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Demetrius Pate sn# 10301368 AAST-201 September 19,2003 The Bondwoman’s Narrative Shabazz The Meaning of Black Identity and Freedom The Bondwoman’s Narrative was a book written in accounts by a former slave named Hannah Crafts. It was later edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a professor at Harvard University. This piece gives insight on black identity and what it means to be free. Hannah Crafts was a fugitive slave. Being a runaway meant either you were going to have a very slim chance of making it to the north or either you would be captured and returned to worse conditions. Plus all the other slaves receive punishment because the run away makes the master mad. So running away made it bad on everyone. Unlike many slaves that became accustomed to the treatments of their master Hannah only grew farther away. She knew that the life of a slave was not only hard but it had nothing good to offer. Crafts had many situations on her life to can be interpreted into black identity and the real meaning of freedom. Certainly freedom is enjoyed by most Americans today but black identity seems to be a very controversial issue. Some black people do not know what black identity is. They do not know the meaning of belonging to a wonderful nation of proud people. So they in turn create their own identity. Some black people loose touch with their heritage by not knowing what black identity means and sometimes find themselves(Uncle Toms) criticized by others. Hannah Crafts on the other hand, knew what black identity was and she knew the real meaning of freedom. Hannah Crafts had been a slave since she was a little girl. She was a child of slave and a master but never knew her mother or father. Her light colored skin kept near the house to be a house servant. She was lucky at that point because the dark skinned slaves labored the fields and animals. She was assigned to less vigorous task around the house, but she was still a slave. “ I was not brought up by anybody in particular that I know of.
Approximate Word count = 1430
Approximate Pages = 5.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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