yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaah greetings ones and ones back again wit a ting called DA PROTOCOL waaaat Irie CREW we deh yah wat dy say DARK star we de pon.......
DARKSTAR
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http://www50.zippyshare.com/v/2238703/file.html
DA PROTOCOL
http://www5.zippyshare.com/v/83532722/file.html
http://www.hulkshare.com/m7r09r8mx0qo
yeah get it...ryt de more music de pon di mix follow on facebook , twitter , and da rite steps..JAH is love MEMBA DAT!
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Friday, 7 March 2014
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
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We the great kushites
1. Created the first civilizations worldwide--in Africa,
Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, etc.
2. Created the first nation in Africa--Ta Seti--with
Pharonic government and Divine Kings.
3. Created a wholistic, communal or spiritual
culture--discovering and implementing Divine laws, with a value system based
upon "Deep Thought" or profound philosophy, including Divine Speech
and Good Speech (Carruthers, 1995) -- one that is worthy of emulation:
A. Reverence for God (Monotheism).
B. Tehuti & Maat--spiritual development in a moral
culture or community.
C. Generic man and universe perceived primarily as
spiritual.
D. Individualism subordinated to communalism
E. Respect for parents and elders.
F. Generosity or assistance to less fortunate.
G. Responsible communal service.
H. Modesty or gentleness in human conduct.
I. Love for wife and children.
J. Abhorrence of greed.
K. Devotion to duty or work.
L. Just or righteous leadership.
M. Balanced or righteous friendships.
N. Social order perceived as extension of Divine order
(Maat).
O. Respect for sacrifices and spirits of ancestors.
P. Highest duty of generic man--a god--was to become
Godlike.
Q. Rites of passage through evolutionary, developmental stages
of life.
4. Created or promoted initial concepts of major religions
of the world, including the virgin birth, Divine Savior or hero
(Heru-Krishna-Jesus, etc), the judgment and "the word of God," i.e.,
GOD or Creative Divine Speech (the Maa Kheru, Voice of Truth or Logos) and
other sacred writings or Scriptures before any other spiritual writings,
including the Holy Bible, were written. For generally, the same basic spiritual
principles reflected in sacred writings of the major religions of the world, including
the Holy Bible and Koran, ,may be found in ancient Kushite/Kemetic sacred
literature or oral traditions. And the Bible, essentially, is an African book;
for the origin of the ancient Black Hebrew-Israelites has been traced to
ancient Kush-Kemet. Therefore, even the modern-day Christian "Jesus,"
either historically or mythologically perceived, was-is a Kushite brother.
Indeed, the historical Jesus, to the degree that he may be authenticated or
"found" by generic man, was a social revolutionary hero who was
stoned to death and hanged on a tree. Moreover, the mythological Jesus of the
gospels, who was physicaly abused and hanged on a cross, also promoted a
revolutionary message of LOVE in a too often corrupt mundane world. Bottom
line: A Divine hero promote revolution.
5. Developed astronomical mythology--much of which is
reflected or misinterpreted in the Bible as "history"--a solar
calendar and the zodiac. (Note: A group of Kushites, the Sabaens, were called
"Star-Gazers").
6. Founded Ancient Kemet (Egypt) and were leading rulers in
this great nation during four "Golden Ages" of civilization (Hilliard
in Egypt Revisited, Van Sertima, Editor, 1989).
7. Created the first university--"Ipet-Isut," the
"Holiest of Places"--with the renown so-called "Mystery
System" of wholistic development which provided education or civilization
to Greeks teachers or "philosophers," who transmitted it to other
parts of Europe and which is now grossly distorted-corrupted or misnamed
"Western civilization." And this great Wholistic System--the real
"Old Time Religion" (Foluke, 1997) which was emasculated by
Europeans--is often imitated today by "New-Age" groups, looking
erroneously to the "East," in lieu of Africa, for a sound theological
foundation; however, our ancient African system has not been duplicated
authentically by these groups--or any other group.
