The Untold Horrors Of Black Male Slaves By White Women

When you think of sexual abuse during slavery times, chances are you consider many cases of white male slave owners raping black women. While this often happened, often when these children were just 14 or 15, what we often fail to talk about is the sexual abuse against black slaves by elite white women. From outright abuse to romantic relationships, this was something that often went under the radar, but is still part of black culture and the difficulties our ancestors had to face. Some of the enslaved women’s children were undoubtedly conceived within relationships of love, but others were undoubtedly the result of sexual assault. Slavery has been around for a very long time, but in the BC eras, it wasn’t about race as we’ve seen in more recent times. If you take a closer look at black culture, you’ll notice that racism caused white Europeans to think of themselves as a superior race. The fight for freedom amongst blacks finally allowed our kind to be called freemen less than 200 years ago. Slavery against black people had lasted for hundreds of years, and even when it was abolished, our culture continued to experience discrimination and racism from white people. When slavery started in 1619, or as some experts suggest even earlier, black people had to endure a lot of hardship. They were enslaved in Africa and then exported to the Americas. Several other areas where the black population was the majority also became a target for white supremacy. Black slaves became a business. While history has been recorded, and we know all too well about the sufferings of our previous generations, there are still many stories that are untold. One of these stories is the suffering that black slaves had to endure, not from their white male masters, but rather their wives. In this video, I’ll talk about the abuse of black male slaves by white women. We’ll take a look at how this worked, why it happened, and the progression. In 1619, British colonies consisting of white people had enslaved 20 Africans. They brought these enslaved black people to the United States. This wasn’t the start of slavery and the racism against the blacks, but it marked the beginning of the slave trade. They saw an opportunity and soon began to enslave and export even more black people from Africa. Slavery in the United States dates back to August 1619. More slaves were brought to the US, and soon these black people were traded to other countries as well. When you read more about slavery, there’s one common occurrence that you’ll see. White men bought these slaves and then used them as their servants, from farm work to cleaning their houses and more.

There’s another common story that’s shared about these slaves. You see, when black women were enslaved, they often became the victims of their white masters. Several experts have reported on this, and there are even books written by black slaves who were able to gain freedom later on. It started with these white people enforcing their supremacy onto black women, but not only the adults. When the black women gave birth to a child, they would become exposed to the harsh way that the white masters handled their parents and them. This became their education. It wasn’t just the white men who owned these slaves that handled them this way. Their sons were also guilty. This created a sense of inferiority in the black children as they grew up. By the time these kids reached their teenage years, the white men and their sons changed their behavior towards them a bit. They began to offer these girls gifts with the hopes of getting them to become their personal servants. This was a title that often included sexual acts. So, a lot of these girls were reluctant to the idea. Those black teens who didn’t fall for the bribes they were brought by their white masters were then forced against their will to obey the sexual desires of these men. There were cases where these men became somewhat romantically involved with these black women. However, this was often one-sided, where the white men were able to make teenage girls think they were in love. There’s a different side to all of this. While the men were sexually assaulting and even abusing the black females who were part of their slavery, white women were also starting to do their own thing in the background. One thing that you have to take into consideration here is the fact that in these white households, the man would be the master of the house. The woman was rather considered less valued and responsible for household tasks like cleaning, washing the clothes, and cooking. Even amongst whites, women didn’t have the same rights as men. Men would often think of their brides as their property. The women had to obey everything their husbands told them to do. Slave ownership should became a way for these women to show their power.

