The Audacity of Robert Smalls

"Michael B. Moore shares the story of escaped slave Robert Smalls, his great-great grandfather. Smalls commandeered a Confederate Naval vessel, freeing his family and two others. But Small's life story doesn't end there. Prepare to hear one of the least well-known, most important stories of the Civil War."

Dec. 25th, 1837

"On Christmas day in 1837, the Africans and Native Americans who formed Florida’s Seminole Nation defeated a vastly superior U.S. invading army bent on cracking this early rainbow coalition and returning the Africans to slavery. The Seminole victory stands as a milestone in the march of American liberty."

Dec. 25, 1837: Christmas Day Freedom Fighters: Hidden History of the Seminole Anticolonial Struggle

(click on the link to learn more about these bad-ass Freedom Fighters!) 

Looks what's up

at  Paper Thin Personas !!! Beauty in Bloomers: A Steampunk Paper Doll inspired by Amelia Bloomer

Rachel Cohen, the artist behind Paperthinpersons, writes:
"Erin Winslow proposed a steampunk set based on Amelia Bloomer’s women’s dress reform movement costume. My first thought was, “No Way!”"

Reparations

Jamaica calls for Britain to pay billions of pounds in reparations for slavery:

"Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caricom Reparations Commission , has led calls for Cameron to start talks on making amends for slavery and referenced the prime minister’s ancestral links to the trade in the 1700s through his cousin six times removed, General Sir James Duff.

In an open letter in the Jamaica Observer, the academic wrote: “You are a grandson of the Jamaican soil who has been privileged and enriched by your forebears’ sins of the enslavement of our ancestors ... You are, Sir, a prized product of this land and the bonanza benefits reaped by your family and inherited by you continue to bind us together like birds of a feather.

“We ask not for handouts or any such acts of indecent submission. We merely ask that you acknowledge responsibility for your share of this situation and move to contribute in a joint programme of rehabilitation and renewal. The continuing suffering of our people, Sir, is as much your nation’s duty to alleviate as it is ours to resolve in steadfast acts of self-responsibility.”

(click on the headline link to see the entire article)

Cherokee Syllabary

A matter of definitions

Back at the Charleston airship docks, the Captain tried to rally his crew's enthusiasm for their new crew mate.
“Told y’all this one was different!” he smirked.
“She’s, she’s white” said Kennia.
Tira’s expression was a study in consternation. “White folks been known to fall offa this ship. Just sayin’.”
“Now, now,” said the Captain. “Harry is white, too.”
“Naw,” said Kennia. “He’s Irish. Everybody knows that they aren’t really white even though they’ve got really pasty skins. Just look how they were treated in their own country by the English. The Irish were “just trash” same as well as brown-skinned folks are here and in Africa.”
Tira frowned in disapproval.
“This gal has a French last name and you know what that means. She’s some kinda Euro-trash no doubt.”
“She’s got red hair,” answered the Captain. “Maybe she’s got some Irish in her. Anyway, she’s our new workin’ partner an’ that’s that. ‘Sides, she’s only here for one mission so Tira, please make sure she doesn’t fall offa the ship.”
“At least not until after we don’t need her anymore” added Kennia.
“At least y’all have got another woman aboard. I’m the one who’s outnumbered by all y’all gals. And its not like you miss Harry, either. I don’t remember either one of y’all bein’ too fond of him.”
Tira just pressed her lips together while Kennia busied herself with checking her carpetbag and its contents.
“I can see this is gonna be a long trip,” muttered the Captain to himself.


****************************************

I've been wrestling (or wrastlin' as our airship crew would say) with this chapter for at least 2 weeks. I am trying to figure-out how to show the ugliness of racism while avoiding being ugly or using hurtful language, even in an example. I will NEVER use the "n-word" here at any time no matter what point I am trying to make. On the other hand racism is real and it is ugly and one of my motivations for writing this story is to fight racism by showing that it was not "inevitable."

Azie D. does a good job explaining the "Irish thing" in her video:

Hear those church bells ringin'

A bit of eye-candy for you, my dear readers:

The Beauty Of These 18 South Carolina Churches Will Leave You Spellbound

The Port Royal Experiment

In The Kitchen Episode 2 - Ugali na Tomato Gravy

Ugali is one of many names for cornmeal porridge, a coarsely ground mixture of corn (also called  maize) and either water or milk. It is a favorite food in many African countries as well as in the Caribean and many North American food cultures. 

American Civil War Recruitment Poster

Fifty Years in Chains

This is the true story of Charles Ball who was born into slavery in Maryland, USA and later sold down south to South Carolina to work on a cotton plantation. The major part of his story tells of his escape from a Georgia farm and his incredible journey north to freedom.

