Major Black Writters
In the system of slavery, Christianity plays a dominant role. Despite their homeland tribal religions, slaves depended on God to remove them from the misery of everyday slave life. Those slaves that had the opportunity to convert to Christianity were sometimes forced to practice their religion in seclusion, away from their masters. Christianity created a bond between slaves and also served as a factor of resistance towards their masters. Most importantly, Christianity gave slaves the promise of heaven, or eternal life. Hope for the future lightened the heavy burdens and pains of slave life. This new religion taught them that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). In slave literature, Christianity has been examined in both the negative and positive. In Frederick Douglass’ “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, there are many accounts of his inner struggle with religion. In Chapter two, Douglass explains his feelings as a slave, not knowing why the others sang such unmeaning jargon (Douglass 316). This refers to the many spirituals sang to relieve the horror of their lives. …they were tones long, loud, and deep; they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains. The hearing of those wild notes always depressed my spirit ,and filled me with ineffable sadness…To those songs I trace my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery. (Douglass 316) Slave songs, or spirituals, were methods of comfort, consolation and hope for sufferers. Nevertheless, these song formed a hatred for slavery in Douglass’ mind. As he left Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, a sense of freedom came across Douglass: he remembered once feeling a “spirit of hope and faith”, recognized this feeling came from God and gave thanks and praise to Him (Douglass 324). Acknowledging the work of God shows the acceptance of the Christian faith among slaves, and more importantly, within Douglass. At his grandmother’s death, he asks the question “ Will not a righteous God visit for these things” (Douglass 332). Here Douglass wonders if this event is serious enough for divine intervention; a woman dying old and lonely, when she bore many children and mourned for others. At this point Douglass became inquisitive about divine works. Douglass and his slave mates, if you will, came to the point where they had to steal and beg to avoid starving to death because of Master Thomas’ cruelty (Douglass 334). Master Thomas and his wife would pray every night for God to bless them to have more when they had food overflowing in their storage and would not feed their own slaves.