The more slaves a woman owned, the higher her status in the public eye. This is also where the abuse against black male slaves began. Yet, when you read about black culture and black history, it’s not really something that frequently pops up. White men were constantly busy. They had businesses and farms to run. At the same time, they were sexually abusing the black women who were part of their slave system. They often didn’t have the time for their wives, expecting everything to be sorted and clean when they got home. By the 1680s, African slave labor became the dominant system on Virginia farms. So, instead of spending time with their wives, the white masters decided to entrust their wives with their very own slaves. As slave ownership became a marker of power among women, things got even worse. Young white children would be given slaves as presents for their birthdays. They were taught about slavery and the fact that they were the supreme race from a young age, so they grew up thinking that it was okay to treat black people this way. By the time a white female reached the age of 18, they would often have multiple slaves behind their name already. This was the case for the elite. The more slaves they had, the better, as they were taught that this shows how much power and influence they had on the community. It also became a sign of wealth. The thing is, these women didn’t just own these black male slaves. It wasn’t just about status for them. They actually started to abuse them. It went further than just physical abuse, as they even turned to rape as a way to discipline their slaves. Apart from being used as a disciplinary act, these women would also sexually abuse the black men to enforce their power and supremacy over them. Since there are so few details and talks about the fact that white women had their own black male slaves, you think that it wasn’t a common occurrence. However, that’s not true. It’s just one of those things that America’s white supremacy has been trying to write out of history. Experts have already taken a look at this and found some astonishing results. It turns out that about 40% of white people who owned slaves in America were women. This shows you that there were a lot of these cases where the white elite women had their own slaves. It also makes it interesting to learn why it’s not told as often as the fact that black women were abused by white slave masters. Stephanie E. Jones Rogers is a history professor who works at the University of California, Berkeley.

Over the years, she’s done some incredible research on the topic of black male slave ownership amongst white women during these times of slavery in the US. She was the one who was able to determine the fact that 40% of slave owners were white women. The surprising thing here is the fact that her findings were based on research she’d done on the census data for 1850 and 1860. This was just before slavery was abolished. It also means that the figures could have been much worse if accurate data had been available at earlier times. You need to remember that slavery lasted for several hundreds of years. By 1860, black people were already fighting hard for their freedom. And they actually won just a few years after the census that Stephanie used. At the very top, the federal government did in fact document white women’s slave ownership. It’s not just about the percentage of slave owners who were women. Stephanie went deeper to determine just how many slaves these women had, and the numbers seemed to be much higher compared to the white masters. To give you a better idea of what I mean, let’s take a look at George Washington. It’s a name that most people will easily recognize. You probably even learned about him in history class. Today, he’s considered a founding father of America. He was a politician and a military officer in his days. We also know that George was actually the very first person to be named president of the United States. While he’s portrayed as a hero of the United States during his reign, there are some things that people often don’t talk about. This includes the fact that George was actually a slave owner. Given the time when he was alive, between 1732 and 1799, it’s not surprising that he had slaves. White men in power all had their own black slaves. However, you should look past George and also consider his wife. She was one of the many white elite women who actually owned slaves. After extensive research, Stephanie was able to uncover some hidden truths about Martha. This includes the fact that she even had her own black male slaves before her marriage to George Washington. In Stephanie’s book, she explains that by the time of their wedding, George owned an estimated 18 black slaves. As with most white men at the time, this likely included males and females. Martha, however, had a significantly higher number of slaves behind her name. According to her research, Stephanie found that Martha owned an estimated 84 slaves.

This made her the wealthiest woman to live in Virginia at the time and could possibly also be one of the reasons for her marriage to George. Most Americans know that George Washington owned enslaved people at his Mount Vernon home. But fewer probably know that it was his wife, Martha, who dramatically increased the enslaved population there. When they wed in 1759, George may have owned around 18 people. Martha, one of the richest women in Virginia, owned 84. Elite men would often seek out the richest and most noble women in their areas. Since women relied on slaves as an economic standard and something to show off their status, this became something that white masters would also look at when choosing a bride. If we talk about the fact that white women played a big role in the slavery of black people, some would come up with excuses. For example, white men considered themselves owners of their brides after marriage. So, in a sense, some would say that these women used their ownership of slaves as a way of gaining freedom during those years of slavery. However, we need to consider how the slaves were treated. They didn’t have access to the same facilities, health care, and other things as their white female owners. Men were often abused and forced to have sex with their white female masters. While we’re on the subject, not all of the slaves owned by white women were black men. You see, there were cases where white women would actually get black female slaves. However, the purpose of this was completely different compared to why they owned black men as slaves. These white women would often complain about constantly having babies and then needing to nurse them. They began to feel like they were enslaved by their own babies. So, to counter this feeling, these white women decided to get black females as slaves. Their slaves had to take care of the babies they had and nurse them.

