When we talk about slavery, the language we choose can either uphold lies or restore truth. 🚫 The Problem with “Owned” Frames human be
When we talk about slavery, the language we choose can either uphold lies or restore truth.
🚫 The Problem with “Owned”
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Frames human beings as objects
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Normalizes the oppressor’s perspective
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Suggests legitimacy in the idea that a person can be property
✅ The Power of “Enslaved”
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Centers the human being, not the oppressor
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Shows that slavery was imposed, not an identity
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Keeps blame where it belongs: on those who did the enslaving
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Acknowledges resistance and dignity that survived despite bondage
🔍 Side-by-Side: Oppressor’s Lens vs. Human Lens
| Old Wording | Truthful Wording |
|---|---|
| Jefferson owned 600 slaves. | Jefferson enslaved 600 people. |
| She was a slave. | She was an enslaved woman. |
| He was born a slave. | He was born into slavery (but not born without humanity). |
| Slaves were property. | People were forcibly treated as property. |
🌱 Why This Shift Matters
Language shapes memory.
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“Owned” reflects the lie of dehumanization.
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“Enslaved” restores dignity and truth.
Every time we choose enslaved, we refuse to let oppressors have the last word. We tell history through the eyes of those who endured it — not those who profited from it.
1. Historical Documents (1700s–1800s)
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In slave bills of sale, plantation records, and wills, enslaved people were listed as property alongside cattle, land, or tools.
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Example: “The estate includes 200 acres, 5 horses, 3 cows, and 12 Negroes owned by the deceased.”
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Newspapers of the time ran ads that used the word “owned” or no humanizing description at all:
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Example: “For sale, one strong Negro boy, owned by Mr. James Carter.”
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The emphasis was on legal ownership — reflecting how the system justified slavery.
2. Abolitionist Era (1800s)
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Abolitionists sometimes used the same “owned” language to show the brutality of slavery, but they also started to describe people as enslaved:
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Frederick Douglass described himself as “a slave in fact” but also said “I was enslaved by Mr. Covey.”
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Harriet Jacobs (Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl) carefully showed the inner life of enslaved women, shifting focus from ownership to their humanity and struggle for freedom.
3. 20th Century Scholarship
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History books for much of the 20th century still leaned on “slaves” and “owned,” reflecting a white-centered narrative.
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For example: textbooks would say, “The South owned four million slaves by 1860.”
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This phrasing made slavery sound like a fact of economics, rather than a violent system imposed on human beings.
4. Contemporary Scholarship & Museums
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Today, there’s a deliberate shift. Institutions like Monticello, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Whitney Plantation use the term “enslaved people” instead of “slaves.”
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Example:
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Instead of: “Thomas Jefferson owned over 600 slaves.”
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They say: “Thomas Jefferson enslaved over 600 people.”
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That small shift highlights the agency, humanity, and injustice. It makes clear that no one can truly be “owned.”
Why This Change is Sacred
Language isn’t just academic — it’s about memory and justice.
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“Owned” reflects the dehumanization.
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“Enslaved” restores dignity and truth.
It’s part of a larger effort: to tell history through the eyes of those who endured it, not those who profited from it.
✨ Empowering Reminder:
No one is “born a slave.”
People were born free in spirit and were enslaved by systems of violence.