FORT LEE, Va. (Feb. 6, 2014) -- 1. The first blacks to join the first permanent English settlement of Jamestown in 1619 were not technically slaves but indentured servants. They, like many of the whites already there, were bound by contract to work for employers anywhere from four to seven years. Many of them fulfilled the provisions of their contract and went on to own property themselves to include slaves. Race-based slavery officially began in the latter part of the century when a number of laws were enacted to counteract the impact of labor shortages. One such law dictated the children born to slave women were bound to that condition for life.
2. During the Revolutionary War, blacks fought for both the colonists and British. Many slave owners freed their slaves so they could join the ranks of the patriots, and the British offered escaped slaves freedom if they joined the war effort. Thousands of slaves escaped their captors and attempted to take up the British on their offer. In the end, only about 3,000 succeeded and were settled in Nova Scotia, Canada, after the war.
3. After the Civil War, many institutions of higher learning were established to educate the newly freed slaves. The Quakers and other religious groups figured prominently in those efforts. Lincoln Institute in Jefferson, Mo., was an exception. Black Soldiers and white officers of the Union's 62nd and 65th Colored Infantry based at Fort McIntosh, Texas, established the school in 1866 as a study and labor institute. Members of the units, comprised primarily of Missourians, sensed the possibilities of a new era and collectively gave $5,000 for the "special benefit of freed African Americans." Now Lincoln University, the state-supported school currently offers 50 undergraduate degree programs.
4. Did slavery end in what is now the United States after the Civil War? The answer is complicated. Many are familiar with Juneteenth, an observance in which Texas blacks celebrated emancipation more than two months after Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Less known is how slavery was treated in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) after the war. The slaveholders in the region, many of them Native Americans who brought slaves with them during the Trail of Tears, practiced slavery until June 1866, nearly a year after Juneteenth. Their escape clause was that Indian Territory was not a state and, therefore, not subject to the provisions of the Emancipation Proclamation. Even beyond the post-war years, remnants of slavery persisted. It is well-documented that practices such as forced labor, peonage and sharecropping were often used to mask slavery well into the 20th century. They are all examined in the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Slavery By Another Name," written by Douglas A. Blackmon.
5. It can be said Eugene J. Bullard's life's story is the stuff movies are made about. At 8 years old, the Georgia native ran away from home, joined a band of gypsies and traveled the Southern U.S. In 1912 at the age of 18, he stowed away on a ship bound for the United Kingdom and worked odd jobs. At 20 and the outset of World War I, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion and was eventually trained as a pilot, participating in 20 combat missions. When the U.S. joined the war, he tried to enter the Army air service but was denied since blacks were not allowed to fly. Bullard returned to France after the war, taking turns as a jazz drummer and nightclub manager. He returned to the U.S. in the late '40s and performed a number of odd jobs. Among them was an elevator operator in the RCA building, where the "Today" show was aired. His story was eventually discovered there, and he was interviewed during the show in 1954. His whirlwind life story begs the question: How could an uneducated man achieve so much in something so new-fangled as a flying contraption, no less operating one in combat? Much of his success might be attributed to a streak of good fortune and the opportunities available in France, where racial lines were not clearly drawn. Most of it, however, is owed to his audacity, courage and sense of adventure. Bullard, called the "The Black Swallow of Death" by the French, died in 1961 and was posthumously commissioned in 1994 as a U.S. Air Force second lieutenant.
6. The banjo is a four or five-stringed instrument that has its roots deep in African culture. From all accounts, it was developed by Africans and popularized in America by colonial-era slaves. It was instrumental in the development of country, blues and bluegrass music. Today, it is an instrument that isn't particularly popular among black musicians, perhaps because of the negative connotations associated with it.
7. During the 1960s and 70s, it wasn't uncommon to see in close proximity the portraits of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; President John Kennedy and his brother, Robert Kennedy, adorn the walls of black households. All of them assassinated, they symbolized to African-American families the sacrifice inherent in the struggle for civil rights and equal justice. Their tributes, however, should also
include President Lyndon B. Johnson. He carried out JFK's vision of a just and equal society, shepherding a convoluted legislative process that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Much of of popular history touts the act as a direct result of the many who were active participants in the movement, but the act that guaranteed the rights of all people would have died in Congress if not for Johnson. His shrewdness and tenacity pushed the bill through despite many attempts to stop it. In fact, Johnson bet his entire political career on the bill, full well knowing defeat could cost him the South and re-election. He won re-election by a landslide.
8. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was started under the leadership of Ella Baker, a Norfolk native. The civil rights organization, not affiliated with a church or political group and open to women, was a brand new component in the struggle for equality. It aimed to use direct-action strategies such as organized sit-ins to affect change and down-played the need for centralized leadership. Its members were from all races, came from schools all over the country, and espoused a more aggressive strategy than traditional groups. SNCC was known for its exhaustive field work in education and voter registration. In 1965, at the height of the movement, it was a major player in many marches to include one that sought to bring attention to voter rights in Selma, Ala. During that march from Selma to Montgomery, roughly 600 protesters attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. They were met by police, beaten and tear-gassed. One of the SNCC members, now Rep. John Lewis, suffered a cracked skull. The group was successful on its third try, when it was accompanied by hundreds of federal troops. SNCC lost its potency as a civil rights group later in the decade due to internal conflicts. It all but ceased to exist in the early '70s, but left behind the notion that all great movements require counterbalance.
9. Pfc. Sarah Louise Keys might be considered an accidental figure in the civil rights movement. In 1952, three years before Rosa Parks made her stand, Keys unwittingly did the same in Roanoke Rapids, N.C. She was in uniform and traveling from Fort Dix, N.J., to her home near Washington, N.C., when she was charged with not giving up her seat to a Marine. She said she was under the belief that she wasn't breaking the law. Keys was jailed nevertheless and paid a hefty fine. She also decided to fight the charges, taking her case to the Interstate Commerce Commission. It sided with her in 1955 and paved the way for others seeking justice. It also was a testament to the fact that those who would not or could not take a stand were sometimes compelled to.
10. What impact did black veterans have on the modern civil rights movement? Their influences were substantial. Medgar Evers, who served with the Red Ball Express in World War II, exemplified the many African-Americans who returned home after the war. They had gained leadership and job skills and witnessed integrated societies. Accordingly, many used their experiences to improve their communities. Their new-found confidence, purpose and aspiration, however, were sometimes met with violence in the South, where images of blacks in uniform stirred feelings of resentment, and perhaps more importantly, represented change. One man in uniform, Sgt. Issac Woodard, was beaten so severely he was blinded for life. His case and many others were cause to push President Harry Truman to sign Executive Order 9981 in 1948 that ended segregation in the Army.
Social Sharing