Summer 2015: Abolitionism and The Underground Railroad

“Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.” ― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

There is no way that I could read many books about The Revolutionary War, The Civil War, Abolitionism, the Underground Railroad, have intense classroom discussions, and actually experience the rich history that surrounds that time period and just let it go...No, I can not just let it go.

I have been back home from my summer studies for about a week, and My People, ideas and thoughts are running around in my head, and I will try and put some of the ideas down here, in this blog, so that I can make some sense out of them; I got to get this information out!

So, one of the many things that I have been thinking about are the people who were instrumental to abolitionism and The Underground Railroad......

We traveled to Albany, NY and upon arrival to Albany, our first stop was at the home of Stephen and Harriet Myers. Stephen was freed from slavery as a youth and spent thirty years of his life helping others to escape slavery through The Underground Railroad. (People need other people, and we must always reach back to help others.)

“WE DEVOTE ALL OUT TIME TO THE CARE OF THE OPPRESSED WHO COME AMONG US. OUR PAY IS SMALL, BUT YET WE ARE WILLING TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE CAN FOR THEM. WE HAVE ARRIVALS EVERY FEW DAYS FROM SOUTHERN OPPRESSION, AND FORWARD THEM TO THE NEXT DEPOT …”STEPHEN MYERS, 1860

We were welcomed to the Myers house by Paul and Mary Liz Stewart who are passionate about restoring the Myers house and keeping the history of Albany’s Underground Railroad involvement alive. We spent two days exploring Albany with the Stewarts, and I was amazed at their knowledge and commitment to preserving the Underground Railroad.

Paul and Mary Liz Stewart

On the second day of being in Albany, we went back to the Myers house, and it was alive with children working in and around the Myers house. They were doing archaeologist digs, completing the plans to implement a garden and on and on and on. It was so great to see this house alive with children whom I hope will continue to keep Abolitionism and The Underground Railroad alive long after the Stewart’s are gone. (Train up a child in the way that he should go......)

Now Albany made my heart glad, and I felt so much pride in knowing that freed people, The Myers, would risk their lives to help others. (People need other people!)

However, the journey continued, and we traveled to Auburn, NY to the Harriet Tubman home and gravesite. Now, I had no idea that Harriet Tubman owned a home, a senior living facility, a hospital, and a vibrant farm, and we we were on those actual grounds. It felt great to walk where Harriet walked knowing that she mostly did all of what she did for other people. (People need other people!)

Never thought about the love life of Harriet Tubman, because she is sometimes portrayed as non-human. However, she was married twice, and had one adopted daughter.... Harriet was strong and courageous and needed love and support too!

Picture at The Harriet Tubman Museum 

The Harriet Tubman House

Harriet’s original barn restored!

Harriet’s gravesite!

By the way, President Obama has paved the way for the Harriet Tubman home to become a National Historic Site..... Put this place on your list of places to visit.

William Seward!

Now, William Seward was appointed by Abraham Lincoln to be Secretary of State in 1861, and he was a big time abolitionist. When you get a chance, read about William Seward.

We visited his expansive house, and even visited a room in his house that was part of The Underground Railroad. What was surprising to me is that a man of his statue was an abolitionist. Yep, he wanted my people to be free, and we even read letters that were written by his wife pushing him to be even more radical about the ending of slavery.

William Seward

William Seward’s House

Now, we were told that Seward tried to give Harriet Tubman the land where her house is currently sitting, but she refused to let him give it to her, she slowly but surely bought it from him. (I LOVE HARRIET TUBMAN!)

Now, we visited the home, which was not very far from Colgate University, of another rich man who was all about abolitionism: Gerritt Smith. Garritt Smith’s house was a stop on The Underground Railroad, and he helped to finance The Underground Railroad. When the likes of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and John Brown showed up at this door, he knew that they may need money, and he had no problem supplying it. (People need other people.)

