Women's Resistance and Leadership in Slavery

Introduction: Agency and Resistance in Slavery

There is little doubt that slavery was a horrific institution that dehumanized an entire race of people. However, historians have suggested that enslaved Africans and African American women were able to resist the potentially crushing effects of enslavement. Despite the terrible conditions under which they were forced to live, enslaved women found many ways to establish communities and develop strategies of resistance that enabled them to form their own identities and lead rewarding lives.

Sociologists have hypothesized that slavery taught African American women to be self-reliant, while white women of that era were socially and economically dependent on men (White, 1999). While many experts argue that male slaves held dominance in African American society, there is little doubt that African American women were, in many ways, self-reliant and vital to their communities.

Women's Domestic Authority and Family Leadership

On plantations, both men and women performed difficult labor. In many cases, they completed the same tasks. Although not all labor performed by women was traditionally "women's work," men typically did not perform tasks traditionally assigned to women. Women worked in the fields alongside men, though males did most of the heaviest labor. While they shared similar duties, the role women played in society differed markedly from that of men.

Women usually took care of domestic duties, worked to keep the slave family healthy and together, and attended to their masters' needs and demands (Schaeffer, Kwok, and Holmes, 2002). Women slaves served as authority figures within their families and communities. During difficult times, they supported and guided their families, uniting the slave community in periods of both pain and joy.

A slave woman's authority also built the spiritual soul of the slave community (Schaeffer, Kwok, and Holmes, 2002). Wives were often able to encourage their otherwise submissive husbands to rebel against the master. In addition, women educated their children by teaching them household chores and warning them of slavery's evils. This instruction helped slave children understand that slavery was morally wrong and that they should aspire to greater freedom and dignity in society. The mothers worked to motivate their children to pursue freedom.

Skilled Labor and Community Respect

Many positions were open to female slaves that were considered skilled labor and were highly respected by the slave community (White, 1999). For example, a woman could work as a cook, preparing food for the master's household and for her fellow slaves. Most slaves ate communally, and male field hands were unable to cook due to time and resource constraints. Those women who performed this essential work were therefore highly regarded among the enslaved community.

In the kitchen, African American women found themselves in charge. Because they usually worked in groups and were unsupervised by whites, enslaved women could let down their guard and enjoy themselves. During slavery, women created an identity within their communities through their daily cooking duties. Slave testimonies have demonstrated Black women's vast knowledge of various cooking practices, food rituals, and the use of therapeutic herbs and wild plants for healing purposes.

The communities created by slave women helped many slave families adjust to the terrible conditions of slavery without falling apart (White, 1999). The daily rituals of cooking gave slave women a form of resistance because they could help their communities maintain a sense of self-worth, dignity, and group solidarity, despite the horrific and unjustified conditions of slavery.

Similarly, the ability to sew secured many African American women an important position in their communities. Most slave women never learned to sew, nor did they have access to materials for sewing. Therefore, the women who learned to sew possessed a distinct sense of self-identity and were responsible for sewing clothes for the entire slave community and perhaps even the master's family as well.

The Power of Domestic Practice as Resistance

Midwifery was a profession reserved solely for female slaves. Like sewing and cooking, midwifery was considered highly skilled labor. Women usually learned the skill from their mothers or other relatives. Midwives served both Black and white families and were highly respected in their communities.

Conclusion: Identity Through Occupied Space

African American females were often looked up to for leadership because of their occupation, their age, or their number of children. For this reason, many female slaves enjoyed feelings of self-importance and social standing. The fact that much of the work done by enslaved women was performed in groups and that skilled, and therefore respected, labor was reserved strictly for women demonstrates that women slaves were able to create and maintain their own communities during the days of slavery.