★★★★★ 5
One of the most poignant books I have read in a long time.
Format: Paperback
One of the most poignant books I have read in a long time.
“Southern communities, lawmakers, and courts recognized slave-owning women as individuals able to acquire and exercise mastery over enslaved people, s is evident from laws passed throughout the South. Laws dating back to the colonial period routinely recognized the mistresses owned enslaved people in their own right, and these same laws acknowledged the fact that these women were capable of exercising mastery over the enslaved people they owned.” Stephanie E. Jones - Rogers.
They were referred to as Southern Belles’. Revered for their ladylike daintiness. But… there was nothing dainty about their dealings for they too, owned human property. These white southern mistresses were heavily involved and often owned more property than their male counterparts even being the breadwinners. These women were barbaric and wore the crown of cruelty.
Dr. Rogers gave the enslaved a voice in this text – allowing our ancestors to share with us their story and experiences under the thumb of white mistresses. This text uncovers the extent of the involvement that white women had with slave ownership. There was discord in marriages due to white women struggles to maintain control of their financial gains of human property. These women utilized the judicial system to protect their pecuniary interests. The parents of these white girls/women bequeathed slaves to white females i.e. as young as newborns – which leads us to mistresses in the making – that is the education of young white women of the mastery of slave ownership. My heart broke as I was able to envision the accounts of atrocities inflicted upon our ancestors. Our people were raped and forced into being breeders and wet nurses to ensure the livelihood of these white mistresses and their families. The evidence is insurmountable in all the ways slave-owning women invested in, and profited from their financial ties to American slavery and its marketplace. Most importantly, there was testimony from formerly enslaved people of their experiences within slavery. This text is a mandatory read for all and in my opinion, must be included as part of the curriculum in schools.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2020