Where Garrett Smith conducted most of his Underground Railroad activity

The visit to Seneca Falls, New York, the home of the Women’s Right Movement,  was quite liberating, yet complex for me as an African American women. Not sure if I would have been fighting for women’s right if my race did not have equal rights. Even if women got the right to vote, I still would not have been able to vote, because I am African American. However, many of the women in this movement were abolitionist including Elizabeth Stanton.

Elizabeth Stanton

We visited the National Women’s Rights National Historical Park; The Wesleyan Chapel where the first ever women’s right convention was held and also a place where Frederick Douglass visited, and we visited Elizabeth Stanton’s home.

At the National Women’s Rights National Park

With Judy Wellman and the great, great, granddaughter
of Elizabeth Stanton

Long live strong women who are willing to make history.......

Now, there is no way that a person can study abolitionism in the Northeast and not talk about Frederick Douglass....

We went to the Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester to visit the Frederick Douglass collection, and My People, the primary sources in this library were completely captivating. We even saw a lock of Frederick Douglass’ hair.... A lock of hair, bizarre right, but ain’t nothing like some primary documents from the 1800’s.

We drove by a home that was owned by Frederick Douglass, and there are people living in that home. Can you imagine someone knocking on your door and telling you that Frederick Douglass use to live there? Well, that’s sort of what happened to the people who live there now.

We also visited the gravesite site of Frederick Douglass and a statue of Frederick Douglass which is the first statue erected to honor an African American in the US. It was an adventure to find the site, but we were relentless and found it.

Now, there are so many others whom we learned about during the three week stay in Hamilton, NY such as William Still, David Ruggles, and Harriet Jacobs who were immensely courageous, and I am carrying their spirits with me.

There is no way that a person can be immersed in this type of history and go back to life as usually. There is no way... The journey continues for me to learn more and more about this topic and connect it to the intense racial climate in which we are living today.

So, bear with me while I read more serious books, because right now I just can’t squelch the fire that this National Endowment for the Humanities Seminar has ignited.

I am grateful for our leader, Dr. Graham Hodges, who orchestrated the writing of the grant that provided this rich opportunity!

Dr. Graham Hodges

Educators, no everybody, we must take advantage of the opportunities that are provided for us; We owe it to ourselves to cultivate our learning so that we can educate others!

Liberate the mind...

Passion!

I’ve been at Colgate University for almost three weeks studying Abolitionism and The Underground Railroad.....

This experience has been truly amazing, and all day everyday, I have been thinking God for this opportunity!

There are so many things that I am going to share with you about this experience, but right now I am going to focus on passion.

Over the course of this seminar, we have had three visiting professors: Judith Wellman, Stacey Robertson, and Stanly Harrold.

Me and Dr. Judith Wellman

We spent last Thursday and Friday in Seneca Falls and Rochester with Dr. Wellman, and her passion for history was apparent the minute that she boarded the bus. She literally was bubbling over with excitement and passion for Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Stanton and all of the other people who were involved directly and indirectly with the abolitionist movement in the 1800s.

When we went into the house of Elizabeth Stanton, she excitedly told intimate, fascinating stories about Elizabeth. At Harriet Tubman's house, I literally followed her around, because I wanted to hear every detail that poured naturally from her mouth. Dr. Wellman even walked us through a Quaker cemetary to pay homage to the one unidentified slave who was buried there.

We went to a library at the University of Rochester to look at some primary documents that included a lock of Frederick Douglass’ hair, a letter to William Seward, the first book that Frederick Douglass bought and so on.

Well, there was a letter from a slave owner that stated something like “I won’t spend a nickel on a slave woman,” and Dr. Wellman could not finish the letter, because she was overcome with grief. Now, this is some passion when a person feels grief over a letter that was written over one hundred years ago. Dr. Wellman’s display of compassion caused to me respect her even more knowing that she is passionate and loves my people as much, if not more, than I do.

Dr. Wellman wears passion well!

Dr. Robertson and me!

We sent Monday morning having an interactive lecture led by Dr. Stacey Robertson. Dr. Robertson, just like Dr. Wellman, filled the room with her presence the minute that she walked in. I absolutely admired how her presence demanded respect, and she took control of the room and passionately drove the discussion.

