Katie Sullivan Women Studies 2215 Maria Celleri Friday, April 5, 2013 Progression of Racism: Through the Eyes

of Kindred One hundred thirty-nine years after emancipation, more than four decades after the Civil Rights movement, the experiment of slavery, the costs of escape and the pain of remembering still compel attention (Long) as it is seen in the novel Kindred written by Octavia Butler. Kindred gives a historical glimpse in the past of what life was like for slaves in the 1800s, as well as the racism that still occurred in the 1970s, the time that the novel was written. Slaves were brought from Africa to the United States in order to work on plantations in the South and the treatment of these slaves was brutal. After the Civil War to end slavery, Jim Crow Laws were passed and in the 1900s the Civil Rights Movement occurred in order to ensure African Americans equal rights. Though efforts have been made to suppress racism in the United States over the last two centuries, it is still prevalent in todays society. The issue of slavery has been one that is seen in American history, with the novel Kindred showing the treatment of slaves, the progress that has been made, and the advance that can still occur in terms of racism against African Americans. The novel Kindred is the story of a young African American woman, Dana, who is taken from her current time of the 1970s to a plantation in the early 1800s because of a child, Rufus, from that time. Fact then: Somehow, my travels crossed time as well as distance. Another fact: The boy was the focus of my travels perhaps the cause of them (Butler 24). Due to the fact that Dana was African American, she experienced violence and oppression every time she would be called into the past. Being an African American woman at this time was not easy, the house-nigger, the handkerchief-head, the female Uncle Tom the frightened powerless woman

who had already lost all she could stand to lose, and who knew as littler about freedom of the North as she knew about the hereafter (Butler, 145). After experiences this oppression during her time travel, Dana soon understood why she was being called to the past. It was learned that Rufus was one of her ancestors, and she was called back to keep him safe, so that the rest his descendants would be born, including herself. In the early United States, slaves were brought across the Atlantic Ocean in ships from Africa and these trips usually last sixty to ninety days. This journey was long and gruesome, starting from the walk across Africa to the ship, being treated like cattle, and then the crossing of the sea, where the slaves were stuffed under the decks, barely able to breathe. People were crowded together, usually forced to lie on their backs with their heads between the legs of others. This meant they often had to lie in each other's feces, urine, and, in the case of dysentery, even blood. Because of these close quarters and unsanitary environments, many people got deadly diseases, and they would be thrown off the ship in order to stop the spread ("The African Slave "). Once Africans arrived to the States, they were sold in slave auctions, usually not with family members, to plantations. These slaves had nothing on the plantations and the slave's resulting dependence on his or her master for the most basic necessities -- food, clothing, shelter -- was integral to the preservation of the master's power and the sustaining of the slave society (Boston). The treatment of these slaves on plantations was just as awful as it was on the ships coming to America. They had almost no clothes, were commonly raped and beaten by their masters, and they lacked proper food and shelter. As described in Kindred, there was no decent housing. Dirt floors to sleep on, food so inadequate theyd all be sick if they didnt keep gardens in whats supposed to be their leisure time and steal from the cookhouse when Sarah lets

them. And no rights and the possibility of being mistreated or sold away from their families for any reason or no reason (Butler, 100). Slaves had no legal rights, considering they were viewed as property of their owners. Slaves could not get legally married, could not vote, could not use any possession of their owner without being punished and many other actions were considered against the law for slaves. Kindred gives vivid descriptions of this treatment, including Dana getting whipped, having to sleep on the ground, and only eating left over foods from her owners dinner. After the Civil War ended, which also ended slavery, African Americans were no longer allowed to work for no pay. Unfortunately, the equal treatment of African Americans and whites in America would take another couple decades. In the late 1800s the Jim Crow Laws were passed, which enforced racial segregation in the South (Jim Crow Law). This meant that though African Americans were considered free, they could not use the same bathrooms, schools, churches, and other public venues that white people did. It many cases, the whites had much cleaner and nicer public facilities than that of the African Americans. White schools gave better educations, bathrooms were cleaner and white neighborhoods were much safer than African Americans. In the case Plessy vs. Ferguson, the term separate but equal was coined, which ensured that African Americans were given equal rights, but this was not nearly the case. In the 1954 court case Brown vs. Board of Education, which occurred after Plessy vs. Ferguson, it was deemed separate but equal as unconstitutional and African Americans could no longer be segregated from whites. Though the Civil War and Jim Crow Laws were not mentioned in Kindred, it is known they happened because it is a realistic historical novel. The glimpses of racism the reader sees is during the 1800s and 1970s, but there is no mention of what happens between then. Due to the