Conclusion: "We--The Great Kushites" have a
heritage of greatness, spirituality and pride. Hotep (Peace)-Amun-Amen!
*As used by our organization, Kushite is a generic term that
we apply to ancient Black civilizations, before the common era--in Africa,
Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, etc., as documented by multiple scholars
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
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I AM HIP HOP
The world-class University of Sankore, Timbuktu
Sankore's achievement in higher education is important to
Islamic civilisation even though it was less known compared to Al-Azhar,
Al-Qairawan, Al-Qarawiyyin and Qurtuba Universities. It is also a
pride among the whole black community around the world as it was a great
intellectual institution of the black civilisations of Mali, Ghana and Songhay
particularly during 12th to 16th centuries.University of Timbuktu often referred to, as the
‘University of Sankore', as there are two other universities in Timbuktu,
'Jingaray Ber' and 'Sidi Yahya' universities. The University of Sankore is
located in the north east district of Timbuktu and housed within the Sankore
Mosque.The Sankore Mosque was founded in 989 by the erudite chief
judge of Timbuktu, Al-Qadi Aqib ibn Mahmud ibn Umar. He had built the inner
court of the mosque in exact dimension of the Ka'abah in holy Makkah. A wealthy
Mandika lady then financed Sankore University making it the leading centre of
education. The Sankore University prospered and became a very significant seat
of learning in the Muslim world, especially under the reign of Mansa Musa
(1307-1332) and Askia Dynasty (1493-1591).\
The University of Sankore had no central administration;
rather, it was composed of several entirely independent schools or colleges,
each run by a single master (scholar or professor). The courses took place in
the open courtyards of mosque complexes or private residences. The primary
subjects were the Qur'an, Islamic studies, law and literature. Other subjects
included medicine and surgery, astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry,
philosophy, language and linguistics, geography, history and art. The students
also spent time in learning a trade and business code and ethics. The
university trade shops offered classes in business, carpentry, farming,
fishing, construction, shoe making, tailoring, navigation etc. It prospered and
became a very significant seat of learning in the Muslim world. It was claimed
that the intellectual freedom enjoyed in Western Universities was inspired from
universities like Sankore and Qurtuba (Muslim Spain)
universities.Memorizing the Qur'an and mastering Arabic language were
compulsory to students. Arabic was a lingua franca of the university as well as
the language of trade and commerce in Timbuktu. Except from a few manuscripts,
which are in Songhay and other a'jami language, all the remaining 70,000
manuscripts are in Arabic. (Al-Furqan Heritage Foundation-London publishes a
list of the manuscripts just in Ahmed Baba library in 5 volumes.) The highest
"superior" degree (equivalent to PhD) takes about 10 years. During
the graduation ceremony, the graduates had to wear the traditional turban to
represent the name ‘Allah' and which symbolizes divine light, wisdom, knowledge
and excellent moral conduct. The graduates had to demonstrate excellent
character and care for Islamic values and education.
Like all other Islamic universities, its students came from
all over the world. Around the 12th century, it had an attendance of 25,000
students, in a city of 100,000 people. The university was known for its high
standards and admission requirements. It produced world-class scholars
recognised by their publications and graduates. Quoting the French author Felix
Dubois in his book, Timbuctoo the Mysterious""The scholars of Timbuctoo
(Timbuktu) yielded in nothing, to the saints in the sojourns in the foreign
universities of Fez, Tunis, and Cairo. They astounded the most learned men of
Islam by their erudition. That these Negroes were on a level with the Arabian
savants is proved by the fact that they were installed as professors in Morocco
and Egypt. In contrast to this, we find that Arabs were not always equal to the
requirements of Sankore."Felix DuboisThe most famous
scholar of Timbuktu was Ahmad Baba as-Sudane (1564-1627), the final Chancellor
of Sankore University. He wrote more than 60 books on various subjects
including law, medicine, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics etc. He was a
matchless jurist, professor and Imam of his time. In 1593, during the Moroccan
invasion, he was deported to Fez, while most of his work was
destroyed.Other eminent names from Sankore include: Mohammed Bagayogo
as-Sudane al-Wangari al-Timbukti (Conferred an honorary Doctorate from Al-Azhar
University during his visit to Cairo en-route to Haj), Modibo Mohammed
al-Kaburi, Abu al-Abbas Ahmad Buryu ibn,
Ag Mohammed ibn Utman and Abu Abdallah and Ag Mohammed Ibn Al-Mukhtar
An-Nawahi.Most of the scholars were of the Maliki school of thought
and followed the Qadiriyyah tariqat (spiritual path). The scholars were
graduated from Fez, Tunis, Cairo and Makkah in the early history of
Sankore.The University of Sankore is still functioning but with little
resources. The Muslim world and UNESCO need to preserve, maintain and to
support what used to be a great institution of learning, which contributed to
our present Civilisation.For a review of the historical development of
Sankore University, we give below a timeline for the period 900 to 1960.
