This was followed by a lengthy transoceanic trip
which must have exceeded the horrors of the train ride to the
concentration camp. The crowded unsanitary conditions in the
slave ships were at least as bad as those in the cattle cars, and
the Africans also were beaten and harassed to keep them docile.
Moreover, the trip itself was much rougher and longer. After
undergoing another inspection, the African was purchased and had
to face lifetime of bondage in an alien environment. He was
stripped of identity, given a new name, and he was taught to
envision himself and his African heritage as inferior and
barbaric. The White master insisted on total obedience and
created a situation of utter dependence. He supplied food, clothing,
shelter, discipline, and he was in a position to control the slave's
friends and mating. The "Sambo" of literature mirrored reality,
this life of dependency created infantile characteristics in many
of the slaves and taught them to reject their past while adopting
the values of their masters. The American slave system, besides
exploiting the Africans labor, possessed and violated his
person.
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