Download When Did "Slave" Become Synonymous with "Black?"

ES Unit 3 - Social Construction of Race
Per: ______________
Name: ___________________________
When did “slave” become
synonymous1 with “Black”?
From the book: Racial Formation in the United States by Michael Omi and
Howard Winant (1986)
In the United States, the racial category of "black" evolved
with the creation of racial slavery. By the end of the 1600s,
Africans whose ethnicity2 was Ibo, Yoruba, Fulani, etc.,
were labeled "black" by an ideology3 of power and control
based on the idea of “race”—and the establishment and
maintenance of a "color line.4"
This of course did not occur overnight. A period of indentured servitude, not
based on racial ideas, came before slavery. With slavery, however, a racially
based understanding of society was created which resulted in the shaping of a
specific racial identity not only for the slaves but for the European settlers as
well. Winthrop Jordan has observed: "From the initially common term
‘Christian,’ by the 1650s there was a noticeable shift toward the terms ‘English’
and ‘free.’ After about 1680, though, in the colonies a new term of selfidentification appeared—‘white.’"
We use the term “racialization5" to describe the creation of racial meaning to a
previously racially unclassified relationship, social practice, or group.
Racialization is an ideological6 process. Racial ideology is constructed from preexisting7 ideas about groups of people, and they develop from political goals
which seek to organize and define people hierarchically8.
Both “Black” and “White” became racial groups in early America, with the 1790
Naturalization Act finalizing any question over who were the intended residents
1 the same as
2 cultural, language, national identity
3 way of thinking
4 a way of dividing people based on appearance - racism
5 the creation of categories of “race” to describe and separate people
6 based on a certain way of thinking
7 existing before you have the facts, like prejudice
8 having some people “on top” - in power - and some people “on the bottom”
ES Unit 3 - Social Construction of Race
Per: ______________
Name: ___________________________
of the United States of America. The Naturalization Act (the first federal
immigration and citizenship law in U.S. history) states:
SEC.1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America, in Congress assembled, That any alien, being a
free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United
States.
Just as the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705 made into law only blacks as slaves, so
did the Naturalization Act of 1790 make into law only whites as citizens.
Summarize this article in 2-3 complete sentences, using your own words.
Define “racialization” in a way that makes sense to you (look at my definition, the article’s definition, and ask
me if you need clarification).
After reading this article and based on what you have learned so far, answer the question in this article’s title:
“When did ‘slave’ become synonymous with ‘Black’?
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