Friday, 31 January 2014
Thursday, 30 January 2014
JON JON
I am HipHop
THE RISE OF THE BLACK KINGS WE CALL ON THE TRUE SAVIORS.
HAILING FROM THE SLUMS OF IMBALI PMB COMES THE ORIGINAL NAPPY HEAD.......
IRIE CREW IS HUMBLED AND PROUD TO PRESENT IT FOURTH MEMBER DA MAN CALLED JON JON...THE RAGGA RAGGA DON DADA...DA MAN WHO SELASSIE I BLESS..
A MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT IN HIS LAST YEAR OF STUDY JON JON IS A REBELIOUS YUT WITH A CAUSE
I am HipHop
HAILING FROM THE SLUMS OF IMBALI PMB COMES THE ORIGINAL NAPPY HEAD.......
A MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT IN HIS LAST YEAR OF STUDY JON JON IS A REBELIOUS YUT WITH A CAUSE
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Silver heights secondary Boom break
I AM HIP HOP
IRIECREWHIPHOP
big UP Ghetto yut... lets unite teach each ada instead of killing each ada ..love unity and having fun..SILVER HEIGHTS we deh ya..big up di man called CHICKEN, CEFUU AND LEAFICULTY
IRIECREWHIPHOP
Self Help
The people themselves must come to realize their own
difficulties in the development of their community and try to solve them by
collective participation following an order of priority and taking their
potentiality into account.
It is well known to you all that recognizing one's problems
and striving hard to challenge them is a mark of an attempt at
self-sufficiency. Self help in the benefits to be acquired through education,
will save the individual from asking someone's assistance.
(H.I.M EMPEROR HAILLE SELASIE I)
I AM HIP HOP
one of da four elements of hiphop getting it history from
Ancient Egypt..Graffiti may also express underlying social and political
messages and a whole genre of artistic expression is based upon spray paint
graffiti styles. Within hip hop culture, graffiti has evolved alongside hip hop
music, b-boying, and other elements. lets put color to our cities..express
urself
Monday, 27 January 2014
I AM HIP HOP
This February is black history month we remember our black heroes...coz we proud to be black..
join us as we look back at Afrikan(KUSH) history. we will journey into our history and wat was never taught to us in school...
remember our history doesnt start with slavery it ends with slavery...
join us in the following month as we look back from when we were kings and queens of afrika before the white men set shore on afrika...
like us on facebook and follow us on twitter....jah is love
This February is black history month we remember our black heroes...coz we proud to be black..
join us as we look back at Afrikan(KUSH) history. we will journey into our history and wat was never taught to us in school...
remember our history doesnt start with slavery it ends with slavery...
join us in the following month as we look back from when we were kings and queens of afrika before the white men set shore on afrika...
like us on facebook and follow us on twitter....jah is love
CEEFU
Iam HipHop
BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS AS WE RISE WE CALL ON THE TRUE SAVIORS.
