Taylor 1
Lillian Taylor
Dennis Green
ETST 2155-001
13 November 2018
Ten Generations of Bondage, Eleven Generations of Faith
Three characters of interest within Ten Generations of Bondage, Eleven Generations of
Faith, by Johari Ade, are Sarah Harris, Bessie Mae, and Charley Lewis. Sarah Harris had been
born outside the period of slavery, and thus showed no fear toward white supremacy nor could
understand why her family members were so timid around white people. Sarah was a fiercely
independent child, unafraid of many things her family had been conditioned to fear. She could
not envision a world where black people were lynched and murdered for just existing within
white spaces. Bessie had been born as a lightskin child, and was subject to colorism within her
own community, who labeled her as uppity and stuck up. Her experience is unique, as she was
not only alienated by the white community, but by the surrounding black community as well.
Charley Lewis’ story is especially heart wrenching, as the author, Johari Ade, discovers he was
most likely a subject of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments, and his family was never able to
recover his body and have a proper memorial for him. His story illustrates the reality for
thousands of black men during that time period and brings to light the inhumanity of the medical
field.
The ideology of the “Wolobalani” is based in the idea that black people were truly the
only “blended” race to exist within America during Kitty’s era. Members of certain tribes, such
as the Ga, Wolof, Mandinka, and Fulani were abducted from their homelands and forced to live
and “breed” together. This brought them all together as a single, united people. The significance
This study source was downloaded by 100000850872992 from CourseHero.com on 04-14-2023 04:26:36 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/41402989/ten-generationsdocx/
, Taylor 2
of this is America had prided itself on being a “blended” nation, when in actuality, white people
were notorious for trying to distance themselves as much as possible from not only black people,
but from other white people as well. They consistently used status, blood and material items in
attempt to make themselves appear better than others. Kitty was amused by this idea, and pointed
to the logical fallacy of calling America “blended” while the only “blended” group was not
considered human.
Slaves were consistently agitated by the “celebrations of freedom” on Independence Day.
When the Declaration of Independence had stated that all men were created equal, American
slaves saw it as a long awaited sign of their freedom and rejoiced. However, their joy was soon
replaced by disappointment as they learned from their slaveholders that the Declaration had no
effect on the institution of slavery. These slaves then watched for decades as their white masters
rejoiced in their freedom, while still in bondage. They were upset that white America was
continuing to get rich off their backs. They were moved by Frederick Douglass’s words in the
North Star newspaper, in which he stated “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and
independence obtained by your forefathers, is shared by you, not me, [...]. You may rejoice, I
must mourn.”
The concepts of “fictive kin” and “takin in” are a prominent theme of the book. The
author had two notable experiences with these concepts, including her relationship with her aunt
Hattie and her best friend Ladana. Aunt Hattie was very much like a mother to her, and often
disciplined her much like a mother would. In fact, she never felt comfortable calling her “Aunt
Hattie” and instead referred to her as Mama. Madea took in Ade’s best friend Ladana, who
became pregnant at the age of 15. After presumably being kicked out of her home, Madea
provided a home for Ladana and her baby and taught her many lessons in being a mother, despite
This study source was downloaded by 100000850872992 from CourseHero.com on 04-14-2023 04:26:36 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/41402989/ten-generationsdocx/
Lillian Taylor
Dennis Green
ETST 2155-001
13 November 2018
Ten Generations of Bondage, Eleven Generations of Faith
Three characters of interest within Ten Generations of Bondage, Eleven Generations of
Faith, by Johari Ade, are Sarah Harris, Bessie Mae, and Charley Lewis. Sarah Harris had been
born outside the period of slavery, and thus showed no fear toward white supremacy nor could
understand why her family members were so timid around white people. Sarah was a fiercely
independent child, unafraid of many things her family had been conditioned to fear. She could
not envision a world where black people were lynched and murdered for just existing within
white spaces. Bessie had been born as a lightskin child, and was subject to colorism within her
own community, who labeled her as uppity and stuck up. Her experience is unique, as she was
not only alienated by the white community, but by the surrounding black community as well.
Charley Lewis’ story is especially heart wrenching, as the author, Johari Ade, discovers he was
most likely a subject of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments, and his family was never able to
recover his body and have a proper memorial for him. His story illustrates the reality for
thousands of black men during that time period and brings to light the inhumanity of the medical
field.
The ideology of the “Wolobalani” is based in the idea that black people were truly the
only “blended” race to exist within America during Kitty’s era. Members of certain tribes, such
as the Ga, Wolof, Mandinka, and Fulani were abducted from their homelands and forced to live
and “breed” together. This brought them all together as a single, united people. The significance
This study source was downloaded by 100000850872992 from CourseHero.com on 04-14-2023 04:26:36 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/41402989/ten-generationsdocx/
, Taylor 2
of this is America had prided itself on being a “blended” nation, when in actuality, white people
were notorious for trying to distance themselves as much as possible from not only black people,
but from other white people as well. They consistently used status, blood and material items in
attempt to make themselves appear better than others. Kitty was amused by this idea, and pointed
to the logical fallacy of calling America “blended” while the only “blended” group was not
considered human.
Slaves were consistently agitated by the “celebrations of freedom” on Independence Day.
When the Declaration of Independence had stated that all men were created equal, American
slaves saw it as a long awaited sign of their freedom and rejoiced. However, their joy was soon
replaced by disappointment as they learned from their slaveholders that the Declaration had no
effect on the institution of slavery. These slaves then watched for decades as their white masters
rejoiced in their freedom, while still in bondage. They were upset that white America was
continuing to get rich off their backs. They were moved by Frederick Douglass’s words in the
North Star newspaper, in which he stated “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and
independence obtained by your forefathers, is shared by you, not me, [...]. You may rejoice, I
must mourn.”
The concepts of “fictive kin” and “takin in” are a prominent theme of the book. The
author had two notable experiences with these concepts, including her relationship with her aunt
Hattie and her best friend Ladana. Aunt Hattie was very much like a mother to her, and often
disciplined her much like a mother would. In fact, she never felt comfortable calling her “Aunt
Hattie” and instead referred to her as Mama. Madea took in Ade’s best friend Ladana, who
became pregnant at the age of 15. After presumably being kicked out of her home, Madea
provided a home for Ladana and her baby and taught her many lessons in being a mother, despite
This study source was downloaded by 100000850872992 from CourseHero.com on 04-14-2023 04:26:36 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/41402989/ten-generationsdocx/
