at de stake. Dere it am. What am Is to do? So I cides to do as de massa wish and so I yields.The story of control of Black reproduction begins with the experiences of slave women like Rose Williams. Black procreation helped to sustain slavery, giving slave masters an economic incentive to govern Black womens reproductive lives. Slave womens childbearing replenished the enslaved labor force Black women bore children who belonged to the slaveowner from the moment of th eir conception. This feature of slavery made control of reproduction a central aspect of whites subjugation of African people in America. It marked Black women from the beginning as objects whose decisions approximately reproduction should be subject to social regulation rather than to their own will. (22-23)Once slavery was abolished Black people no longer had to worry more or less their children being the property of slaveowners, or anyone else.