RIPPIN THE STREETS OF PMB
THE HipHop PARANA
IRIE CREW IS PROUD TO PRESENT IT THIRD MEMBER
DA MASS MURDERER, MIC PROFESSOR AND AFRICAN TEACHA,
A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT (SILVER HEIGHT STAND UP) IN HIS LAST YEAR OF STUDY
THE RYHM LIBERATOR, AND YOUNG VETERAN.
BOBO D
Iam HipHop
AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION BORN AGAIN WE CALL ON THE TRUE SAVIORS.
HAILING FROM THE CITY OF CHOICE
THE YOUTH DEM TEACHER, DA BLACK DEFINITION OF HipHop.
IRIE CREW IS PROUD TO GIVE YOU IT SECOND MEMBER , DA MAN WHO DOESNT TAKE ORDERS (MOVE BACK)..
BOBO D IS YOUTH ON THE RISE FRESH OUT OF MIDDLE SCHOOL THIS ARTIST IS PAINTING THE STREETS OF PMB IN RED, GOLD AND GREEN..
DA TOUTH DEM TEACHA
LEAFICULTY
Iam HipHop
THE REBIRTH OF Hip Hop WE CALL ON THE TRUE SAVIORS.
REIGNING FROM THE CITY OF CHOICE COMES RYHM SLAYER , HIP HOP JUNKIE TO DA FULLEST...
IRIE CREW IS PROUD TO REPRESENT ONE OF IT PROMINENT MEMBERS DA MAN BORN WT A LEAF AND RAISED BY A SPLIFF.
LEAFICULTY IS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN HIS LAST YEAR OF STUDY ( SILVER HEIGHTS STAND UP), SELF EDUCATED , PROUD PAN AFRICANIST TEACHING KNOWLEDGE TO DA MEEK.
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
William Still was an African-American abolitionist who took
part in the Underground Railroad as a 'conductor' and documenter of the
Abolitionist Movement and, in particular, the hardships of the railroad
"passengers."
He was born in 1821 to former slaves in Burlington County,
New Jersey. His father, Levin Steel, settled in a N.J. farm after purchasing
his own freedom. Mr. Steel changed his name to Still to protect his wife,
Sidney, who had permanently joined him when she succeeded in her second attempt
to escape from slavery in Maryland. The first time, she fled with her four
children but was recaptured. The second time, to secure their freedom, she
escaped with only her two daughters. She was forced to leave two sons behind,
who were sold to slave owners in Alabama. She later changed her name to
Charity.
Still was the youngest of 18 children. He had little formal
schooling, but studied grammar on his own and read what was available. In 1844,
he moved to Philadelphia, where he did various jobs, including handyman in
several households.
In 1847, he started working in the office of the
Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. Initially, he worked as
janitor and clerk, but soon got involved with aiding fugitive slaves.
Still gave refuge to many of the fugitives who rested in
Philadelphia before resuming their journey to Canada through the Underground
Railroad. In a touching twist, one of those escaped slaves turned out to be his
own brother Peter, whom his mother had left behind 40 years earlier.
He later reported that finding his brother motivated him to
document records and accounts from former slaves, which provided valuable
source material for The Underground Railroad, the book he wrote and published in
1872.
This book was important because, in contrast with accounts
written by White abolitionists, it depicted the fugitives as brave people
struggling for their freedom, rather than helpless passengers on a white
Underground Railroad.
Still was named chairman of the vigilance committee that
Philadelphia abolitionists organized to aid the large number of fugitives going
through the city after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
In 1855, Still traveled to Canada to visit communities
settled by former African-American slaves. His positive reports counteracted
the circulating criticism of blacks in Canada. Five years later, he cited the
examples of successful black people in Canada to advocate for the emancipation
of all slaves.
In 1859, he initiated a campaign against racial
discrimination on Philadelphia railroad cars by exposing the injustice in a
letter to the press. When some Philadelphia black citizens opposed Still's
battle to eradicate the segregation of blacks on the streetcars, he wrote A
Brief Narrative of the Struggle for the Rights of the Colored People of
Philadelphia in the City Railway Cars (1867).
The campaign concluded successfully in 1867 when the
Pennsylvania legislature passed a law banning such discrimination.