treatment of Dana because of her race in one era compared to the other can distinctly show the progression that racism had made within those 150 years. But it is known that she experiences racisms in 1976 and there are specific examples in the novel. Even though African Americans were considered equal and no longer separated, there was still racism found in the United States. This racism lead to the Civil Rights Movement, which contained many infamous activists such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat for a white man, which sent her to jail. Martin Luther King was known for his I Have A Dream Speech, in which he described a world where people of every color, nationality and religion can unite as one. Peaceful protests, such as sit ins and speeches, were common during these times, in order to gain equal rights and treatment for African Americans. In the novel Kindred, this movement was occurring during Danas current home life, when she was not in the past. The novel not only takes place in the early 1800s, but also the 1970s, which was still a time where much racism was occurring. During the 1970s voting rights for African Americans was finally legalized, this happened in 1975. Also in this decade the first African American mayor in the South was elected, Maynard Jackson, who became the mayor of Atlanta, Georgia (The Civil Rights Movement). Though equality for African Americans was still slowly progressing, as seen in acts like these, but racism still occurred. In the novel, Dana and her white husband, Kevin, are judged for having an interracial marriage. Though this was legalized by this time, both Kevin and Danas families did not approve of this union and their marriage was looked down upon. This stigma of interracial marriage today is not as drastic it was in the 1970s as described in the book, but racism still does occur in present time.

Bill Clinton, the President of the United States from 1992 to 2000 gave a speech during his term describing the issue that are still prevalent today with racism. Clinton states, White America must understand and acknowledge the roots of black pain. It began with unequal treatment first in law and later in fact. African Americans indeed have lived too long with a justice system that in too many cases has been and continues to be less than just. The record of abuses extends from lynchings and trumped up charges to false arrests and police brutality (Clinton). Though there is no law that evokes inequality of African Americans, whites must understand the suffering of the generations of this race faced. Not only does Clinton address that Americans need to understand this pain, but he goes on to say now inequality is still seen today. African Americans make only 60% in pay of what white people make, and more than half of African American children live in poverty, which is leading to a decrease in the African American population getting a college education. And blacks are right to think something is terribly wrong when African American men are many times more likely to be victims of homicide than any other group in this country; when there are more African American men in our corrections system than in our colleges; when almost one in three African American men in their 20s are either in jail, on parole or otherwise under the supervision of the criminal justice system -nearly one in three. And that is a disproportionate percentage in comparison to the percentage of blacks who use drugs in our society. Now, I would like every white person here and in America to take a moment to think how he or she would feel if one in three white men were in similar circumstances. (Clinton) One positive step that the government has taken toward racism in current times is the issue of Affirmative Action. Though this issue is seen as controversial in many Americans eyes, it is a step in the reverse of racism. Affirmative Action requires businesses and colleges to have a

certain percent of minorities to be enrolled or employed at their institution. This includes women, African Americans, Latinos, Asian, and any other descent other than the white male. This allows a way for the government to have control over racism in schools and businesses, making sure that all Americans have equal opportunities in the work place as well as in education. The issue of slavery and racism has been one that is seen in American history, with the novel Kindred showing the treatment of slaves, the progress that has been made, and the advance that can still occur in terms of racism against African Americans. Though in history there has been progress, such as with the Civil War, Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights Movement, there is still more to make, as Clinton addresses. Kindred gives a prime example of comparing slavery in the past to a more current form of racism that is seen today.

Works Cited

Boston, Nicholas. "Living Conditions." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

Butler, Octavia. Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press, 1979. Print.

Clinton, Bill. Racism in the United States. Vital Speeches of the Day 62.3 (1995): 75. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

"Jim Crow Law." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. Mar. 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303897/Jim-Crow law>.

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Long, Lisa. A Relative Pain: The Rape of History in Octavia Butlers Kindred and PhyllisAlesia Perrys Stigmata. College English, Vol. 64, No. 4 March 2002: 459-483. Web. March 21 2013.

"The African Slave Trade and the Middle Passage." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr4.html>.

"The Civil Rights Movement." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1997/mlk/links.html>.