Essentially, they didn’t want to feel like slaves, so they turned to black people due to white supremacy. This just further caused insult and humiliation toward black culture at the time. There are actually many more examples of cases that have been unearthed by researchers in the modern day, telling us the stories of white women who actively participated in slavery. By taking a look at these stories, we can see the violence that began to unfold against black slaves owned by white women. The fact is history lessons have painted a masculine picture when it comes to slavery, but men weren’t the only ones who became violent with their slaves. One that’s definitely worth mentioning is Lizzie Anna Burwell. She was a white girl born into an elite family where slavery was normal. When she was young, Lizzie was taught that whites were the supreme race. She saw how her parents treated black people and quickly adopted the same kind of behavior toward the slaves. She started to receive slaves as gifts from her father. Remember that slaves were considered an economy for white women at the time. So, Lizzie was able to start building her property at a very young age. However, her violent behavior also started young. At the age of three, she wanted the ears of one of her servants to be cut off. She also demanded that she wanted a new maid, which her father acted on quickly. I mentioned before that white women were also considered the property of their white husbands. This is actually a point that a lot of people who argue against the white females’ involvement in slavery focus on. When a white woman married, they would become the property of the husband. They would have to obey his orders and didn’t have freedom.

This was true, but only to some extent. When slaves became a sign of power and wealth for women, things started to change. This was especially true in the southern area of the United States. Women began to fight against the fact that their husbands would claim their property upon marriage. Women often headed to court to fight for their right to keep their property. There were many cases where the women would win. This ensured the wife’s and husband’s properties remained separate. White women were able to keep their slaves as their property. In other words, women felt entitled to full control and ownership over black bodies. There were also cases where these white women would draw up prenuptial agreements or deeds of gift. They then had a chance to actually transfer the ownership of their property, which included the slaves they owned, to another woman. This sometimes included their daughters or perhaps another relative who was female. It gave these women a way to avoid the ownership of themselves that often happened when they got married. However, it became more common for white females to keep their slaves after marriage, even before they married. Many white women, particularly those with elite status, were able to already start their journey to becoming someone of prestigious status due to the number of slaves they owned. It makes sense that there was an increasing number of white women who had slaves well before they got married. Remember the story of Lizzie that I spoke about? Well, this was just one of many examples where young girls were awarded slaves as gifts. As they grew up, they got more slaves gifted to them, most often by their fathers.

By the time these girls were at an age where they could get married, they had often already learned the business of slave trading. They had their mothers to help them get the hang of building up an economic empire using the slaves they got as children and teenagers. As you’ve already discovered, these girls were vicious. Lizzie in particular had her maid’s ears cut off. They became entitled to having more slaves, but this was due to the way they were raised. Yet, it makes no excuse for the way that black men and women were treated. It also becomes clear that masculinity had nothing to do with the era of black slavery. It might have been white men who enslaved black people and brought them from Africa to the United States. However, this didn’t stop white women from also joining this venture that their husbands, fathers, or even children started. For these women, black men weren’t just their property. They weren’t thought of as people. Black slaves became servants, a currency, and even a medium for women to take out their frustrations. Elite white women took it upon themselves to rape and sexually abuse black men. They did so in a way that these men were unable to do anything in their own defense, as that would land them in even deeper trouble. Punishing or ending a slave’s life was nothing in the eyes of these white women. They had plenty more slaves that they could turn to with their abusive behaviors. Yet, after hearing all of this, you might still feel surprised by what you have just learned. Chances are you’ve been taught of white men owning slaves.

These slaves worked in the fields and did many other tasks without having any kind of freedom. White men raped the black women who were part of their slave inventory. They even had children in some instances. However, we often hear that women are just in the background. White women were the property of their husbands, too. And so they sat on the sidelines and had nothing to do with slavery. Take a look at history and the vast amounts of research that has been done and you’ll start to see that this wasn’t true. The white elite women might even have been more violent toward black men compared to the white male masters. It’s just that history books don’t really include this often overlooked detail. So in the end, we have to consider the involvement of all whites, not just the men who thought of themselves as being the superior race compared to blacks. Their wives and daughters had just as much of a doing in the entire slavery era as them. When white elite females were given authority over black male slaves, it led to rape, romantic involvement, and sexual abuse. Unfortunately, this is one part of black history that’s often not talked about. Yet, I believe that we need to acknowledge everything that happened when white supremacy caused black people to become slaves and part of their everyday trade.