Still gave refuge to John Brown's wife for some time
following Brown's unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, and he also
helped several of Brown's accomplices.
In 1861, Still concluded his work in the antislavery office,
but he remained involved with the society as vice-president for eight years and
president from 1896 to 1901.
During the Civil War, he started a stove store and later a
successful coal delivery business, which earned him a seat on the Philadelphia
Board of Trade and allowed him to live in a fancy home with his wife, Letitia
George, and their four children.
As a member of the Presbyterian church, he helped found a
Mission Sabbath School. He also established in 1880 one of the first YMCAs for
blacks and helped administer homes for black seniors and impoverished children,
as well as an orphanage for the children of black soldiers and sailors. Still
died of complications from a kidney disease in 1902.
Nat Turner was born on October 2, 1800, in Southampton
County, Virginia, the week before Gabriel was hanged. While still a young
child, Nat was overheard describing events that had happened before he was
born. This, along with his keen intelligence, and other signs marked him in the
eyes of his people as a prophet "intended for some great purpose." A
deeply religious man, he "therefore studiously avoided mixing in society,
and wrapped [him]self in mystery, devoting [his] time to fasting and
praying."
In 1821, Turner ran away from his overseer, returning after
thirty days because of a vision in which the Spirit had told him to
"return to the service of my earthly master." The next year,
following the death of his master, Samuel Turner, Nat was sold to Thomas Moore.
Three years later, Nat Turner had another vision. He saw lights in the sky and
prayed to find out what they meant. Then "... while laboring in the field,
I discovered drops of blood on the corn, as though it were dew from heaven, and
I communicated it to many, both white and black, in the neighborhood; and then
I found on the leaves in the woods hieroglyphic characters and numbers, with the
forms of men in different attitudes, portrayed in blood, and representing the
figures I had seen before in the heavens."
On May 12, 1828, Turner had his third vision: "I heard
a loud noise in the heavens, and the Spirit instantly appeared to me and said
the Serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for
the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent,
for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last
should be first... And by signs in the heavens that it would make known to me
when I should commence the great work, and until the first sign appeared I
should conceal it from the knowledge of men; and on the appearance of the
sign... I should arise and prepare myself and slay my enemies with their own
weapons."
At the beginning of the year 1830, Turner was moved to the
home of Joseph Travis, the new husband of Thomas Moore's widow. His official
owner was Putnum Moore, still a young child. Turner described Travis as a kind
master, against whom he had no complaints.
Then, in February, 1831, there was an eclipse of the sun.
Turner took this to be the sign he had been promised and confided his plan to
the four men he trusted the most, Henry, Hark, Nelson, and Sam. They decided to
hold the insurrection on the 4th of July and began planning a strategy.
However, they had to postpone action because Turner became ill.
On August 13, there was an atmospheric disturbance in which
the sun appeared bluish-green. This was the final sign, and a week later, on
August 21, Turner and six of his men met in the woods to eat a dinner and make
their plans. At 2:00 that morning, they set out to the Travis household, where
they killed the entire family as they lay sleeping. They continued on, from house
to house, killing all of the white people they encountered. Turner's force
eventually consisted of more than 40 slaves, most on horseback.
By about mid-day on August 22, Turner decided to march
toward Jerusalem, the closest town. By then word of the rebellion had gotten
out to the whites; confronted by a group of militia, the rebels scattered, and
Turner's force became disorganized. After spending the night near some slave
cabins, Turner and his men attempted to attack another house, but were repulsed.
Several of the rebels were captured. The remaining force then met the state and
federal troops in final skirmish, in which one slave was killed and many
escaped, including Turner. In the end, the rebels had stabbed, shot and clubbed
at least 55 white people to death.
Nat Turner hid in several different places near the Travis
farm, but on October 30 was discovered and captured. His
"Confession," dictated to physician Thomas R. Gray, was taken while
he was imprisoned in the County Jail. On November 5, Nat Turner was tried in
the Southampton County Court and sentenced to execution. He was hanged, and
then skinned, on November 11.
