“Yo mama so old she sat next to Jesus in the 1st grade.” We’re sure you’ve heard this, or something similar before.
The tradition of “trading the dozens,” or engaging in clever insult battles between peers, evolved into a way to win respect in Black spaces. But originally the ritual was used to protect enslaved children from the wrath of violent slave masters.
Enslaved people needed to train their children to maintain emotional control, should they find themselves antagonized by their slave owner.
Families made sure that verbal abuse and disheartening insults would not cause their offspring to physically retaliate.
Without having an outlet amongst relatives to redirect their aggression safely, the consequences of surrendering to your anger could be deadly.
The game as it’s played today, however, could easily be misinterpreted by casual observers as mean spirited - yet real-life lessons are being passed along.
In fact, if you survived a few “dirty” rounds, you and your crew had no fear that you wouldn’t be able to handle yourself in a society that would try to emotionally break you without hesitation.
The Dozens by nature dares battlers to sit in the uncertain space between funny and offensive while sharpening one's observation skills, language mastery, and quick thinking.
Cultural traditions like these are just one of the many techniques Black people have used to enhance our chances at survival in a society hellbent on breaking our spirits down.