Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter examines how myths of white paternalism and Black inferiority justify slavery and continue to sustain contemporary racial hierarchy. It explains how pro-slavery ideologues and cultural works—from George Fitzhugh’s writings to Uncle Tom’s Cabin—depict slavery as a benevolent system in which white owners care for supposedly childlike Black dependents. The chapter explores how thinkers like Jefferson and Hume institutionalize beliefs in Black intellectual inferiority, while religious, scientific, and cultural arguments—from sermons to pseudoscience and literature—reinforce white supremacy and define America’s social order. It also shows how Black writers and theologians resist these myths and how they shape post–Civil War society, fueling Jim Crow laws, segregation, and distorted portrayals of Black life in education and entertainment. Finally, the chapter demonstrates how paternalist ideologies continue to influence American culture and politics and calls for the exposure and rejection of these enduring falsehoods to affirm the full humanity and agency of Black people.</jats:p>