Did Slavery Destroy the Black Family - 1591 Words

In this debate, the discussion will surround whether or not slavery destroyed the Black family. A family is a social unit living together and people descended from a common ancestor. The debate focuses on Wilma A. Dunaway who posits that slavery did destroy the Black family, and her opponent, Eugene D. Genovese, who says that slavery did not destroy the Black family. By analyzing Dunway, Genovese, and a host of other writers I have gather my own ideas for one side to agree with. As above stated, it is Dunaways contention that slavery destroyed the Black family. She identifies that that there is a great deal of evidence to substantiate that slave family stability varied with the size of the slaveholding. It is also inferred that family†¦show more content†¦It is elicited by Sudarkasa, in Martin Martin that when one focuses on extended families among the enslaved Blacks, it is evident that these kin networks posses many features of the African extended families. The African American families were built around what Sudarkasa identifies as consanguine kin. These are family members whose spouses were incorporated into the extended family networks in different degrees. Sudarkasa goes on to state that the significance of the consanguine principle in the black American extended family is indicated by Gutman’s contention that the pull between ties to an immediate family and to an enlarged kin network sometimes strained husbands and wives. In conjunction, the literature on black families during slavery provides a wealth of data on the way in which consanguine kin assisted each other with child rearing, in life crisis events such as birth and death, in work groups, in efforts to obtain freedom, and so on. Relationships within these groups were governed by principles and values stemming from their African background. Respect for elders and mutual cooperation among kinsmen are noted in all discussions of black families during slavery. Also, the willingness to assume responsibility for relatives and children beyond the conjugal family andShow MoreRelatedJohn Browns Raid on Harpers Ferry1303 Words   |  6 PagesHIST 128 Essay 3 John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry John Brown’s beliefs about slavery and activities to destroy it hardly represented the mainstream of northern society in the years leading up to the Civil War. This rather unique man, however, has become central to an understanding and in some cases misunderstandings about the origins of the Civil War. The importance of Brown’s mission against slavery was colossal to accelerating the civil war between the North and the South. His raid onRead MoreAfrican Americans From The United States1727 Words   |  7 PagesWhen African Americans involuntarily arrived in the United Sates, they were sold as slaves, deprived of their heritage, and were separated from their families. 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