The Dehumanization of The Black Body

In the late 19th century there was a scientific theory based off of social Darwinism, that claimed that black people are inferior to white people. This justified the suppression of black people’s advancement.  This not only began cornering blacks in to a poverty ridden economic corner but started the long standing portrayal of the black body and character as less evolved. Blacks as result were painted as uncontrollable  savages that lack basic morals and intelligence. This dehumanization of blacks bred the fear of the rape of white women by black men. The animalistic view of blacks as subhuman being created a presumed threat to the purity of the white race. This served as the gateway to the lynching of thousands of black men in the south.  As a result, even in the post-slavery era, the lynching of black bodies as white families gathered to spectate maintained the narrative of a black body as that of a wild beast that needs to be tamed and controlled. This monster like figuration of black bodies is fully displayed in the death of Emmett till in 1955. 

Emmett till, a 14 years old African American boy was not just killed but was brutally beat to death. The hate and range that motivated such brutality was the possibility of this 14 years old black boy being social with a white women. This is a representation of  the dehumanization and presumed dangerousness of the black body.  It is this dehumanization that is yet at display in the beating of Rodney kings in 1992. The robbery of Rodney kings’ human rights is not only present in the beating itself but in the failure of the legal system to punish the police men responsible for it. This continuous denial of black humanity is not one only exempt to extreme terrorist groups such as the KKK but rather one that lives in the attitude of the most common American civilians. This can be easily observed in the Sacramento police officers that handcuffed the lifeless dead body of Stephen Clark after they shot at him 20 times instead of attempting to save his life. This lecture by Dr. Joy Degruy tackles the preception of black humanity through out slavery and post slavery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1OpgHDgZL0 

-Hanna Abuhay