My eighth-grade students at the American Community School in Beirut, Lebanon walked in to find a question on the board. This was the routine. They opened their journals and started to write their response to, “How does slavery dehumanize?” When they shared their responses, they started with,
“The masters treated them like animals.”
“They would beat them for no reason.”
“They would take the women and rape them.”
“They would separate them from their family members.”
Then I read to them the passage about Frederick’s new mistress, Sophia Auld.
She was entirely unlike any other white woman I had ever seen. . . . The meanest slave was put fully at ease in her presence, and none left without feeling better for having seen her. Her face was made of heavenly smiles, and her voice of tranquil music.
But, alas! this kind heart had but a short time to remain such. The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon.[1]
The big bully of the class, Danny, raised his hand and said, “Miss, that’s me. Before we had a maid, I was a nice person. When we first got her, I treated her nicely. But now, I just boss her around. I throw things on the floor on purpose, and make her pick them up. I have been dehumanized.”
I found that even after a couple of weeks, I, myself, became like my Lebanese friends, considering it normal to ignore a person because she was the domestic help. Later, I started attending a church in Beirut where a good third of the congregation are foreign workers. It took a while for me to regain my humanity. I'm still in recovery.
[1] Douglass, Frederick, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Ch. VI, Document maintained at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/ Autobiography/06.html by the SunSITE Manager.
Last update 5/14/97. SunSITE Manager: manager@sunsite.berkeley.edu, Accessed on 10/30/2007.
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