In total, the state executed 55 people, banished many more,
and acquitted a few. The state reimbursed the slaveholders for their slaves.
But in the hysterical climate that followed the rebellion, close to 200 black
people, many of whom had nothing to do with the rebellion, were murdered by
white mobs. In addition, slaves as far away as North Carolina were accused of
having a connection with the insurrection, and were subsequently tried and
executed.
The state legislature of Virginia considered abolishing
slavery, but in a close vote decided to retain slavery and to support a
repressive policy against black people, slave and free.
The woman we know as Sojourner Truth was born into slavery
in New York as Isabella Baumfree (after her father's owner, Baumfree). She was
sold several times, and while owned by the John Dumont family in Ulster County,
married Thomas, another of Dumont's slaves. She had five children with Thomas.
In 1827, New York law emancipated all slaves, but Isabella had already left her
husband and run away with her youngest child. She went to work for the family
of Isaac Van Wagenen.
While working for the Van Wagenen's -- whose name she used
briefly -- she discovered that a member of the Dumont family had sold one of
her children to slavery in Alabama. Since this son had been emancipated under
New York Law, Isabella sued in court and won his return.
Isabella experienced a religious conversion, moved to New
York City and to a Methodist perfectionist commune, and there came under the
influence of a religious prophet named Mathias. The commune fell apart a few
years later, with allegations of sexual improprieties and even murder. Isabella
herself was accused of poisoning, and sued successfully for libel. She
continued as well during that time to work as a household servant.
In 1843, she took the name Sojourner Truth, believing this
to be on the instructions of the Holy Spirit and became a traveling preacher
(the meaning of her new name). In the late 1840s she connected with the
abolitionist movement, becoming a popular speaker. In 1850, she also began
speaking on woman suffrage. Her most famous speech, Ain't I a Woman?, was given
in 1851 at a women's rights convention in Ohio.
Sojourner Truth met Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote about
her for the Atlantic Monthly and wrote a new introduction to Truth's
autobiography, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth.
Sojourner Truth moved to Michigan and joined yet another
religious commune, this one associated with the Friends. She was at one point
friendly with Millerites, a religious movement that grew out of Methodism and
later became the Seventh Day Adventists.
During the Civil War Sojourner Truth raised food and
clothing contributions for black regiments, and met Abraham Lincoln at the
White House in 1864. While there, she tried to challenge the discrimination
that segregated street cars by race.
After the War ended, Sojourner Truth again spoke widely,
advocating for some time a "Negro State" in the west. She spoke
mainly to white audiences, and mostly on religion, "Negro" and
women's rights, and on temperance, though immediately after the Civil War she
tried to organize efforts to provide jobs for black refugees from the war.
Active until 1875, when her grandson and companion fell ill
and died, Sojourner Truth returned to Michigan where her health deteriorated
and she died in 1883 in a Battle Creek sanitorium of infected ulcers on her
legs. She was buried in Battle Creek, Michigan, after a very well-attended
funeral.
Who was Frederick Douglass?
Frederick Douglass in his library
Frederick Douglass has been called the father of the civil
rights movement. He rose through determination, brilliance, and eloquence to
shape the American nation. He was an abolitionist, human rights and women's
rights activist, orator, author, journalist, publisher, and social reformer.
Committed to freedom, Douglass dedicated his life to
achieving justice for all Americans, in particular African-Americans, women,
and minority groups. He envisioned America as an inclusive nation strengthened
by diversity and free of discrimination.
Douglass served as advisor to presidents. Abraham Lincoln
referred to him as the most meritorious man of the nineteenth century. In his
later years Douglass was appointed to several offices. He served as U.S.
Marshal of the District of Columbia during Rutherford B. Hayes' administration
and President James Garfield appointed him the District of Columbia Recorder of
Deeds. In 1889 President Benjamin Harrison appointed him to be the US minister
to Haiti. He was later appointed by President Grant to serve as secretary of
the commission of Santo Domingo. Douglass had hoped that his appointments would
open doors for other African-Americans, but it was many years before they would
follow in his footsteps.
