by Kenny Anderson
Black men in our African forefathers native lands they were born and socialized to be proud, free, and independent – never to be slaves! When our African male Ancestors were enslaved white male supremacists plantation owners knew that to maximize their control and labor exploitation they had to place specific emphasis on emasculating and distorting captured African men psychologically.
The best way to control enslaved African male slaves was a consistent topic of conversations among slave owners and Southern magazines providing advice on how to manage, handle, discipline, and break Black male slaves. Indeed many enslaved African males rebelled, more ran away, and most often slowed down on the job, avoided work, deliberately broke tools, or pretended not to understand commands.
These forms of slave resistance presented a real problem and ever present danger for the white male masters. These plantation owners realized they had to breakdown ‘destroy’ a sense of Afrikan male ‘psycho-cultural archetypes’ of manhood that would inspire them to resist ‘rebel’; that they had to forcibly instill subservient and self-defeating ‘slave nigga male archetypes’ in them.
For example our enslaved Yoruba African forefathers sense of manhood prior to enslavement came from their spirituality known as ‘Ifa’ and embodied in male archetypes known as ‘Orishas’; the following are some Orisha archetypes:
*Kokou - a violent warrior
*Ògún - presides over iron, fire, hunting, politics, and war
*Shango – represents thunder, lightning, and avenging over wrongdoing
*Ọbàtálá - represents light, spiritual purity, wisdom, and moral uprightness
Enduring Slave Archetypes
*Buffoon – Were enslaved Black males who were reduced to acting dumb, stupid, and unintelligent; they were jokesters too laughing all the time to make light of their enslavement. This archetype tradition is carried on today by too many Black males who are ignorant and always got something funny to say; never taking life serious as if being a Black man in racist America is a joke!
*Fiddler – Were enslaved Black males who entertained their white male plantation owners musically. This archetype tradition is carried on today by too many Black male Rappers who entertain their majority white fan base with kill other Black men rap lyrics.
*Slickster – In Africa they were known as ‘tricksters’ who were entertainers, teachers, healers, and sages, however on the plantation they often became enslaved Black males who tricked ‘slicked’ manipulated other slaves with superstitious subterfuge. Today we have too many Black males continuing this archetype tradition of constantly running game, scheming, con-games ‘deception’ trying to get paid.
*Studs – Were reduced to sex breeders ‘baby makers’ producing more and more slaves; today too many Black males continue this archetype tradition by womanizing and leaving massive numbers of Black children fatherless and poverty stricken with no support prone to many socioeconomic maladies.
*Mandigos – Were enslaved male boxers who fought each other viciously at the behest of their plantation owners who waged bets on the winner. Today too many Black males continue this archetype tradition by violently fighting, attacking, and murdering each other.
*Uncles – Were loyal butlers ‘gatekeepers’ who promoted, articulated, and protected the white male slave masters interests; they were the original sellouts and opportunists “House Negroes” as Malcolm X referred to them. Yes we have too many Black males who today continue the archetype of gatekeepers who use their leadership ‘broker’ influence to convey ‘political correctness’; gatekeeping for their own self-promotion/self-serving political and economic interests ‘agendas’.
*Cotton-Pickers – Were enslaved males who were reduced to only identifying with their labor; today too many Black males carry on this archetype tradition being preoccupied always talking about their jobs, services, and what their company produces – ‘I am solely what I do, provide, and buy’. They never identify with their own job of being self-determined!
*Preacher Man – Were enslaved Black males who were selected with privileges to convert, pacify, control, and justify theologically Black enslavement by white male supremacy through Christian preaching and prayer:
“I have just shown you the chief duties you owe to your great master in heaven. I will now tell you your duties to your Masters and Mistresses here upon earth. You must have one rule that you must always have in your minds that is - serve your master as if he were GOD himself. Poor creatures! You don’t consider that when you are idle and neglect your master’s business, and whatever faults you are guilty of - these are faults against God himself. If you steal from your master, you are stealing from God himself. If you tell lies to your master, you are telling lies to God himself. When you steal and waste your Masters’ goods, when you are saucy and wise, when you are stubborn or sullen, you are sinning not only against your master, but also against your master in Heaven.”
Yes too many Black men carry on this archetype tradition today of using the Bible to tell us to forgive racist murderers and as a religious tool to emotionally manipulate the Black masses to enrich themselves.
*Moonshiners – Were enslaved males who secretly at night distilled liquor to make what they referred to as ‘happy drink’ that made them feel good after grueling ‘back breaking’ plantation work. Today in Black communities there are liquor stores on every corner selling Black men the happy drink; too many Black men carry on this archetype tradition of drinking alcohol as a coping-mechanism on the neo-urban plantations; today moonshining would include Black men who grow or purchase marijuana to smoke every day to self-medicate themselves.
*Tattle-Tellers – Were enslaved Black males who told the white male plantation owners anything that was a threat to his control; today too many Black men carry on this archetype tradition being informants and agent provocateurs.
Black men we must realize and accept the legacy of slavery still continues psychologically in our minds through Black Male Slave Archetypes that prevents us from being truly free as Dr. King told Black men that we can never be really physically free until we become psychologically free stating:
“As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free. Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery. No Lincolnian emancipation proclamation or Johnsonian civil rights bill can totally bring this kind of freedom. The Negro will only be free when he reaches down to the inner depths of his own being and signs with the pen and ink of assertive manhood his own emancipation proclamation.”
Black men breaking the psychological shackles of the Black Male Slave Archetypes is an ongoing inner-emancipation practice of mindfulness to identify, to understand, to check, and to rid ourselves of these slave archetypes that are subconsciously driving our behavior due to their deep-seatedness and reinforcement.
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