Category Archives: Slavery

On this day in American History – July 5, 1852 — Frederick Douglass gives his famous speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

Posted on July 5, 2020 by

One hundred and sixty-eight years ago today Frederick Douglass gave his famous speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Douglass was born into slavery in 1818, the product of a white male raping a Black woman. White … Continue reading →

Posted in Black patriotism, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Lest We Forget, Patriotism, Politics, race, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On this Day in American History — June 24, 2015, Confederate Flag Flies at Alabama Capitol until this day in 2015; Monuments Remain (From the Equal Justice Initiative 2020 Calendar)

Posted on June 24, 2020 by

On June 24, 2015, Alabama officials removed a Confederate flag flying on the grounds of the state capitol in Montgomery. The move came in response to national scrutiny of Confederate symbols on public property, triggered by a tragic shooting at … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Justice Chronicles, Politics, race, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Talladega Knights: The Ballad of Bubba Wallace, “Sweet Home Alabama,” and the Day of the Noose

Posted on June 22, 2020 by

Headline: Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s only Black driver who races full-time in NASCAR’s top three series – a noose was found in his garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway, “the biggest and baddest track.” NASCAR has banned the Confederate flag from its … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Politics, race, Revolution, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On this Day in American history – June 19, 1865 — Juneteenth (From the Equal Justice Initiative)

Posted on June 19, 2020 by

Although President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation declared enslaved Black people in Confederate territories free, these locations were under Confederate control, which rejected the freedom of enslaved people on plantations throughout the South. The Proclamation did little to emancipate enslaved … Continue reading →

Posted in Black patriotism, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Lest We Forget, race, Revolution, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The South Won the War of Northern Aggression?

Posted on June 13, 2020 by

Imagine a visitor from another planet, say Mars, is touring the Southern states and is in modern day Virginia. The Martian makes its way to Jamestown, which he finds both interesting, and puzzling. It has familiarized itself with 200 years … Continue reading →

Posted in race, Slavery, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fires This Time

Posted on June 5, 2020 by

Last year, 2019, we marked 400 years since Africans were brought to Virginia and America’s “peculiar institution” took root. Since then, in the annals of American history, there has been systematic oppression and brutality against the descendants of Africans in … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, Black patriotism, James Baldwin, Justice Chronicles, juveniles, Lest We Forget, Martin Luther King, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics, race, raising black boys, Relationships, Revolution, Slavery, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Black Independence Day!

Posted on June 19, 2019 by

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States, a day more important to descendants of Africans than the Fourth of July.  (Read Frederick Douglass’ classic speech, “What is the Fourth of July to … Continue reading →

Posted in Lest We Forget, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On this Day in American history, September 6, 2010 — Alabama Prison Bans Pulitzer Prize-Winning Book, Slavery By Another Name

Posted on September 6, 2018 by

In September 2010, lawyers at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a nonprofit civil rights law firm in Montgomery, Alabama, mailed a copy of Slavery by Another Nameto client Mark Melvin, then incarcerated at Kilby Correctional Facility. Written by award-winning journalist Douglas … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Lest We Forget, Slavery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On this day in American history, August 21, 1831 — Nat Turner Leads Enslaved Black People in Virginia Rebellion

Posted on August 21, 2018 by

Nat Turner was an enslaved black man who lived in Southampton, Virginia. By many accounts, Turner was a very religious man who ministered to fellow enslaved blacks as well as whites. Turner studied the Bible fervently and often claimed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Lest We Forget, Slavery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

On this day in history, May 23, 1796 — Ad Offers Reward for Return of Runaway Slave to President George Washington

Posted on May 23, 2018 by

On May 23, 1796, a newspaper ad was submitted for publication that sought the return of Ona “Oney” Judge, an enslaved black woman who had “absconded from the household of the President of the United States,” George Washington. Ms. Judge … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Lest We Forget, race, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment