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More
Than Chains and Toil
is a probing and perceptive analysis of
work in the experience of African American women. Even though
forced labor was the essence of slavery, few have studied the
labor of slave women from the perspective of women themselves. The
author clarifies and analyzes the meanings that the women bestowed
on their labors--meanings that constitutes a rich resource of
moral value for all who read this book.
--Peter
J. Parris, Homrighausen Professor of Christian Social Ethics,
Princeton Theological Seminary
Martin's use of
post-structuralist theory and a womanist methodology is one of the
most innovative developments in womanist theorizing to date.
--Marcia Y. Riggs, Assocaite
Professor of Christian Ethics, Columbia Theological Seminary
Martin
moves beyond issues of sorrow and oppression to shed new light on
the power of black women's moral agency, and on the ways they have
defined the nature of work for themselves. This is important
reading for all who seek to understand work ethics in American
culture across gender, race, and class lines.
--Karen Baker-Fletcher,
Associate Professor of Theology and Culture, Claremont School of
Theology
The
stated purpose of this book is to examine the “lives of enslaved
Black women as moral agents and their struggle to create positive
meaning out of the very element which defined their lives’
work” (p. 1). The book contains helpful discussions
of slavery, the Black experience (especially that of women), the
impact of community, work, and the role of religion. Martin
attempts to show how work provides human meaning in situations
when the content and the context of work are dehumanizing for a
particular group.
Martin
employs a womanist (her term) liberation methodology for situating
the world of blackwomen (also her term), especially their seeking
liberation as full human beings from structural and personal forms
of oppression. The core feature of blackwomen’s lives in
the United States is the negation of personhood. She draws
heavily on the work of Pierre Bourdieu and others to formulate a
theory, which is too complex to attempt to summarize in this
review. I felt this discussion in chapter two was too
abstract to be as helpful as it might have been.
Much of
the book is a description of the slave experience of black women.
They worked at a wide array of jobs inside and outside the home,
and also experienced childbearing and care in the midst of their
other work regimens. They experienced public nakedness at
the auction block, and medical maltreatment
during and after pregnancy.
Their
overwhelming reality was that of suffering, evil, and toil.
Their daily lot was one of emotional abuse and the threat of
physical violence. The practice was that the child follows
the condition of the mother, which ensured that enslaved women
would become valued for their reproductive capabilities as well as
being valued targets for rape and sexual liaisons with
slaveholders and overseers (p. 38). As one slave put it,
“Slavery is terrible for men, but it is far more terrible for
women” (p. 147).
Perhaps
the most interesting part of the book was the actual quotations
from female slaves. Some of these are fascinating and even
moving, such as the story of “Aunt Marthy,” an older slave who
was so revered that when she was (again) put on the slave block,
no one would bid on her and she gained her freedom.
In the
midst of slavery, there was a network, a supportive community that
provided mutual assistance, that took place through midwifery,
collective cooking and laundering, child care, and spiritual
leadership. Women had some social places where they could
socialize, give mutual aid and encouragement (p. 71).
Freedom was a vital and constant feature of the enslaved
imagination, even though its actual prospects seemed remote.
Slaves did not believe slavery was the will of God, and so a
community of resistance developed.
African-American
(Protestant) Christianity had a community ethos that valued human
dignity in the face of white racism. Kin and friendship ties
were very important. Bonding between enslaved women and
among them and their allies occurred in an underground
network of subversion and resistance.
The
nature and meaning of work is explored in some depth in the book.
Work relates to our identity as human beings, and jobs have strong
real and symbolic value. Talent and labor came to be seen as
a gift from God for the building of the community. Enslaved
women had a work ethic in terms of their lives’ purpose and this
ethic was, in part, the vehicle through which they acted as moral
agents (p. 105). The work ethic gave meaning to human
existence when grounded in the historic community of struggle for
freedom.
An
attitude of self-reliance and confidence in one’s skill and
craft developed. Martin discusses the Biblical view of work
as a response to life rendered to God. Luther and Calvin
emphasized work as a calling and vocation, but did not consider
exploited work or issues of domination, subordination, or power.
Some workers have no access to economic, social, legal, and
political resources. So not all work can be called good.
African-American
women’s relation to work has been paradoxical at best and
contradictory at worst. They have tended to enter low-paid,
unstable work in the service sector (p. 139). Blackwomen
have faced personal, cultural and institutional discrimination as
enslaved women. Yet they have maintained a critical sense of
the meaning of work and its value to their communities and to
their religious faith.
Lower-level
workers have been hurt by technological change, the declining
value of the minimum wage, and declining unionization. The
discussion about welfare “reform” centered on the apparent
lack of a work ethic and a Black behavioral problem rather than a
consequence of systematic poverty (p. 145). Black motherhood
seems not to be highly valued by United States society.
The
power of religious faith for an oppressed people is explored.
Religious ceremonies tightened the social bonds among people.
Out of these meetings came the Black church. Later Martin
discusses how the Black church is often the first place where
people receive the motivation to improve themselves, their
families, and their neighborhoods.
As
Sojourner Truth would say, God was a God of freedom and not
slavery. The slaves came to experience a loving, forgiving,
and liberating God. As one female slave said, “some day
we never be slaves” (p. 22). Or, “we prayed lots in
slavery to be free and the Lord heard our prayers” (p.
25). Sometimes they faced beatings because of the practice
of their religion. “White folks don’t want slaves to
pray” (pp. 25, 47).
The
conversion experience indicated to slaves that they were human
because they received the Spirit, and they were other than their
owners’ property. The Bible was the major source of
validation: it gave them a “God-consciousness.”
Some of its stories, like the Exodus, paralleled their experience.
It also made Jesus real as a co-sufferer who identified
with them.
Religious
ethics should be the doing of and reflection on solidarity as part
of faithful participation in Jesus Christ’s work of redemption.
For what is faith in God but the fullest expression of authentic
community/communion?
The
book deals with some important issues, though the writing style
could be smoother at times. Some side observations about
slavery, such as the making of quilts, gardening, the role of the
midwife, and the different types of food eaten by the upper class
and the slaves, are interesting. Those involved with issues
of race, feminism, and the world of work should find the book of
interest.
--C.
Emory Burton, Retired
minister of the United Methodist Church and a professor of
sociology
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More
Than Chains and Toil
A Christian Work Ethic of Enslaved Women
By Joan Martin
Contents
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