staying in place

For those living in antebellum america, african americans were taught to keep their place/ status and learn never to exceed the white man. African americans were taught to "keep my eyes in front where they belong" (Gaines, 111) or to "never again attempt to exceed my bounderies" (Wright, 230). This conditioning forced many in the black population to underestimate themselves especially in the economic world then. By keeping the population ignorant, the whites were able to control blacks into losing what power they had gained politically and socially.