A Slave to Marriage by Cheri Wiley
*Author's note: This paper has been written from the view point of a black, female slave. Any misspellings are an attempt to create a dialect in order to make the story seem more realistic. Please note that the author recognizes that all people are created equal. Any event or words that appear contradictory to this belief are done only to show people's attitude during the time the events took place.
It wuz a Tuesday. The sky wuz dark and them clouds were just a pourin' down the rain. Them lightnin' bolts were as bright and powerful as the masta's whip. I remember the day like it wuz just yesterday. I wuz sixteen and as I stood in the corner of the dank, musty barn my heart beat faster and faster. The thin white man was dressed in a cream linen suit and as he passed by he grumbled at me..."you little slave girl...you'll never amount to much...it is a good thing you are as pretty as a slave can be." Warm tears begun to run down my cheeks...why wuz I here? I done nothin' at all...an here I wuz just waitin' to be sold to a new masta'. A most powerful bolt of lightning struck as the thunder rolled and there up against the corner stood a man. He wuz as big as my pa, and just as dark. He wuz a wearing nothing but a tattered pair of brown homespun pants that wuz most obviously none long enough for him. Suddenly the white man hollered for all of the blacks that had come on into the building today to head on over to the slave house.
We wuz to wash up and prepare ourselves to be sold. The whip cracked and we all begun a runnin' towards the door. In the hustlin' of it all I tripped and fell right in front of the big black man I had spotted earlier. He grabbed me by the arm and yanked me to my feets swearin' that I wuz the clumziest girl he ever met. I wuz feelin' so frightened and embarrassed that I ran to the other side of the house. Finally, after what seemed to be hours we wuz on the stage..all fifty seven of us. We wuz just standin' there waiting for the bids and waitin to find our new homes. My friend, Bessie was sold to a kindly looking masta' who was lookin' for a house slave. She sold for five dollars and none more. Then I heard my number called and a rough man with a scar above his right eye bid a dollar for me. I wuz sold at the first bid and tied up beside my new masta's horse. When the mens wuz bein' bidded on my new masta's bought the man I had fell in front of. I knews the future didn't look good.
We were quickly commanded to hop into the back of the wagon as the new masta' and his wife climbed into the seats and took hold of the reins. I could hear 'em discussin' how their best investment would be for me and the big man to have chilin' to help work on the farm. I watched the big man grimace as he listened. I too was afraid. Would they let us marry? Momma had taught me well and I wuz awares that God would be angry if we wuz not married. We finally reached the plantation and we wuz told exactly what we's had overheard. To my surprise the big man stepped up and said, "Wes need a weddin'!" The masta' and his wife looked at one another and the white man said he saw no reason since the weddin' ain't legal. He said there was no legal status at all. His wife, so sweet and gentle, said that she would put a weddin' on for us anyhow. Evenin' came and I wuz taken to the well to wash up. The big man followed me.
Soon the preacher arrived and the ceremony began. "Do you, Tom, take Mary to be your wife until death or distance do you part?" "Reckon I have to" wuz the only reply I heard. I too vowed before God and man to love Tom even though I wuz scared and hardly knew him. I wuz still more scared of the masta's whip than I wuz of Tom. I could hardly believe that they had changed the vows for us slaves. Tom and I's grew to love each other. We had fourteen chilin', all good hard workers that learned to love God. The day finally came for Tom to move on. The masta thought that he wuz not worth his keep. He took him to an auction. The tears that fells that day were many. I's had learned to love Tom...I wuz gonna miss him. Despite the fact that them preachers said we didn't have to be faithful no mores...I have been to Tom. We wuz married in the sight of God even if no man ever thought it was legal.
1. Who were the main characters in this story? _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
2. Why did the master not think the wedding should be performed? _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
3. Why do you think the wedding vows for slaves were changed? _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
4. How would you have felt if you were Mary? _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
5. What other things besides their wedding vows do you think held Mary and Tom together? _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
"A Slave To Marriage" OUTLINE
I. The Auction
A. Place
1. The old barn
2. The slave house
B. People
1. The rich white man (auctioneer)
2. The big male slave
3. Bessie
C. Events
1. Mary trips and falls in front of Jack
2. Mary and Tom both sold to the same man
II. The Ride to the Plantation
A. The Way
1. The wagon
2. The back
B. The Conversation
1. Master and his wife (investment would be have children)
2. Feelings of the slaves
III. The Ceremony
A. The Insignificance
1. Held no legal status
2. Wedding vows were changed to "till death or distance do we part."
B. The Commitment
1. Faithfulness in spite of Tom's leave
Answers:
1. Mary and Tom (acceptable answers would include the master and the rich white auctioneer.)
2. There was no legal status to the wedding.
3. Because they may be sold to a new master and forced to be a family with someone else.
4. Answers will vary
5. Answers will vary
Props: makeup, wig, slave outfit. Source The Blue and The Grey