The Stacks Ep. 364 They Were Her Property by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers — The Stacks Book Club (Tembe Denton-Hurst)
Mar 26, 2025
Tembe Denton-Hurst, a keen author and journalist, returns to share her insights on Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers' pivotal book, They Were Her Property. They delve into the complex roles of white women in the American South, revealing their active complicity in slavery's brutality and the economic systems built upon it. The conversation explores how societal norms masked this involvement, the eerie rituals of mastery in slavery, and the underlying economic motivations behind seemingly benevolent acts. Tembe encourages readers to confront these hard truths.
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Slaveholding As Mastery And Culture
- The authors treat slaveholding as a learned, masterful practice with rituals, manuals, and status.
- Tracy and Tembe call it 'mastery'—a cultivated skillset for running the economy of human property.
Benevolence Hid Financial Incentives
- Benevolence rhetoric masked pecuniary motives; 'nicer' punishments often aimed to preserve resale value.
- Both guests emphasize that even 'kind' owners prioritized profit over human welfare.
Hidden Brutality Of Female Violence
- Female-inflicted brutality could be more insidious: methods like the nettle whip hid wounds while causing deep pain.
- Tembe highlights how hidden violence differed from men's more public brutality.