Prejudice and slavery reinforced each other in a feedback loop.

Evidence

Jordan (1962) noted that the available information for the years in question, especially 1619–1640, was very sparse and at best inconclusive. He argued for a compromise position, which held that economic, political, and cultural factors conducive to the rise of slavery as an institution worked simultaneously with antiblack prejudice to foster the ultimate subjugation of blacks. The enslavement of blacks and the existence of individual-level prejudice, Jordan (1968) wrote, “may have been equally cause and effect, continuously reacting upon each other, dynamically joining hands to hustle the Negro down the road to complete degradation” (p. 80). — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3323

Categorization

• SEED: The ‘cause and effect continuously reacting upon each other’ framing is a useful model for explaining how ideology and material institutions co-evolve — could anchor an essay on why simple causality explanations fail for systemic injustice.