Free African Americans In The Colonial Era

Free African Americans in the Colonial Era

When Crispus Attucks earned his unfortunate claim to fame as a victim in the Boston Massacre, he was not a slave. He was one of the relatively few African Americans to achieve freedom in colonial America. Although freedom is clearly desirable in comparison to a life in chains, free African Americans were unfortunately rarely treated with the same respect of their white counterparts.

There were several ways African Americans could achieve their freedom. Indentured servants could fulfill the terms of their contracts like those brought to Jamestown in 1619. In the early days, when property ownership was permitted, skilled slaves could earn enough money to purchase their freedom. Crispus Attucks and many others achieved liberty the hard way — through a daring escape. It only stands to reason that when faced with a perpetual sentence of bondage many slaves would take the opportunity to free themselves, despite the great risks involved.

Another way of becoming free was called manumission — the voluntary freeing of a slave by the master. Masters did occasionally free their own slaves. Perhaps it was a reward for good deeds or hard work. At times it was the work of a guilty conscience as masters sometimes freed their slaves in their wills. Children spawned by slaves and masters were more likely to receive this treatment. These acts of kindness were not completely unseen in colonial America, but they were rare. In the spirit of the Revolution, manumission did increase, but its application was not epidemic.

Free African Americans were likely to live in urban centers. The chance for developing ties to others that were free plus greater economic opportunities made town living sensible. Unfortunately, this “freedom” was rather limited. Free African Americans were rarely accepted into white society. Some states applied their slave codes to free African Americans as well. Perhaps the most horrifying prospect was kidnapping. Slave catchers would sometimes abduct free African Americans and force them back into slavery. In a society that does not permit black testimony against whites, there was very little that could be done to stop this wretched practice.

Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731 – October 9, 1806) was a free African American astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, almanac author and farmer.

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Quote For The Day

"MEN GO abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering."

--Saint Augustine

Sunday With Sting :: My One And Only Love

Hyacinth And Wooden Clogs

A DUTCH woman looks at a flower mosaic featuring US president Barack Obama during the flower days in Limmen, on May 12, 2009. During these days villagers present mosaics made of thousands hyasinths in their gardens. The event started at May 9 and end at May 14.

'Sugar Shack' Artist Ernie Barnes Dead At 70

IF YOU watched the Norman Lear 70s sitcom "Good Times" you will remember the Sugar Shack from the opening credits or Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" album cover. The artist who painted that iconic rendition of African American dance died last night. He was 70 years old.

On To The Smithsonian

WASHINGTON — Even before he takes office, President-elect Barack Obama's image will become part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery, the museum announced Wednesday.

The gallery acquired the iconic red, white and blue collage by Los Angeles street artist Shepard Fairey, depicting Obama with the word "Hope." The image _ later modified with the messages of "Change" and "Vote" for the Obama campaign _ became one of the most memorable images from the election. The curators at the Smithsonian Institution museum plan to hang it by Inauguration Day.

"What I think is so fascinating is the ubiquitous nature," said Carolyn Carr, deputy director of the Gallery. "When people think of a portrait of Obama, they think of this image."

Gallery officials would not reveal how much they paid Fairey for the five-foot tall, mixed-media stenciled collage. Art collectors Heather and Tony Podesta of Washington donated money for the Smithsonian to purchase the work.

Typically, the gallery acquires official portraits of presidents as they are leaving office, and an official Obama portrait will be added later. A portrait of President George W. Bush was unveiled at the gallery in December.

Fairey's collage appeared on thousands of stickers, posters and T-shirts across the country. Time magazine recently commissioned Fairey to create a similar image of Obama for its Person of the Year cover.

Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee unveiled another print Wednesday created by Fairey to be sold on the committee's Web site. Most will sell for $100, but 1,000 prints signed by the artist are priced at $500. Proceeds will help fund official inaugural events.
Fairey's works are also in the collections of the museum in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

I've got the image blown up on poster board displayed from my front door and two of my windows. I'm hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't like the image, even if they aren't (yet) an Obama supporter.

Shepard Fairey (love that name!) hit pay dirt.

Here's to street art.

A Bench Memorial for Slavery

At Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island, S.C.: Toni Morrison, far left, led the procession during a ceremony dedicating her “bench by the road,” honoring the memory of slaves who arrived there. (NY Times photo and caption)

TONI MORRISON got her wish. Anyone who was mesmerized by her Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece Beloved knows that the novel commemorates the history of slavery. But there's literature and there's life. Back in 1989, the Nobel Laureate told a magazine, “There is no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath or wall, or park or skyscraper lobby. There’s no 300-foot tower, there’s no small bench by the road.”

As of this past weekend, there is now a small bench by the road. By a road on an island off the coast of South Carolina. An island where many, many slaves were dragged in shackles and chains into the New World.

Read all about it.

The Times They Are A-Changing

BOB DYLAN endorsed Barack Obama today in the Times Online (via Daily Kos):

In an exclusive interview with The Times, published in T2 today, Dylan gives a ringing endorsement to Mr Obama, the first ever black presidential candidate, claiming he is "redefining the nature of politics from the ground up".

Dylan, 67, made the comments when being interviewed in Denmark, where he stopped over in a hotel during a tour of Scandinavia.

Asked about his views on American politics, he said: "Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralising. You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor.

"But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up...Barack Obama.

"He's redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to."

He added: “You should always take the best from the past, leave the worst back there and go forward into the future."

Dylan's endorsement contains much symbolic significance. The legendary singer-songwriter, who has an art exhibition opening in London next week, became a focal point for young people worldwide when he released the album 'The times they are a-changin'," including the famous song of that name, in 1964.

I was always more a fan of Dylan's poetic lyrics than of his music, and that voice, but every once in a while, everything came together in a way that stirred my soul.

And, like all artists, he's still able to tell us who we are.

Credo

I BELIEVE in growing things,
and in the things
which have grown and died
magnificently.

I believe in people
and in the simple aspects
of human life,
and in the relation of man
to nature.

I believe man
must be free,
both in spirit and society,
that he must
build strength into himself,
affirming the
enormous beauty of the world
and acquiring
the confidence to see
and to
express his vision.

—Ansel Adams

tags: Ansel Adams, art, spirituality, quotes