OPINION: Mis-education helps perpetuate a slave, colonial, or plantation mentality among Black people

It is not unusual today to hear some Black person in America describe another as having “good” hair or “fair” hair because the texture of the person’s hair is more akin to that of white people; or as being “fair” skin or complexioned because the person’s skin color is more akin to that of white people. While not all Black people may think deeply about it, those expressions reflect the negative valuations assigned to the races as Africans were caught up in slavery and the Atlantic Slave Trade. Furthermore, these valuations became a part of the total system, eventually causing many Black people to appreciate the physical traits of white people more than those which they possessed.

Similarly, there are Black people who belittle Black music, dance, and poetry, thinking they are inferior to white cultural expressions. It is no secret B.B. King, for example, was not so widely appreciated until white scholars at Ole Miss “discovered” him and it took British musicians to propel Black soul music to positions of acceptance and respectability. Despite that, however, many Black people continue to prefer white popular and sacred music to the authentic Black music produced in Black churches and clubs around the country, at least until white people indicate otherwise.

One can also note this slave or colonial mentality in the buying habits of affected Black people. Just a casual acquaintance with the history of the Civil Rights Movement reveals many Black restaurants and service-oriented businesses have suffered greatly since the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Many Black people flock to white businesses as a sign they have arrived. (Some old-timers use to say such people had been taught to believe the white man’s ice was colder.) Buying white has become so normal to many until there are even cases wherein Black people are largely responsible for the continued success of restaurants which are recognized hang-outs of Donald Trump-types of White People, such as one establishment in Madison County just off US 51 and one in Rankin County on US 49 South. 

Over the years it has been possible to see otherwise well-respected Black individuals manifest degrees of the slave and plantation mentality in official positions. For example, one college board member castigated Black plaintiffs for appealing a negative decision in the case of Ayers vs. Waller; one member voted to have his alma mater, MVSU, closed rather than finance its needed improvements; and still another voted with the majority on several occasions to make obviously bad choices for presidents of JSU. In each of those cases the three college board members valued being in the good graces of white overlords above what was clearly in the best interests of the HBCUs involved; they were manifestations of a plantation mentality.

A fifth and final example of contemporary manifestations of a slave, colonial, or plantation mentality happened in the recent Jackson mayoral election. Despite the revelation of a white Republican strategy to install their preferred Black candidate as mayor, numerous Black voters pulled the lever for that same candidate. This is not to say they were all following the white lead, some had other reasons. It does say many were mere followers of such white conservatives who have historically been the oppressive group. It was also a manifestation of a slave or plantation mentality to deliberately reject another Black candidate because he was more than willing to stand-up to white opponents on matters of importance to a majority-Black city. Hopefully Mayor John Horhn will reject the temptation to adopt a plantation mentality.

We realize the people who read this article did not live through slavery, have not been colonial subjects, and are totally unfamiliar with life on a plantation. Nevertheless, as a result of massive, sustained programs of mis-education – schools and colleges, the media, the arts, and government propaganda – many Black people have been affected by, that is, infected with what scholars would agree is a slave, colonial, or plantation mentality. 

We realize the three are slightly different. We use them almost interchangeably because of their similarities and how they have affected Black life in America. Together mentalities are manifest as: (a) dependence upon the perceived superior person or group; (b) low self-esteem relative to the perceived superior person or group; (c) acceptance of subjugation or oppression; (d) fear of the authority figure; (e) preference for the culture, values, and practices of the powerful group; and (f) the perpetual acceptance or normalization of racial inequality and the power imbalance. These are symptoms of the devastating disease that has been loosed on Black people since the onset of the Atlantic Slave Trade. It is better to recognize and mount whatever resources are needed to overcome such than to pretend the illness does not exist, while it keeps us chained and bound.