When searching for contemporary 18th century piece of art one illustration that caught my attention was one by the name of ‘’ Runaways’’ (Fugitive Slaves). The piece is a short box of text detailing a slaved that has escaped from it’s master.With in the box is a small illustration of a black man (assuredly a slave) with a bindle. The figure in question has a Tom Sawyer , Huckleberry Finn quality to it. Resembling a common character archetype from a book of that era. After viewing this piece of history I believe that there is a connection to these runaway slave flyers and the themes of the reduction and destruction of the Black identity present in 18th century media.
One quality of the flyer that stood out was how nonchalantly it seemed to be written. Within the text there is a normality that is shown when it comes to denigrating Black bodies.The text puts focus on all the physical attributes of the slave and describes them in the same manner one would describe a couch. The writer of this flyer, a sheriff by the name of M. Kelly , calls Bill a ‘’large fellow’’and ‘’very black’’. He says Bill has several scars all over his body including his breast. These descriptions not only reduce Bill to a body with no intellect or cognition but are also used to help those who are aiding this system of human enslavement.
The writer of this text says a slave who calls himself Bill has escaped his master. That line struck out to me. ” a slave who calls himself Bill”. To me this short line tells me that the person writing this does not see this man as human. Usually when a person wants to introduce someone they would normally say something to the effect of, ” this is my friend John ‘ or ” I’d like you to meet Sally.” To Say that someone calls them self this name means that you don’t believe that this is actually the person name or title. It show that you have doubt in this person. Like ” yeah this guy maybe calling himself this buy we all no that he’s not. ” Not only does it insults the intelligence of the person in question but it takes away that person agency and freedom. Your name is a part of your identity and a part that can be voluntarily given. It’s possible to change a birth name. It’s done all the time. But since Bill is a slave he can’t really make that choice for himself . He is the property of someone else. This infuriates me but this is cultural indicative of the zeitgeist of that time period. This is easily a pro slavery piece and unfortunately it is one of many.
When viewing this piece I was reminded of the book Oroonoko by Aphra Behn. The novel centers around the author herself as a main character and the titular African prince Oroonoko. What made me connect these two pieces of media is that in Aphra Behn’s novel Oroonoko is sold into slavery by his grandfather and bought by a white man in England. Once bought his master changes his name to Caesar and after that point he is referred to by that name for the rest of the book. Both ‘’Bill’’ and Oroonoko are Black men that are put into the bondage of slavery and while enslaved both of them have their identity altered by an external force.. Their names are changed by the will of their masters. This event is indicative of the idea of reducing the African identity. In the book the narrator points out that it was the common practice for Christians to rename their newly acquired slaves, “their native ones being likely very barbarous and hard to pronounce” (40). The narrator is insulting African culture and by extension the African identity. Aphra Bend is putting her Christian European culture on a pedestal by doing this. She even does something similar to this when describing Oroonoko. She says ‘’ His mouth was rising and Roman instead of African and flat. His mouth, the finest shaped that could be seen, far from those great turned lips which are so natural to the rest of the Negroes.’’ (16). The narrator in this line is elevating Oroonoko above the rest of the Africans because of his more Euro-centric traits. She is ascribing him whiteness so he can be more palatable to her. Thus erasing a part of Oroonoko’s Blackness in the process.
In conclusion the runaway slave flyer and the book Oroonoko are pieces of art that reflects the racial zeitgeist of the !8th century. Both are about the subjugation of Black bodies and African Culture. And both hold Hold whiteness as superior.
Work cited
Runaways https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/83d5559f-0fc9-aaa1-e040-e00a1806332d
Oroonoko Aphra Bend (40) (16) 1688
