Full Speed Ahead!!!

Well, I'm back! And in considerably better mental and physical health. And I've really missed working on this story, so here comes another try.

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

State Capitol, Columbia, SC, June 2015

Charleston 2015

I see that I had a number of visitors on Juneteenth, and they probably expected a blog post about Juneteenth. I'd made all my usual preparations, stocked-up on Black-eye Peas, rice, etc and had told all my Swedish friends within hearing about the holiday and its significance. But then, I did not write anything because I was in tears over the Charleston shooting. This shooting was aimed at the heart of the Black community:  Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Denmark Vesey's church. If you are not familiar with these names (or even if you are and want to learn more), please read The Charleston Massacre and the Cunning of White Supremacy. Dylann Roof is not some random maniac and his choice of location and victims were not accidental.

A Confederate war memorial in Charleston, SC.

If you look to the right-hand column, you can see a new category: Historical Works about SC. There is a link to the #CharlestonSyllabus, a crowdsourced,  annotated bibliography: 

#Charlestonsyllabus is more than a list. It is a community of people committed to critical thinking, truth telling and social transformation.”– Chad Williams

Susie King Taylor

Susie King Taylor (August 6, 1848 - October 6, 1912) was the first Black Army nurse. She tended to an all Black army troop named the First South Carolina Volunteers, 33rd Regiment, where her husband served, for four years during the Civil War. Despite her service, like many African American nurses, she was never paid for her work.[1] As the author of Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops, Late 1st S.C. Volunteers, she was the only African American woman to publish a memoir of her wartime experiences. You can read it online for free: REMINISCENCES OF MY LIFE IN CAMP WITH THE 33D UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS LATE 1ST S. C. VOLUNTEERS


 

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

Hot Air Balloons

Dear Reader, for this month's non-story post, I offer for your delection 1780s-1790s France to Britain to Early American - Hot Air Balloons.

In addition to which I offer a late 19th century view of personal transport in the year 2000 A.D. (according to European reckoning):

As well as Public Service in the year 2000 A.D. (according to European reckoning):

The Port Royal Experiment

And once more into the breach dear Meta!

The sad fact is that I have written most of the next chapters but haven't had the strength to finalize and post them. Between my thyroid problem, online activism and the Swedish electoral politics, I am strained and exhausted. And now we will have a new national election in March thanks to SD, a racist party (that is similar to the EDL or BNP in the UK). I promise that I have NOT forgotten y'all and more is on the way though!!! 

Meta post

I have been AWOL* for 3 months now due to the pressures of Swedish politics (our elections were mid-Sept) as well as doing online advocacy. The next few chapters are in rough draft form and one will go up in the next 2-3 days!

Meanwhile, dear readers, why not read about Professor Thaddeus Lowe's real-life 1861 balloon ride? Professor Lowe’s 1861 Balloon Voyage to Union, S.C.

(the above picture has been attributed to several different sources so for the moment I will leave it without attribution. Anyone who has solid evidence please contact me!)


*Absent WithOut Leave

The South Carolina Low Country

Hunting Island, a barrier island east of Beaufort on the S.C. coast.

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. 

Prettie Girls

Prettie Girls are a multi-ethnic line of 11.5 inch fashion dolls available at THE PRETTIE GIRLS! DOLLS.

2 interviews with the designer and the owner of the company:

The Prettie Girls Interview on NewsOne Now

American Civil War Recruitment Poster

The State of Muskogee

existed for only a few years from 1799-1803 in an area in what is now known as Florida.

It was an American Indian nation formed by Seminoles and lower Chattahoochee Creeks along with runaway slaves, white pirates and Spanish deserters. Its founder, William Augustus Bowles  (also known as Estajoca, his Muscogee  or Creek name), had a vision of the state growing to include the Cherokee, Upper and Lower Creeks, Choctaw and Chickasaw. Unfortunately, the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802 led to peace between the British, Spanish and French, allowing them to concentrate on crushing The State of Muskogee.