Broncos'Voice
November 1994
MENTAL SEGREGATION
by Tony Coleman
Recent activities involving the renovation of Fayetteville’s Slave Market
House have created a challenging emotional atmosphere for the local com
munity. Ambiguity, confusion, and total resentment are just a few feelings
possessed by local residents. These feelings lend support to the concept of
mental segregation.
During the slave era, nearly one-half million Africans were brought to
-Ajnerica by force where they were viewed as property, brought, sold, beaten,
and lynched at the will of the white majority. Fayetteville’s Slave Market
House is a place where these dehumanizing acts took place. Slavery was
rationalized on the grounds that Africans were considered not only “ back
ward,” but also “childlike” people who were incapable of exercising the rights
guaranteed to white men under the Constitution.
After the Civil War, the official freedoms that had been granted to Afri
can-Americans did not reconcile the white elite’s anger at the loss of cheap
slave labor, or poorer whites anger at the new source of competition from
free blacks. To defend their dominant status, whites instituted new social
boundaries and restrictions. They used legal mechanisms, like Jim Crow laws,
that made it difficult for blacks to vote and banned them from public facili
ties. They also used social pressures to reward black leaders who called on
others to cooperate with the dominant culture and to stop white liberals from
encouraging blacks to demand more freedom and opportunity. Today the
dominant white culture assumes the role of cultural gatekeepers, using their
power to regulate the flow of new elements into society.
African-Americans who have ambiguous feelings about the Slave Market
House are also those who are willing to share equal amounts of understand
ing and acceptance of its dual representation. Accepting the information pro
vided on a plaque that hangs within the Slave Market House provides the
foundation for those ambiguous feelings. The plaque, as accurately as pos
sible, provides information on the dates that several adoptions took place .
There’s also a plaque which honors those Africans who were enslaved dur
ing the 1800s. But this still doesn’t justify wantmg the structure, which was
obviously designed for the auctioning of slaves, to exist in today’s society.
Blacks who share those ambiguous feelings feel that allowing the structure to
exist enables black society to get the full impact of what franspired during the
slave era and to be used as a reminder “not to let it happen again.” I think they
fail to realize that being victims of displacement and being forced to accept
assimilation does not constitute “letting it happen.” Just the same, it’s been
suggested that just as historical data on slavery is confined to archives and
history books, so to should the Market House and what it represents be con
fined, as an effort to extinguish mental segregation.
From the earliest days of this country, the white majority expected new
comers to adopt to their customs and values. This was achieved through the
assimilation process - the incorporation of a minority group into the cultural
and social life of the dominant group so that the minority eventually disap
pears as a separate, identifiable unit. Members of black society become con-
fiised when trying to understand why white society continues to expect them
to revolve around what they consider to be the norm, customary, and valu
able. Blacks are confused as to why the Market House is viewed as vital
history to whites but can’t be viewed as racially offensive to blacks. The
same degree of confusion can be employed to explain why, in spite of the
many contributions made by positive productive black members of society,
blacks continue to remain the least accepted race in this country. Confusion,
in some cases, can lead to rebellion or rejection and can be expressed in many
ways as with Nat Turner - an escaped slave who formed a militant group
consisting of about twenty slaves. Nat Turner and his group went from house
to house expressing their confusion and rejection by killing 57 white Amen
de Mental Page 19
MUSIC NEVi/S from Uzi-D
by Jeff "Uzi-D " Anderson
Hi fellow Broncos. What’s go
ing on? Now that Homecoming is
over and all the pomp and circum
stance is finished, let’s see what
happened in the entertainment
world.
First, the concert. Zhane, Fu
Schnickens', and Queen Latifah did
show up . . . but the crowd didn’t.
The show still went on starting with
the Fu Schnickens'. They opened up
the concert with the kind of perfor
mance that looked like a school tal
ent show. It was hard to understand
or to get into what they were say
ing, but anyway . . .
After Fu Schnickens, Zhane
came with a “Groove Thing.” These
two young ladies performed very
well from start to finish. I was even
more impressed when they played
the piano live while singing “Rea
sons.” It gave me a warm, fuzzy
feeling inside. The harmony was
tight, which supplemented for the
fact that they did not have a spec
tacular stage show.
After Zhane closed. Her High
ness the Queen came on. At this
time, the crowd increased by at least
twelve more people. Latifah did
some songs from her first album as
well as from the new one, “Black
Reign.” It seems as if she didn’t give
her all because of the small number
in the crowd, but she did throw
down on “Weekend Love.” Her live
band was a great added attraction
that brought a little more flavor to
the music. Still, due to the class
room-sized crowd, the overall con
cert was pretty weak.
Not much else went on, except
some other thing conceming myself
(but I’ll keep those on the down
low).
Before I go,
let me give you
the run-down
on what to look
for and what’s in
the stores. Be on
the lookout for the new Mary J.
Blige CD, “My Life,” coming in
December. Shaquille O’Neal’s
“Shaq-Fu Da Return” should be out
now, as well as Keith Murray’s lat
est (which is slammin’). Scarface
came back hard with “The Diary.”
Other CDs to checkout include
those from Lords of the Under
ground, Digable Planets, Paris,
DFC, Lil 1/2 Dead, and Black
Sheep.
If you like R&B, check out the
new CDs from Najee, Tony Terry,
Whitehead Bros, (who brought you
“Your love is a 187”), and Men at
Large.
If I missed anything. I’ll tr>’ to
catch it next time. Meanwhile, this
is Uzi saying always keep a song in
your heart, God bless, and peace.
Dear Friend:
., Corliss Hill and I are the new
Contemporary Living Editors for
ESSENCE Magazine. Our directive
and personal mission for the section
is to broaden the idea of Contem
porary Living and to include—mych
more strongly—the voices, stories
and ideas of Black women under 30.
As Black women in our mid-twen
ties we know most mediums are not
taking our generation very seri
ously. We are determined to make
ESSENCE different, but we need
your help.
We need to know what’s going
on with young people our age across
the country: What issues are facing
on campus? In your job? In relation
ships? With friends? What are you
passionate about? Concerned
about? Confused about? Help us
help you. Contact us about any
events, movements, stories or
people we should cover. If you are
See Essence Page 19