A letter from Elizabeth Hemings

My Dearest daughters,

I realize now that you are reaching the age when men will begin calling on you. You have blossomed into such beauties, reminding me of the youthful innocence I once possessed. However, in choosing a suitor or perhaps a future husband, you must understand the privileges of having white blood and, more importantly, the restrictions of being a slave.

We fall into a different class, neither pure slave nor pure white. My father was my mother’s master, giving me the lighter skin and features that have both aided and burdened me in my lifetime. It causes me immense sadness that I cannot be certain who your father really is. As a slave I have not been gifted the ownership of my own body. But I do believe that our previous master, Mister Wayles, fathered you. Your skin is fair, and both slaves and freemen take notice of your beauty. While the white men may keep their lust for you hidden from the public eye, they may be eager to reveal it to you, even without your consent.

You need to know though that we are constrained by our enslaved status and no matter how much white blood we have, we are still African by today’s standards. You have the choice to reject your blackness or embrace it, I do not wish to control your feelings. But remember that while our light skin has kept us from the field, it has not made us free. Despite your virtuous beauty and intelligence, being a slave will be your most salient identity in society’s view.

Your mother,

Elizabeth Hemings

Questions:

1. Was it a common practice for lighter skinned slaves (usually mulattos) to have more privilege than darker skinned slaves, or was the privilege granted because of a certain level of literacy and skill?

2. How did race become a more salient barrier than social class in creating divisions between people? Why didn't indentured servants identify more with enslaved people?