Mahogany Blue

One of the crucial element of survival for the African slave was the ability to sing, the irony of that survival is that this also became a major component in the minstrelization of our culture. The land of their captivity taunted them with thoughts of songs that were sang in the homeland, songs that represented celebration, songs that elicited memories of a life they would never live again; its not just the simple issue of displacement from their home land because even if they could return back home that very day, the painful stain of slavery would never dissipate.

The secondary issue is one of cultural mockery; their pain, degradation, and displacement are now a source of entertainment for their captors. This is a phenomenon that has psychological ramifications that will not be realized for generations to come but it quite plainly sets the stage for a culture that can no longer experience itself without the defining parameters of their oppressor’s objectification. This train of thought explodes when layered over the African American expression. Much like the Hebrew slave, the African salve began to only experience themselves through the eyes of their captors thus every element of their personal and cultural experience came under the lens of the oppressor.