Dr. Robertson’s lectured on her book Hearts Beating for Liberty, and my people, she passionately brought these fierce, women abolitionist of the Old Northwest to life. Listening to hear, I was frantically typing trying to capture as many of her words as possible; I wanted to remember them long after she was gone. She taught this lecture on slavery and brought it home to modern day slavery and gave us suggestions of things that we can do to help end modern day slavery.

She lectured in a manner that was both informative and uplifting, and I thought to myself, "When I go to Austin at the end of the week to present at the Advanced Placement conference, I am going to take the confidence and command of Dr. Robertson and do what I do".

You know, passion also looks very well on Dr. Robertson.

Dr. Harrold and me!

This morning was spent listening to a lecture given by Dr. Stanley Harrold, a professor at South Carolina State, a Historical Black College or University (HBCU). Yep, Dr. Harrold teaches at a HBCU, and he instantly earned my respect for spreading his wealth of knowledge at an HBCU.

Dr. Harrold lectured on his book that I learned quite a bit from Border War, and it was evident that this man knew his stuff. I got the feeling that Dr. Harrold could talk about the fight over slavery all day long and would not get tired.

Now, the bonus is that I was riding through town with a fellow NEH participant, and we saw Dr. Graham, our fearless NEH leader, and Dr. Harrold siting outside of a restaurant. So, of course, we stopped and had quite a lively discussion with Dr. Hodges and Dr. Harold, and know, there is no way that you can talk with these two without talking about slavery if only for a few minutes.

Spending time with these incredible historians over the past few days, it is apparent that they have passion for their subject matter.

I believe that finding things that we are passionate about keeps us alive, and vibrant, and happy. All three of these historian appeared relax, happy, and satisfied. I believe that the peace that was emitting from them came from following their passions and working within their purpose.


My People, We Can All Wear Passion Well.......

Freeing Charles by Scott Christianson

Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person. Chimamanda Adichie

Not sure about you, but many of the stories that I was told about Africans who were enslaved were told from the perspective that enslaved Africans were brought to America, fought a little but basically waited for their freedom, were freed, and then Dr. King came alone and fought for our rights.

Not sure about you, but I was not taught that enslaved Africans have being fighting to be free since they landed. History portrays enslaved Africans as the Uncle Tom and Mamie type who were just happy to be alive even if they were enslaved.

However, through my readings this summer, I am hearing a very empowering story of an enslaved people who fought and risked their lives to be free and to free others. African American who fought with the British during The Revolutionary War, fought during The Civil War, and had an organized plan for escape that was called The Underground Railroad and on and on and on.

If we told the Africa American story in American from different perspectives, we would learn some stories that would perhaps empower and inspire.

This story, Freeing Charles, is about an enslaved man named Charles who emancipated himself and fled from Virginia to Philadelphia to live as a free man. He was successful at doing this, but eventually someone found out that he was a fugitive slave, and his master came to Philadelphia to capture him. But what is so remarkable about this story is that the community pulled together and literally fought, like a street fight, to free Charles. “There were Whites, Blacks, women as well as men, girls, and boys.”

In the crowd was The Harriet Tubman, and Christianson turned her into a superhero: “Through it all, Tubman kept thrashing like a demon, even as she was losing all of her gear except for a dilapidated outskirt. She seized an officer and pulled him down, grabbed another and tore away him from Nalle, all the while keeping hold of the slave...” (P.113)

I just love the way that this book showed the community working together to free this man, and it also showed the strength of Harriet Tubman. This is not the story that I was taught...

Eventually, people were able to raise money for Charles’ freedom, and he was able to live happily ever after with his wife Kitty and their children in Washington, DC. “Kitty and Charles appear to have been extremely devoted to each other, leaving behind a story that speaks to the power of love between a man and woman who were determined to remain together despite all of the obstacles placed in their way.” (P. 139)

Now, I have never heard about this type of romantic love between a man and a women during slavery time, and if only this story was told more often.

