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Following emancipation some ex-slaves went North, West (e.g. to become cowboys), and South (e.g. into Mexico). Those who remained in the Southern "Black Belt" had no jobs except to return to the plantation and resume slave labor. This was the fate of share croppers. Most were arrested (for not working) and imprisoned in order to provide free labor for the States, for road builders, and for rich planters.
A few escaped either into politics, into being share tenants, or into "Negro Vice" (as "Macks" who organized and operated "vice" businesses). Free Negroes and ex-slaves, herded into "bottomless pit" ghettos, were representative of former slaves of the upper, middle, and lower classes. Regardless of where the ghettoes were located in the Black Belt, there was a certain "sameness" among the residents and therefore in all the ghettoes. As a result, a national Black American collective "bottomless pit" ghetto was generated into a network. One reason the "sameness" occurred in the ex-slaves' think, feel, say, and do lifestyle is that "the art and science of fashioning slaves" conferences (e.g. see the 1712 Letter of Willie Lynch on jablifeskills.com) the slave owners attended several times a year made for common methods applied to each slave. Then, when slaves were sold to distant plantations, they carried common and unique customs with them. Second was White's terrorism done to maintain the "Negro Caste System"â€"a system designed to "keep Blacks in their place". Third was the mindset ex-slaves shared in commonâ€" rage, fear, ignorance (from not being allowed to read, write, or count), and an inability to do sound rational thinking (deliberately instituted by the captors to keep the slaves submissive).
These and other factors every ex-slave and Free Negro brought to the table of "common sense" were cross-fertilized inside the "bottomless pit". Extremely few had any idea about how to take care of their most basic needs. All had been brainwashed into not being ambitious. Perhaps deciding their present and future course was like "the blind leading the blind". If we were to place the best of their level of maturity for activities of daily living on the Scale of Maturity, they would have probably been mid way between extremely immature and fully matureâ€"a level also representing their degree of "common sense". The contents of their common sense consisted of a conglomeration of generally held beliefs and opinionsâ€"less well founded than more and more mixed with superstitions and self-defeating habits than less. Their brainwashing into complete dependency caused most to expect that they should be given to by Whites, despite their hostility toward Whites. The cross fertilization of customs resulted in a certain "sameness" in the way each member of the ghetto thought, felt, expressed, and behaved.
Nevertheless, leaders arose within this collective communityâ€"those who were the strongest, the tallest, the loudest, and the most charismatic. Typically, the most sensible, the most insightful, and the most visionary were shoved into the background and without a meaningful voice. It was usual for the leaders to be burdened with enslaved mindsâ€"and this fit well with their peer group followers who also had enslaved minds. The ever present terrorism ensured they remained in the ghetto tunnelâ€"a tunnel filled with incompetence and frustration. By learning not to attack their evil White enemies, the ex-slaves mindsetâ€"with its constraints and restraints-- were expressed in various other ways. Some exploded into verbal attacks or violence on fellow slaves. Some became apathetic. Some escaped into superficial pleasures (e.g. as "rolling stones"). Most had various combinations of these. But fortunately, many were about re-establishing connections with scattered family members; seeking an education; and/or acquiring a better life for themselves and loved ones. To achieve these aims, the hostile and racist situations in which they lived caused many to step outside the boundaries of what Whites declared to be legal for Blacks (but not for Whites themselves). Hence, the fragmented "We" subgroups of Black Americans began to take form.
Joseph A. Bailey, II, M.D.
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