D.

Makhmudova

Racism has many meanings, one of which is the discrimination of a group of people due

to their race, color, and religion. In addition, racism is hatred for all races apart from one that is

considered the master race. It is destructive and it damages people by shattering their identity. It

destroys community cohesion, and creates divisions in society. It is the opposite of the

democratic principle of equality and the right of all people to be treated fairly. Racism against

African-Americans stems from the past and is still active today. It began with slavery, and

continued long after slavery was abolished in America in 1865. Then, people were clear on what

racism was. Racism was visible, legal and institutionalized. They called it "segregation." Every

institution was separate, unequal, maintained for the clear purpose of subordinating people of

African descent, and benefiting all classes of people of European descent. Throughout the history

humans discuss the issues of racial inequality within America, and reasons for the conflicts

between races, proposing the solutions to the problems. In this essay, I will analyze and compare

two influential African- American writers that lived in very different times, but both contributed

important ideas about race relations in America, and about the achievement of African-

Americans in creating their own identities, and voices despite living under systems of oppression

and racism. Harriet Jacobs writes about her life as a slave woman living in North Carolina

during the 1800s in her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. James Baldwin was

an African-American writer and intellectual living and writing in the 20th century. His essay,

“Stranger in the Village,” was written in 1953 and tells of his experience being a black American

living in a small Swiss village. Jacobs was an uneducated woman struggling to survive under the
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harsh conditions of slavery, whereas Baldwin grew up a free, educated man who spent most of

his life living in Europe. Both authors struggled in their own way to write about racism in the

United States, and wanted to be accepted as writers in their own right, regardless of the color of

their skin.

James Baldwin wanted to be accepted as a writer, pure and simple, but because of the

color of his skin, white publishers, and readers expected him to write about the “Negro problem

in America” or racism. Baldwin felt that because he was African-American, white publishers

expected him to be an expert on racism and that he would discuss it automatically in terms of

being a victim. He writes, “I was a black kid and was expected to write from that perspective.

Yet I had to realize the black perspective was dictated by the white imagination” (Ways of

Reading 91). Since Baldwin wouldn’t write from that limited perspective, he had to search for

his own perspective. His travels to Europe helped him form this personal perspective by

providing distance from his home country, and time to reflect on it, and compare Europe with the

United States. His essay, “Stranger in the Village,” is an example of how his travels in a small,

Swiss village allowed him to reflect on the history of race relations in the United States, and

noting the differences between there and Europe. As the first black man the villagers have ever

seen, they openly stare at him, and treat him like a circus freak. He describes his reception in the

village as a form of innocent racism: “I knew that they did not mean to be unkind.” (94)

However, it still hurts him and reminds him of the roots of racism. The idea of white supremacy

has its history in Europe with the colonization of Africa and whites arriving there to conquer and

convert the “inferior natives”.

This more innocent racism he encounters in the Swiss village allows him to view the

history of race relations between blacks and whites in America differently. Despite the horrible
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nature of slavery and the brutality suffered by blacks in America, Baldwin feels that, at least, it

forced a dialogue between the races. This constant battle and dialogue forced an admission of

the human reality of the African-American, and is cause for hope for the future. In Europe,

whites can pretend to remain superior in their minds over the black race since they’ve never had

to live with blacks in their community, and grapple with the moral problems associated with

denying a people their humanity. By contrast, in America, Baldwin writes, “The black man

insists, by whatever means he finds at his disposal, that the white man ceases to regard him as an

exotic rarity and recognize him as a human being.” (96)

Baldwin believes that, in America, we have moved beyond naïve racism, and have been

forced be necessity of living together for 200 years, to examine more closely the black man’s

rights as a human being. This burning question of humanity ultimately tore apart the nation

during the Civil War. White Americans were forced to confront their beliefs of white

supremacy, whereas the Europeans remained comfortably removed from their colonies and could

think of black Africans in the abstract. In America, however, blacks were an inescapable part of

the social fabric and daily life.

