The Agony of A Black Slave Whose Children Never Knew Her As A Mother But A Slave

Although African slavery was not a benign institution, slaves in Africa were used in a wider variety of ways than in the New World: they were employed as agricultural workers, soldiers, servants, and officials. Exploitation and s3xual abuse especially of slave women sum up the fact that the institution showed no mercy by even gender. 

Masters had their way at any time with their female subjects and those who declined were thrown under very devasting conditions. For those who gave in, their babies were forcefully taken away right after birth and they had no rights to claim their biological properties. Below is a slave's account of her devasting experience, the pain and torture, and her silence in the grief of watching her biological children call another mother.

"I am a house slave born Akiwa

renamed Sara

I have birthed two of my slave owners children 

My fairer skin 

and features 

Made me appealing to him

And I had no choice but to give myself 

for my own safety

My children have even fairer skin

They look more like him

Then me 

So they don’t know I’m Their mother 

or their beautiful history 

His wife could not bear children

so mine became hers

And it breaks my heart 

watching them grow

Knowing the things they could never know

But I watch them as they learn to read 

and do as the owner does

And I kept silent out of a mother’s love

Knowing nothing good could come from the truth

They treat me as a slave

sometimes even with unkind words

Even though from me they came

But for their sake, I speak no words

So that their freedom will always remain

without knowing a slaves pain".

Culled from The Old Times Apr 8, 2021