Frederick Douglass Signifying on the concept of Religion, Slavery and its Ties to Enslaving Jesus himself By Louis Vellie

Johnson

Dr. John Charles Eng 248 Tuesday February 3, 2009

Signifying, a concept in writers that is used in many ways to entice further critical analysis by educated and critical readers. Signifying, which is now commonly referred to as joking, jonning, cracking, smack talking, etc, is a way of misdirection or obscure wording that can be taken for what it says or analyzed for further critique (Notes on Signifying). According to the Oxford English dictionary, signifying can be defined as, U.S slang (chiefly Blacks). That boasts, insults, or makes insinuations (Oxford English Dictionary). Douglass argues that slaveholders viewed slavery is the means for keeping the negro on track for doing the will of God, but he actually goes into detail that leads one to see that he actually depicts the slaves as Jesus and whites as persecutors, tyrants and thieves. Douglass writes, slaveholders have ordained, and by law established, that the children of slave women shall in all cases follow the condition of their mothers; and this is done too obviously to administer to their own lusts, and make a gratification of their wicked desires profitable as well as pleasurable; for by this cunning arrangement, the slaveholder, in cases not a few, sustains to his slave the double relation of master and father (Douglass 14). As seen in the Book of Genesis with the story of Adam and Eve, Adam was the Father and Eve came from his rib meaning that the man gave life to the woman and thus she should be submissive and thankful. The Garden of Eden can be seen as being the wicked desires. God then curses Eve after she eats from the Garden of Eden and informs her that her desire should be for her husband and he (husband) shall rule over her (The New English Bible, Genesis 3.1-24). The similarities to the statement that Douglass makes to the bible signifies the slaveholder believes he is like God who must

enact his form of punishment and supervision over the weaker individual in the form of slavery and control of every aspect of the lives of his property. But to the contrary, after you read this statement you are inclined to further assess the situation and realize that Jesus, the only Son of God, was flogged, as were the slaves for disobedience. Jesus showed compassion towards his persecutors, just as the slaves to their white counterparts. Douglass writes about the growing population of mixed race children that are eventually deemed Negro because of their growing numbers (Douglass 17). This contradicted the statement that slavery was for the descendants of Ham, as 50% of the child is of African and 50% is from White heritage (17). So was this to mean that 50% of the child was supposed to be a slave and 50% free? If one is supposed to be incapable of having reason and intellect, as was stated by many slaveholders of their slaves at the time, why have sex with your slaves is my question? The statement of having sex with a race incapable of logical decision-making and rationale causes me to draw the conclusion that sex with slaves is along the same lines as having sex with a mentally disabled person, it makes no sense to me. Rape and pillage was never justified throughout the bible and adultery was strictly forbidden in the bible, as it is one of the 10 commandments. In Revelations 1:13-16 the features of Jesus seem to reflect a person of darker skin-tone and one of more wool-like hair. These features are features that are seen in mixed race children and definitely seen in many African-Americans. The features of Jesus have been skewed throughout the years to make Jesus seem more like a European portrayal when in actuality many of the people in Jerusalem are more of mixed race likeliness. Douglass states that, Master Thomas finds religion in a Methodist camp meeting. But he does not become a kinder master (Douglass 55). Although there are some

religious people that want the abolishment of slavery, many are prepared to keep slavery going at all costs (56). Throughout the bible there are talks of kindness. Luke 6:35 states, "Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don't be concerned about the fact that they won't repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as sons of God: for He is kind to the unthankful and to those who are very wicked (Luke 6.35). The actions on behalf of many slaves of the past were not conducive towards the teachings of the bible. How a man can lead himself to believe that the actions of slavery are justified are close to the reasons a man can believe that Jesus was a threat. Many were afraid of his power and feared that his message would start people to aware to the injustices imposed by other faiths. Master Thomas finds religion, just as many in biblical times found religion. Many who listened to the teachings of Jesus did not believe in Christianity, and were highly critical about Jesus getting his word out to the masses. The fear of spreading ideas quite different from ones own can be seen throughout the times as laws were made that prohibited Negros from congregating. Thus, the fear of enlightenment from other sources could be kept to a minimum. This enlightenment came in the form of reading and education, which could lead the slaves to be able to finally read the bible for themselves and gain knowledge to the complete stories in the bible and come to their own conclusions as to the reason behind some of the teachings of slavery. While many non-critical minds will take what Douglass says literally, I have to use a critical eye and delve deeper into his readings and assess what is being said. With that being said, Douglass had to keep his accusations in a signifying manner because of the times. Even though he was a free man that was very articulate, he was also a run-away

slave, in a time where he could be whipped and possibly killed by whites because of what he said. Many people did not want to hear about the angry Negro, they wanted to hear Narratives that told the story in a non-biased way. Douglass does this to perfection while allowing later generations to critically analyze his writings and be able to find meaning where once there was thought to be none.

Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. "Notes on Signifying". University of Texas. January 28, 2009 <http://www.utexas.edu/coc/cms/faculty/streeck/hiphop/Signifying.html>. The New English Bible. NY: Oxford University Press, 1972. "Oxford English Dictionary". Oxford University Press. January 28, 2009 <http://dictionary.oed.com.www.lib.ncsu.edu:2048/cgi/entry/50224663?query_ty pe=word&queryword=signifying&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha& result_place=2&search_id=TA2R-2mwoD7-1901&hilite=50224663>.