Frederick Douglass rose from slavery to become the leading
African-American voice of the nineteenth century. At an early age, he realized
that his ability to read was the key to freedom. All of his efforts from then
on focused on achieving freedom. As a young man, he came into contact with
black preachers and taught in the Sabbath School in Baltimore. Here he refined
his reading, writing, and speaking skills. At age twenty, Douglass escaped
north to freedom. He settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts with his wife Anna
Murray Douglass and joined the abolitionist movement.
William Lloyd Garrison
Frederick Douglass was a compelling force in the
anti-slavery movement. A man of moral authority, Douglass developed into a
charismatic public speaker. Prominent abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison
recognized his oratory skill and hired him as a speaker for the Massachusetts
Anti-Slavery Society.
Wendell Phillips
Douglass worked with many notable abolitionists of the
nineteenth century including Wendell Phillips and Abby Kelley. Douglass also
had a close relationship with John Brown and his family but disagreed with
Brown's violent tactics, dramatically displayed in Brown's raid on Harper's
Ferry in 1859. With the abolishment of slavery at the close of the Civil War,
Douglass then turned his attention to the full integration of the
African-American into political and
economic life of the United States.
Fredreick Douglass
Douglass established his own weekly abolitionist newspaper,
the North Star, that became a major voice of African-American opinion. Later,
through his periodical titled the Douglass Monthly, he recruited black Union
soldiers for the African-American Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Volunteers. His
sons Lewis and Charles both served in this regiment and saw combat.
Douglass worked to retain the hard-won advances of
African-Americans. However, the progress made during Reconstruction soon eroded
as the twentieth century approached. Douglass spent his last years opposing
lynching and supporting the rights of women.
The antislavery crusade of the early nineteenth century
served as a training ground for the women's suffrage movement. Douglass
actively supported the women's rights movement, yet he believed black men
should receive suffrage first. Demonstrating his support for women's rights,
Douglass participated in the first feminist convention at Seneca Falls in July
of 1848 where he was largely responsible for passage of the motion to support
female suffrage.
Together with abolitionist and feminist Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, Douglass signed the Declaration of Sentiments that became the
movement's manifesto. His masthead of his newspaper, the North Star, once read
"Right is of no Sex - Truth is of no Color." A women's rights
activist to the end, Douglass died in February 1895, having just attended a
Woman's Council meeting.
This information was reproduced from a National Parks
Service exhibit and is used with permission.
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African
American woman who worked as a seamstress, boarded this Montgomery City bus to
go home from work. On this bus on that day, Rosa Parks initiated a new era in
the American quest for freedom and equality.She sat near the middle of the bus,
just behind the 10 seats reserved for whites. Soon all of the seats in the bus
were filled. When a white man entered the bus, the driver (following the
standard practice of segregation) insisted that all four blacks sitting just
behind the white section give up their seats so that the man could sit there.
Mrs. Parks, who was an active member of the local NAACP, quietly refused to
give up her seat.
Her action was spontaneous and not pre-meditated, although
her previous civil rights involvement and strong sense of justice were obvious
influences. "When I made that decision," she said later, “I knew that
I had the strength of my ancestors with me.”
She was arrested and convicted of violating the laws of
segregation, known as “Jim Crow laws.” Mrs. Parks appealed her conviction and
thus formally challenged the legality of segregation.
At the same time, local civil rights activists initiated a
boycott of the Montgomery bus system. In cities across the South, segregated
bus companies were daily reminders of the inequities of American society. Since
African Americans made up about 75 percent of the riders in Montgomery, the
boycott posed a serious economic threat to the company and a social threat to
white rule in the city.
A group named the Montgomery Improvement Association,
composed of local activists and ministers, organized the boycott. As their
leader, they chose a young Baptist minister who was new to Montgomery: Martin
Luther King, Jr. Sparked by Mrs. Parks’ action, the boycott lasted 381 days,
into December 1956 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law
was unconstitutional and the Montgomery buses were integrated. The Montgomery
Bus Boycott was the beginning of a revolutionary era of non-violent mass protests
in support of civil rights in the United States.