Fifty Years in Chains   is available to download or read online for free at Project Gutenberg.

Native American Tribal Nations Map

Native American Tribal Nations Map: Our Original Names and Locations



This fantastic resource is best described by the words of its creator:

THE CONCEPT OF THE TRIBAL NATIONS MAP

These maps present every documented, known Native American and First Nations tribes that were here in the United States and Canada in Pre-Contact times. All of the tribal nations documented here are in their original locations before the European Invasion affected their movement and displacement. Most of the names of tribes are in their own language, and are  not the names given to them either by the invading Europeans or even other tribes. For example, we correctly use the name Numinu for what most Americans would call the Comanche Nation. The Sioux are referred to here in their own language as the Lakota. Unfortunately, many of the tribes here are indeed listed by their given name. Their original names were lost in the War against the Indians which left many tribes numberless, or forced remnant bands to amalgamate into larger, stronger tribes. We seek here to honor those hundreds of tribal nations who existed in their respective territories for millennia unscathed until the encroachment of Europeans. This is a tribute to all of those forgotten tribes whose names had been lost to the wind, but who live in the hearts and minds of modern-day Native Americans who managed to survive the largest full-scale holocaust in Man's history. We also honor the Indigenous Nations of this land by giving them ownership of their own names for themselves.

Clicking on the link (at the top of this post) takes you to the website where you can download a free PDF of the map or purchase a larger version, suitable for hanging in a classroom or cultural center.

Charleston Rice Forum

Artist Jonathan Green launches an important forum on local culture

"Jonathan Green wants to start a conversation. It's a conversation about rice and a conversation about history. And more than anything, it's about a vibrant West African-based culture that flourished for over two centuries in the Lowcountry of South Carolina but is seldom discussed today.
The need for that discussion was the impetus for the Lowcountry Rice Forum, a three-day event that kicks off Thursday evening and brings together scholars, artists, educators, and cooks. The larger goal, as Green articulates it, is to get people together "to have a conversation about the landscape of the South and how it came to be."

Indian Child Welfare Act

RavenHawk Radio Presents: Stolen Children

"A conversation about ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) and how it effects Native American Children today."

For over 200 years the Settler governments of the US and Canada removed Indian children from their homes and families in an effort to destroy their cultures and force them to assimilate to Settler norms. The idea was that "you must kill the Indian to save the man." Colonized peoples all over this planet no doubt recognize this process and understand the devastation it has caused in Indigenous societies. 

HAPPY JUNETEENTH 2013!

What is Juneteenth?

June 19th or Juneteenth is the day that we celebrate the de facto end of slavery in the United States of America. Click on the link above to read more about it. Meanwhile, I'll be fixin' my black-eyed peas and rice for my celebration dinner.

And if you wish to learn more about "Africa's Botanical Legacy" in North America, I highly recommend In the Shadow of Slavery: Africa's Botanical Legacy in the Atlantic World by Judith A. Carney and Richard Nicholas Rosomoff.

HAPPY JUNETEENTH, Y'ALL!

Harriet Tubman and the Combahee River Raid

Clicking on Harriet Tubman and the Combahee River Raid will take you to The Tracing Center's blog post about it. Below is an excerpt:

"First, the raid demonstrated very publicly that black troops were not merely fit as laborers or cannon fodder, but were every bit as capable as their white brethren at executing complex military operations under the most challenging circumstances."

Is anyone surprised that I did not learn about this raid in school? I did learn about Harriet Tubman, the Moses of Her People (as she was called by many), in the 4th grade. Mrs. Green, one of the very first African-American teachers at my elementary school, was the first teacher I had who celebrated Black History Week (now expanded to an entire month) and taught us school children about some of the other stories, the ones not involving straight, white dudes with money and power. 

Stephen Hayes's Cash Crop

This man's art just blows me away!

Stephen Hayes's Cash Crop: "This Is How You Got Here" for an article giving more information. 

“This is Charles-Town”

Black and white all mix’d together
Inconstant, strange, unhealthful weather
Burning heat and chilling cold
Dangerous both to young and old
Boisterous winds and heavy rains
Fevers and rheumatic pains
Agues plenty without doubt
Sores, boils, the prickling heat and gout
Water bad, past all drinking
Men and women without thinking
Every thing at a high price
But rum, hominy and rice
Many a widow not unwilling
Many a beau not worth a shilling
Many a bargain, if you strike it
This is Charles-town, how do you like it?

Captain Martin, 1769

The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls

Robert Smalls:  Robert Smalls was born an enslaved person on April 5, 1839, in a small cottage in Beaufort, SC. By the time he died in 1915, Smalls had served five terms in the United States Congress. Click on his name to go to the "The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls" web site.

This man's real life was an action and adventure tale!