African-Americans have fought hard to establish an identity, a voice. They are no longer

visitors, but citizens and must be reckoned with. Baldwin says that Americans can never go back

to the simplicity of that Swiss village. He feels optimism for the future of race relations between

blacks and whites in America. Because they have been through the worst, most shameful events

yet continue to survive, and meet every challenge. Baldwin believes the world can learn from

American history, and the achievement of African-Americans. Europe today has many more

immigrants, including black Africans, than when Baldwin was writing in the 1950s and 1960s.

They are no longer “innocent” or removed geographically. It could be said they have looked to
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lessons from American history, including the Civil Rights Movement, to shape how they handle

racial confrontations and difficulties now.

Harriet Jacobs, the author of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” also wanted to be

seen as a writer, though more importantly she wanted to be seen as a complete human being.

She is an example of a former American slave trying to establish her identity in America, and

also forcing white Americans to lose their racist abstract ideas of blacks, and to confront their

very real humanity. Her heartbreaking story was specifically targeting an audience of white

Americans living in the North. The North did not live with slaves as much as in the South,

therefore they could distance themselves from the everyday reality of slave life and much like

Baldwin’s Swiss villagers were far removed from their African “saved” souls. Jacobs writes, “I

want to add my testimony to that of abler pens to convince the people of the Free States what

Slavery really is. Only by experience can any one realize how deep, and dark and foul is that pit

of abominations.” (Ways of Reading 368). Her story shakes those beliefs of white superiority by

showing how human black people really are. They love, hurt, think, dream and form strong

family bonds, just like whites. Jacobs and her publishers hoped that her story would outrage

Northerners and gain more support for the abolitionist cause.

Jacobs describes the horrible life of a slave in North Carolina in the 1800s. She tells how

she and her family were treated as property- often sold off at the whim of their owners. Slaves

could be beaten or sent to jail for any reason. Slave women were often forced to sleep with their

masters, and bear their children. Jacobs herself is threatened in this way by her master Dr. Flint.

She manages to avoid his advances through her own intelligence, moral beliefs and cunning.

She eventually escapes to the North, supports her children and becomes educated enough to

write this influential book. Baldwin would call this a strong achievement in the history of the
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“Negro problem” in America. Jacobs overcame incredible odds, not only to gain her freedom,

but also to establish her own voice and identity and her book forced whites to think more deeply

about that identity.

Jacobs’ text also displays how white slave owners tried to justify their behavior by trying to

convince themselves that blacks were somehow less human. If blacks were subhuman, then they

could be denied basic human rights. This is how Baldwin explains some white Americans dealt

with the moral chaos that surrounded slavery. To protect their own identity as the superior race,

slave owners like Dr. Flint tried to make slaves less human. But even Dr. Flint on some level

grapples with this moral ambiguity. On one hand, he treats his slaves as property, and tells

Harriet this fact all the time. However, it maddens him that his efforts to wear her down do not

work, and perhaps her own efforts to act nobly and morally forces him to question his own shaky

moral ground. Despite all the terrible things he does, he doesn’t ultimately force himself on her.

Harriet’s grandmother also shames Dr. Flint into giving her a public sale where she is

bought by a kind woman who frees her. The woman knows of the grandmother’s years of loyal

service, and how she was cheated out of her mistress’ money, and promise of freedom. So by

directly living with one another, black slaves and whites in the South had to confront the reality

of moral inconsistencies and choose a stance. Some whites were forced to recognize the human

rights of slaves and treated them kindly, while many others chose to ignore or deny these rights.

Jacobs’ book added to the long debate in American history over this issue, and probably

influenced many whites to join the anti-slavery movement.

Being unequal means being a stranger for me, and it is always hard to be different from

others or to be at the second or third social level. It is such a painful, and hurtful to be ignored,

and diminished by the people, and the society that pushes people to write about, and share their
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feelings with a reader. I’ve experienced it my life, so I can imagine why all these writers try to be

heard, and why sometimes they seem aggressive, and maybe repetitive. They want us, readers to

not shut our eyes to these issues of racism, to be more open-minded, and not to be biased.