Somebodiness
“The essence of antebellum black religion was the emphasis on the somebodiness of black slaves. The content of the black preacher’s message stressed the essential worth of their person. ‘You are created in God’s image. You are not slaves, you are not “n*****s”; you are God’s children.’ Because religion defined the somebodiness of their being, black slaves could retain a sense of the dignity of their person even though they were treated as things.”
– James Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues