For over 400 years, the oppression of Africans in America involved not just physical torment but also psychological and strategic manipulation across generations. Consequently, while enslaved Africans sometimes learned skills that benefitted their enslavers, their captors deliberately denied them access to certain forms of knowledge. As a result, this denial prevented Africans from gaining independence, resisting control, and strengthening their own communities. Moreover, these omissions were not random; they represented calculated acts of suppression. Ultimately, this manipulation aimed to maintain power and control over the enslaved population.

Among the most strategically withheld were three sciences:

The Science of Warfare – The knowledge of strategy, organized defense, and coordinated action was withheld. This was to prevent revolts and protect the power of the slave system. Enslavers feared anything that could lead to another Haitian Revolution or large-scale uprising.

The Science of Finance & Economics – Understanding money, trade, land ownership, and wealth-building could have freed enslaved Africans economically. Denying this knowledge kept them dependent and ensured the flow of wealth stayed in the hands of their oppressors.

The Science of Mating & Family Building – Knowledge of selective breeding, genetics, and intentional family planning was controlled. This allowed enslavers to dictate reproduction for profit, break up families, and prevent the passing down of cultural legacy.

The Relevance Today

The effects of being cut off from these sciences did not disappear when slavery ended. Instead, they were reinforced through Jim Crow laws, discriminatory policies, redlining, mass incarceration, and media narratives. These three areas still impact the Black community in direct ways:

Warfare → Self-Defense & Unity
Without widespread training in organized protection and strategic unity, violence within the community often turns inward. This occurs instead of protecting and uplifting each other. The discipline, coordination, and solidarity that warfare knowledge brings is still underdeveloped. This makes communities more vulnerable.

Finance → Generational Wealth Gaps
The denial of financial education left a lasting wealth gap. The average Black family’s net worth remains far lower than the national average. Limited financial literacy leads to higher debt, lower homeownership rates, and fewer business investments. Economic empowerment is still one of the most urgent needs.

Mating → Strong Family Structures
The intentional breaking of families during slavery was followed by policies. These policies penalized marriage or made fatherhood difficult — especially through mass incarceration. This has left lasting challenges in maintaining stable, two-parent households.

Black-on-Black Crime & Single-Mother Households

Two of the most discussed — and often misrepresented — issues in the Black community stem directly from these denied sciences.
Black-on-Black Crime often serves as a political talking point without context. The truth is, without the science of warfare, unity and discipline in protecting the community give way to internal conflict. Systemic poverty, driven by economic suppression, creates high-stress environments where violence becomes more likely. The solution isn’t just “more policing” — it’s about restoring organized, community-led protection.

Single-Mother Households don’t simply arise from “poor choices.” They represent the legacy of family structures intentionally destroyed during slavery, reinforced by discriminatory laws, economic oppression, and mass incarceration. The absence of intentional family-building education — the science of mating — perpetuates this cycle.

The Stereotyping of Black Women

An equally damaging tactic has been the creation and promotion of harmful stereotypes about Black women. The “ghetto, loud, confrontational” caricature didn’t appear out of nowhere — it has roots in slavery. In those times, Black women were labeled as either hypersexual “Jezebels” to justify rape or as “angry” and “unfeminine” to justify abuse and exclusion from protection.

Today, media — from reality TV to viral clips — continues to push these portrayals. They are made to appear as representative of all Black women. The result is a constant assault on the image, dignity, and desirability of Black women, even within their own community.

Division Between Black Men & Women

One of the most damaging consequences of these stereotypes is the widening divide between Black men and women. During slavery, Black men were systematically stripped of the role of protector and provider. In modern times, systems like mass incarceration, economic disenfranchisement, and media manipulation have continued to weaken the bond.

Some Black men have absorbed societal biases. They believe negative narratives about Black women and even glorify the idea that dating or marrying outside their race is a “step up.” This is not simply a matter of preference — it is the continuation of a centuries-old tactic. By dividing the Black family, the community’s strength is weakened.

Reclaiming the Sciences

The same sciences that were denied are the ones that must be reclaimed to heal and strengthen the Black community:
Warfare → Teach strategic self-defense, political organization, and community unity.
Finance → Prioritize financial literacy, cooperative economics, and generational wealth-building.
Mating → Restore intentional family planning, cultural pride in Black love, and building of strong, stable households.

Black-on-Black crime, single motherhood, stereotypes, and division are not random cultural flaws. Instead, they are the predictable results of a system that has worked for centuries to deny specific forms of knowledge. By reclaiming the sciences of warfare, finance, and mating, the Black community can undo much of the generational damage. A foundation of unity, wealth, and family can be built that can’t be easily broken again.

Visit | Atlanta History Center
Black History: Facts, People & Month | HISTORY
13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865) | National Archives
A People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story | National Museum of African American History and Culture