Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty

From the time that Black women arrived in the Americas, neither their lives nor those that they produced were theirs to claim. One of the most dehumanizing aspects of slavery, as Roberts points out, was the alienation between parents and children among the enslaved because white people regarded Black bodies and lives as commodities. For Black mothers, this dehumanization was especially striking, as a perpetually self-negating system encouraged them to regard their children as their owners’ property. Roberts describes how an enslaved woman’s newborn immediately became another source of revenue for her owner. Additionally, slave traders and auctioneers sold young (and thus presumably fertile) Black women at higher rates than those who were older or known to be infertile. Society regarded the latter as damaged goods. Owners who didn’t report on these women’s inability to bear children could be subjected to legal retribution. In addition, the common view was that anyone who inherited an enslaved Black woman inherited not only her but also any progeny she produced.

Knowing that much of their value was in their reproductive capacity, some enslaved women tried to use it to curry favor with their owners. Some plantation owners offered women livestock in exchange for a certain number of children.