Scott Christianson dared to tell the enslaved African story from a perspective that uplifts and empowers and shows the power of love......

If you tell a people’s story from different perspectives, it gets us away from that one definitive story.....

This book is approachable, and you may want to add it to your reading list!

Knowledge is power, and I am feeling empowered...

Happy Thursday, My People!

Happiness is.......

Communion!

Literary Scholars and Historians!

Dr. Graham Hodges: our passionate leader

“I have always said fiction writers have a lot of ground to cover if we want to catch up with the scholars.”      Dolen Perkins-Valdez author of Wench and Balm.

So, we had a first session today to discuss abolitionism and The Underground Railroad. It was a very interactive lecture led by our fearless, passionate leader, Dr. Graham Hodges.

We discussed the idea of The Underground Railroad being non-governmental help for slaves; how Harriet Tubman risked her own life, by crossing the Mason-Dixon line, to help people to get to freedom; how The Underground Movement was the first integrated Civil Rights Movement; how The Underground Railroad does not have to viewed as a political event but can viewed as a movement etc.

For almost every topic that Dr. Hodges mentioned, I could think of a novel that matched the scenario. When Dr. Hodges mentioned abolitionist being viewed as fanatical, I thought of The Good Lord Bird by James McBride. When he talked about maroon groups, groups who isolated themselves and were self-governed, I thought of “The Seven Days” from Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. When he spoke of the life of slaves after the end of The Civil War, I thought of Balm by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. 

I have great confidence in most fiction writers especially when it comes to historical fiction, and many times I will do my own research to verify many of the things that I read in novels. However, sitting in this room with mostly historians, I started to wonder if there is a place in the history conversation for literary scholars. 

I held back from interjecting literary examples to support or dispute the lecture. However, even though my examples are fictional and loosely based on history, I thought about the idea of using novels to give students examples of historical events. I know that historians tend to love hard, cold facts, and literary scholars tend to love flowery truth. However, I don’t see why the two ideas can not merge in order to enhance the teaching of history and literature. 

After the lecture, I asked many of the historians if they thought that there was a place in the historical conversation for literature and many thought that there were. Many of the historians even commented on the fact that they also thought of movies or novels that they have read as Dr. Graham was giving his lecture. 

So, I posed the question to Dr. Hodges, and I used the example of James McBride making John Brown appear fanatical in the wonderfully written The Good Lord Bird. Dr Hodges chuckled and stated that he like that book, and he also believes that there is a place for literary discussions among historians.

Hearing this from Dr. Hodges gave me a little comfort in the belief that I can interject literature in the discussion, but I am not sure that I will actually do it. I know that literature and history compliment each other in schools, but I am still not convinced that the interjection is appropriate in highly scholarly conversations like the ones that we are having during this seminar.

I may try a little interjection, or I may not...

My People, Weigh In!

Happy Monday.

My Home for Three Weeks.....

Ralph Bunche House: My Home for three weeks!

I made it to Hamilton, NY, and I am staying in the Ralph Bunche house....

For those who do not know, Ralph Bunche was an U.S. diplomat, a key member of the United Nations for more than two decades, and the first African American winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1950 for his successful negotiation of an Arab-Israeli truce in Palestine the previous year.

Ralph Bunche (1903-1971)

Abolitionism, The Underground Railroad, The Ralph Bunche House, other teachers, a professor, summer, no responsibilities.... PERFECTION!!!

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass written by Himself

Frederick Douglass....What a remarkable man!!

I haven’t read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in quite awhile, and my people, if you have not read it in awhile, or if you have never read it, it is worth reading.

