Enslaved people defied authorities to maintain their own burial grounds

Evidence

Like Cubah, Minelta, Mary Anne, Jenny and their countless anonymous sisters, they possessed far deeper resources than those for which they’ve been given credit. The most powerful and enduring of these was their role as the primary conveyors of culture. This meant clinging to their belief in the medicinal powers of plants; adhering to remembered birthing and weaning practices; adapting their song, dances, dress and food preparation; and reviving their traditional leadership roles. By passing this knowledge on to each new generation, these women ensured that Africa’s lost children would not only retain their cultural identity but survive to tell the tale. — Stella Dadzie, A Kick in the Belly- Women, Slavery and…, 331 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Some slaves collaborated in the master’s violence, driven by the fear of becoming its target or by the hope of channeling it elsewhere. Many other slaves simply avoided it and survived as best they could, following orders and trying desperately to work tiny plots of land to feed themselves and their families, crafting small spaces of comfort and community. Some, however, responded by sowing terror among their masters. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 183 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Enslaved Africans carried their cultures and consciousness into slavery, contradicting primitive accumulation; Enslaved women transmitted cultural knowledge to ensure survival across generations — Stella Dadzie, A Kick in the Belly- Women, Slavery and…, 331; Enslaved people were human beings despite slavery’s alterations of their being (+2 more)

Related

• Enslaved people were human beings despite slavery’s alterations of their being (similarity 0.86)
• Enslaved people resisted slavery through collaboration, endurance, and terror. (similarity 0.84)
• Enslaved women transmitted cultural knowledge to ensure survival across generations (similarity 0.84)
• Enslaved women preserved their humanity by clinging to traditional African practices (similarity 0.83)
• Enslaved people responded to violence through collaboration, avoidance, or counter-terror (similarity 0.83)
• Enslaved women preserved their sanity by adapting smuggled African cultural practices (similarity 0.83)
• Enslaved Africans carried their cultures and consciousness into slavery, contradicting primitive accumulation (similarity 0.82)
• Knowledge of poison conferred power and respect within the slave community (similarity 0.82)
• Slaveholders committed far more atrocities than revolting slaves did (similarity 0.82)
• Enslaved people resisted control of burial even under official oversight (similarity 0.81)
• Slaves maintained an autonomous culture and consciousness apart from their rulers (similarity 0.81)
• Enslaved people resisted colonial authority by controlling where their dead were buried (similarity 0.81)
• Slavery’s control system relied on a pervasive terror of resistance against masters (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Slaves maintained an autonomous culture and consciousness apart from their rulers #expands (0.70)
• Enslaved women transmitted cultural knowledge to ensure survival across generations #corroborates (0.60) — Stella Dadzie, A Kick in the Belly- Women, Slavery and…, 331
• Enslaved people responded to violence through collaboration, avoidance, or counter-terror #expands (0.55) — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 183