5 Signs Showing You May Suffer From 'Mental Slavery' by Dr. Amos Wilson

The shackles of chattel slavery were removed over a century ago, and legislation has been passed to relinquish the legal chains that bound Blacks in the Americas to a slave master's balance sheets along with oxen, farm equipment and other tangible assets. However, no outside actions can remove the mental slavery that occurred, was passed down, and remains with modern-day Blacks today. Yet many African descendants are in denial of the long-lasting affects of the traumatically brutal institution. They often assert that slavery happened long ago, it has nothing to do with them, and Black people should get over it and take advantage of the 'freedoms' now available to them. However, the emotional and psychological damage caused by the Transatlantic slave trade was so severe, many people today still struggle to 'get over it.' Dr. Amos Wilson (February 23,1941 – January 14, 1995), a former Professor of Psychology at the City University of New York, would argue that only a systematic correction in consciousness can help Black people, who were taught to think as slaves, to truly escape bondage. In one of his lectures, the renowned author who penned books such as "The Developmental Psychology of the Black Child," posed five simple questions to those who believe otherwise. If Wilson's questions are answered truthfully, they reveal the slave mindset still within most of us. What Language Do You Speak? Language is critical to the expression of culture because it's a means by which the values, beliefs and customs of a people are communicated. It is fundamental to cultural identity and if people forget their native tongue, they lose an important aspect of their culture and a piece of who they are. For this reason, it is important that people keep their own language alive. When Black people were forced to adopt the languages of the English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, in essence they were forced to abandon their own worldview and accept a foreign one that regarded them as servants who supported the interest of whites. Does the mentality that allowed this relationship to happen still exist among us today? What Name Do You Answer To? After Black people were kidnapped and brought to the Americas from Africa, they had to endure a number of brutal crimes against them, not the least of which was being stripped of the names they were given in their native countries. This forced abandonment of something so precious destroyed a vital link that tied people of African descent to their countries of origin and disconnected them from a heritage and history that dated back much further than that of their enslavers. Rather than being called by the traditional and beautiful names that recorded who they were and where they were from, enslaved Africans were given foreign names that presented them as property. If there were more than one slave with the same name in any given group, they were assigned various identifiers such as “little” or “big,” so each would know who was being called for when the slave master beckoned. Since slavery was officially abolished, some Blacks have shed the European names that were once forced upon them and have adopted African or new and unique ones. Still, most of us answer to the names that deemed us someone's property and some even hope it will improve their chances for employment—the kind that pays. What Food Do You Eat? During slavery, the master would work enslaved Africans incrementally harder and harder, while providing them incrementally less and less. With extremely long work hours, cramped quarters and harsh punishments, Africans lived their lives from day to day in desperation and hunger. One way in which comfort was sought was in what became known as soul food. When the master ordered a pig slaughtered, his family ate pork chops, pork steaks and pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon. The entrails, feet, hide, and head were all that was left over. Yet very little went to waste because enslaved Africans learned to eat everything on a pig, "from the rooter to the tooter!" This included pig's feet, skin and intestines, chitterlings. In modern times, Black people still partake of this type of 'comfort' food, even though it has been determined to be unhealthy. What God Do You Pray To? The Christian pope, Nicholas V sanctioned the enslavement and Christianization of Black people. In the process, African peoples were forced to abandon their spiritual systems and to adopt the European version of Christianity. Africans have their own religions and concepts of God. Today many of the fears and negative feelings we have towards the spiritual systems of our ancestors are a direct result of the anti-African ideology that was taught and harshly enforced on the plantations. One of the most egregious acts committed by the white supremacist system of religious thought was the formation of the image of a white man as the 'son' of God. This white male image, which is referred to as Christ and worshipped by many Black people around the world today, helps to foster a belief that implies that the white man is perfect, good, supreme and the only source of blessings. What Kind of Clothes Do You Wear? Fashion has always played an important role in African culture. The styles and patterns of clothing often held spiritual and mythical significance. In addition, some of the most beautiful garments in the world were crafted by the hands of African weavers. Many of them brought their skills to the Americas where they were exploited as another source of income for the slave owner. Black people obviously were not able to wear their traditional garments under enslavement. Instead, slave masters provided European clothing for them, often the cheapest and least durable available. Today, for the most part, Black people have held on to their instinct for elaborate fashion, but for many of us traditional African clothing is as strange and undesirable as Europeans perceived it hundreds of years ago. In addition, we are loyal to clothing brands originating outside our communities.

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