Here are a few things that I thought about while reading this book:

1. Douglass came to the realization after hearing one of his master’s speak that learning to read would make him unfit to be a slave, and his master was definitely right. Reading and writing made Douglass unfit to be a slave. Knowledge really is power!
2. The way that Douglass described the brutality of slavery made me extremely sad. I felt sad to know that humans were subjected to such harsh treatment, and many died never knowing how it feels to be free. I tried to wrap my mind around being beaten with a whip, and I can not even began to imagine the blow to the body, self esteem, self respect etc. 
3. I thought a lot about what would make a person treat another person like he/she were not human. I wonder did the masters ever think about how their slaves may have felt, or did they see them as nonhuman, and drove them the same way that a person may drive a mule. 
4. I thought about Frederick as a person, and how he went from being a slave to being a recognized, respected person. I have visited his house in DC often, and I thought about the miracle of going from being a slave to owning a home in DC that is built on one of the highest points in DC. Frederick could literally see all over DC from his home. Miracles do happen!
5. I was very excited to get to the end of the book, and see Frederick mention David Ruggles, and this time, I was familiar with him. Seeing David’s name in this book made me feel some satisfaction that David’s abolitionist work was not done in vain. 
6. Many of the events in the books occurred in places that I am familiar with such as Baltimore. As I walk the streets of Baltimore and the other places that Douglass mentions in his book, it’s hard to imagine that slaves walked those same grounds... I’ll be looking for some of those historical markers in the cities that Douglass mentioned one day soon.
7. And finally, I am so happy that Frederick wrote this book. So many of the slave stories are written by other people, and I am so happy to read a book about slavery that is written by a former slave.

This summer I will be visiting Frederick’s home in New York, his burial site, and many more sites that pertain to Douglass.... EXCITED!!

This is definitely a book that should be read and read and read!

Join me in reading Border War: Fighting over Slavery before the Civil War by Stanley Harrold:

Summer 2015 is going to be great!

David Ruggles: A Radical Black Abolitionist and The Underground Railroad in New York by Graham Hodges

Saturday I went for a ride with my cycling coach who just happens to be White. We cycled in a sort of remote area with few cars and quite a few inclines so, it was ideal for cycling.

As I was riding behind him, I started to think, as I often do when I interact with White people whom I like a lot, I am grateful for Dr. King who made it possible for me to cycle with my White coach. However, this time I thought, after reading The Forgotten Fifth by Gary Nash and David Ruggles by Graham Hodges, that I am grateful for the people who fault during The Revolutionary War and people like David Ruggles who paved the way for Dr. King to work on his dream "that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.” Unlike what we are typical taught in schools, My people, the struggle for freedom started long before Dr. King was ever born.....

Dr. Hodges does a great job of telling the story of David Ruggles who was an abolitionist and instrumental to The Underground Railroad. What struck me the most about Ruggles is that he did not rule out the possibility of using violence when needed, he supported the idea of women being in the movement, and although he was born free and had no bad experiences with prejudice as a child, he still fought relentlessly to abolish slavery, worked against slave catchers, and helped others to freedom including The Frederick Douglass. Yes, David even housed Frederick Douglass on his way to freedom.

At the young age of eighteen, Ruggles moved from Connecticut to New York and eventually opened a small shop that sold products that were not manufactured by slaves, he became a writer and traveling public speaker against slavery, owned a reading room and emphasized “reading and writing as expressions of freedom,” and went on to own a hospital where he personally cared for patients while he was going blind and sick.

Reading David’s story, I thought a lot about the late, great Malcolm X. David stated that “we can recommend non-resistance to persons who are denied the protection of equitable law, when their liberty is invaded and their lives endangered by avaricious kidnappers.” Doesn’t this sound familiar to a statement made by Malcolm X: "The day that the black man takes an uncompromising step and realizes that he's within his rights, when his own freedom is being jeopardized, to use any means necessary to bring about his freedom or put a halt to that injustice, I don't think he'll be by himself.”

Malcolm X

The struggle eventually got to David, and he ended up blind and sickly and died at the tender age of thirty-nine, but he accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. His life was short but wide.

This man lived a courageous life, and his name should be called regularly in households and schools all across America. I am grateful to Dr. Hodges for his research and bringing David into our homes, minds, and lives.

Long Live David Ruggles....

READ THIS BOOK!

I’ve started to reread an oldie but goodie: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass written by himself. Join me if you dare....

Summer 2015 is going to be good discussing these incredible books!