Sarah Mapps Douglass: Her Words; Her Mind

Born a free woman to an affluent African American couple who were also abolitionists, Sarah Mapps Douglass became an educator, activist, abolitionist, and artist. She and her mother, Grace Bustill, were among the prominent women who founded the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, in 1833. This organization became a focus of her activism for most of the rest of her life; it included both Black and White women, working together to educate themselves and others, both through reading and listening to speakers, and to promote action to end enslavement, including petition drives and boycotts.

“My Friends—My People—My Brethren—My Sisters:

How important this occasion is for which we have assembled ourselves together this evening. Feeding the starvation of our minds, to be expressing such deeds of mercy, words of peace; to stir up in the gratitude to God for his increasing goodness, and feeling of deepening sympathy for our brethren and sisters, whom in this land of Godly light and liberty are held in bondage and degraded. We are here because their cause is not their own!

An English writer once wrote, “We must feel deeply before we can act rightly; from that absorbing, heart-rendering compassion for ourselves springs a deeper sympathy for others, and from a sense of our weakness and our own upbraidings arises a disposition to be indulgent, to forbear, to forgive.”

 This is my experience. 

The wails of the captive ring in my ears amid my happiness, and cause my heart to bleed for his wrongs.

Alas!

My impression is as evanescent as the early cloud with the smell of morning dew.  However, I stand with this smile in the face of my oppressor. I  once beheld the sight of the oppressor lurking on the border of my own peaceful home. I saw his iron hand stretched forth to seize me as his prey, and the cause of the slave became my own. 

With the help of the Almighty Lord,  I look to a higher power to elevate the character of my wronged and neglected race. As I no longer detest the slaveholder, but only pity and pray for him. 

Has he not seen the error of his ways? 

Do the cries not echo in his ears as he lays lashes to the backs of women and children? 

Does the blood on his hands not make him weak, as he takes the manhoods and lives of his negro men? 

Does the cracking of necks not bother him amidst his lynching mob?

Have you not felt, as my aching heart has, for such a hideous subject? I am assured some of you have.

And now, it is my wish that as intellects that we direct our concern to the cruelty that recks havoc at this very moment, in this very country we call home.”

Religion and Slavery: A look at the books

     

    

            Although we view religion as holy intuitions, slavery was an upheld establishment from the start of time. From slaves in Babylon to slaves in modern-day Africa, many people use their religious ideology to supplement their actions. However, as all things do, religion moves with time and all social ideas. Therefore, slavery has been condemned and shamed by heads of all major religions in some way.

Islam and Christianity worked hand in hand, as the Arab-controlled Trans-Saharan slave trade was the institutional foundation of slave trading on the continent of Africa. This was witnessed by European Christians during the ‘age of expedition’. Although the Islamic religion promoted the taking of war prisoners and those in debt as slaves, Christians during these early periods looked to the Bible as the ultimate source of knowledge therefore they slavery as a result of ‘sin’. They turned to Genesis IX, 18-27 as the answer.  

Genesis IX,18-27 tells the story, incorrectly known as, “The Curse of Ham,” this was the ultimate misinterpretation that lead to Africans to be placed into slavery. “The Curse of Ham '' is actually “The Curse of Canaan”, Canaan and his descendants were cursed into servitude under the transgressions of Ham. Christians saw Canaanites to be black and considered their enslavement as a way to save their souls.Truthfully it has been proven that Canaan and his descendants are not black at all, rather they were cursed early day Lebanese, Jordanians, Syrians, and Palestinians. With the Bible as the way of passage for the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the bible also became a tool to keep slave obedient. Slaves were encouraged to attend church where sermons promoting slaves to promote their earthly masters were preached; the publication of the ‘slave bible’ assisted in the push of slavery within Christianity as portions scriptures, including the Exodus story, were removed to prevent rebellious thinking. 

With long standing hostility between Islam and Christianity, Jews became the trading middle men between both religions. Aaron Lopez and Jacob B. Rivera were two prominent Jewish slave traders. They were known to have 184 large vessels and 342 small coasters. With 20 rum distilleries under their belts, the men made consistent routines to Guinea; where they were known to trade around 180 gallons of rum per male slave. They would ultimately bring them back to Charleston North Carolina to be sold.

Although, we can know what know what has happened within history. Look at the actions of people in the name of religion is very different than looking at the holy word actually presented to the people. Although the Bible and Torah allowed slavery, as we see in Deuteronomy 20:13-14 and Leviticus 25:44, there are varies scriptures that forbade the very things that were done during the Slave trade Era. Exodus 21:2-16 and Deuteronomy 15:1-18 allowed the purchase of Hebrew children, but condemned the release at the age of seventeen; and allowed self-enslavement, but commanded the release in the seventh year with the cancellation of debt. We see this as an example of human evil, rather than the religion encouragement. Isaiah 61:1-2, proclaimed freedom of slaves in the name of ‘the jubilee’ and Amos 1:6 and 1:9-10 later condemned slavery from there on. Therefore, slavery was not meant to reoccur during the colonial period according to the bible.

In conclusion, slavery may have been held up by religious institutions in the past, however, our religious beliefs reflect those of our social beliefs. Christians and Jews could not deny the occurrence of  slavery, it is something that occurs in the holy books they preach from, slavery is apart of their history. Islam ,however, appeared during this time and flowed with the current circumstances. Culture is to humans as water is to a fish, but the link between slavery and religion was simply the worm on the line.

Clarence-Smith, William  G. Religions and the Abolition of Slavery - a Comparative ... www.lse.ac.uk/Economic-History/Assets/Documents/Research/GEHN/GEHNConferences/conf10/Conf10-ClarenceSmith.pdf. 

“The Feminist Sexual Ethics Project.” Islam and Slavery | The Feminist Sexual Ethics Project | Brandeis University, www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/muslim/slavery.html. 

“Further Resources.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, islamfyi.princeton.edu/islam-and-the-question-of-slavery/. 

“Jews and Slavery.” The Jews in Colonial America, by Oscar Reiss, McFarland & Co., 2004. 

Jordan, Winthrop D. “Slavery and the Jews.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 9 Oct. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1995/09/slavery-and-the-jews/376462/. 

Rae, Noel. “How Christian Slaveholders Used the Bible to Justify Slavery.” Time, Time, 23 Feb. 2018, time.com/5171819/christianity-slavery-book-excerpt/. 

“Religions - Christianity: Atlantic Slave Trade and Abolition.” BBC, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/history/slavery_1.shtml. 

“Slavery and the Making of America . The Slave Experience: Religion: PBS.” Slavery and the Making of America . The Slave Experience: Religion | PBS, www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/experience/religion/history.html. 

Zauzmer, Julie. “The Bible Was Used to Justify Slavery. Then Africans Made It Their Path to Freedom.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 May 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-bible-was-used-to-justify-slavery-then-africans-made-it-their-path-to-freedom/2019/04/29/34699e8e-6512-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html.