I’ve heard about slaves being licked to see if they retained salt before being brought to America.is this true

Question

..and from what I understood was that the ones that were brought over were the ones best able to make the long voyage because of their salts in their bodys. Wich explains a lot of the health conditions that go on and African Americans that seem not to effect other races and may be the reason why a lot of blacks act certain ways. Has anyone else heard about this theory?

Answer 1

I'm astounded by how incredibly ignorant that statement is.

I had never heard it before... or at least, never heard the version of it that included anyone l*****g Africans before loading them onto slave ships. A quick Google found a blog entry describing some of the reason why this is so profoundly stupid; the entry references an article from a scientific journal that I've also provided the link to, but it saddens me that you weren't able to dismiss this idea just based on the inherent racism and idiocy of it.

Out of curiosity, what are the "certain ways" that black people act because of their high salt content? Does it make them better at basketball? Or are saltier people more likely to eat watermelon and fried chicken? I just can't figure out what you were getting at.

Answer 2

Black African native people who retained salt were better able to survive the arduous passage across the Atlantic.   I have never heard that they were licked first.  Salt retention is part of the reason why so many American blacks have high blood pressure.

Thank you for asking this question, in spite of Cinnea's assertion that by simply asking it implies that you are a racist.

Answer 3

Yes. Those that retained salt were most likely to survive the Middle Passage. Those who retained salt were less likey to become  dehydrated and therefore would survive the trip. One of my sources is below.

Answer 4

I've heard of this, although I heard they poured some kool aid and fried chicken on the slaves before they licked them.