It was not just an accident that the civil rights movement
began on a city bus. In a famous 1896 case involving a black man on a train,
Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court enunciated the “separate but equal”
rationale for Jim Crow. Of course, facilities and treatment were never equal.
Under Jim Crow customs and laws, it was relatively easy to
separate the races in every area of life except transportation. Bus and train
companies couldn’t afford separate cars and so blacks and whites had to occupy
the same space.
Thus, transportation was one the most volatile arenas for
race relations in the South. Mrs. Parks remembers going to elementary school in
Pine Level, Alabama, where buses took white kids to the new school but black
kids had to walk to their school.
“I'd see the bus pass every day,” she said. “But to me, that
was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus
was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world”
(emphasis added).
Montgomery’s Jim Crow customs were particularly harsh and
gave bus drivers great latitude in making decisions on where people could sit.
The law even gave bus drivers the authority to carry guns to enforce their
edicts. Mrs. Parks’ attorney Fred Gray remembered, “Virtually every
African-American person in Montgomery had some negative experience with the
buses. But we had no choice. We had to use the buses for transportation.”
Civil rights advocates had outlawed Jim Crow in interstate
train travel, and blacks in several Southern cities attacked the practice of
segregatedSee the bus specificationsbus systems. There had been a bus boycott
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1953, but black leaders compromised before making
real gains. Joann Robinson, a black university professor and activist in
Montgomery, had suggested the idea of a bus boycott months before the Parks
arrest.
Two other women had been arrested on buses in Montgomery
before Parks and were considered by black leaders as potential clients for
challenging the law. However, both were rejected because black leaders felt
they would not gain white support. When she heard that the well-respected Rosa
Parks had been arrested, one Montgomery African American woman exclaimed, “They’ve
messed with the wrong one now.”
In the South, city buses were lightning rods for civil
rights activists. It took someone with the courage and character of Rosa Parks
to strike with lightning. And it required the commitment of the entire African
American community to fan the flames ignited by that lightning into the fires
of the civil rights revolution.
Harriet Tubman
Born: c. 1820, Dorchester County, Maryland
Died: March 10, 1913, Auburn, New York
harriet tubmanHarriet Tubman was a runaway slave from
Maryland who became known as the "Moses of her people." Over the
course of 10 years, and at great personal risk, she led hundreds of slaves to
freedom along the Underground Railroad, a secret network of safe houses where
runaway slaves could stay on their journey north to freedom. She later became a
leader in the abolitionist movement, and during the Civil War she was a spy
with for the federal forces in South Carolina as well as a nurse.
Although not a traditional railroad, the underground
railroad was a critical system of transporting slaves to freedom in the
mid-1800s. One of the most famous conductors was Harriet Tubman. Between 1850
and 1858, she helped more than 300 slaves reach freedom.
Harriet Tubman's Early Years and Escape from Slavery
Harriet Tubman's name at birth was Araminta Ross. She was
one of 11 children of Harriet and Benjamin Ross born into slavery in Dorchester
County, Maryland. As a child, Ross was "hired out" by her master as a
nursemaid for a small baby, much like the nursemaid in the picture. Ross had to
stay awake all night so that the baby wouldn't cry and wake the mother. If Ross
fell asleep, the baby's mother whipped her. From a very young age, Ross was
determined to gain her freedom.
As a slave, Araminta Ross was scarred for life when she
refused to help in the punishment of another young slave. A young man had gone
to the store without permission, and when he returned, the overseer wanted to
whip him. He asked Ross to help but she refused. When the young man started to
run away, the overseer picked up a heavy iron weight and threw it at him. He
missed the young man and hit Ross instead. The weight nearly crushed her skull
and left a deep scar. She was unconscious for days, and suffered from seizures
for the rest of her life.
In 1844, Ross married a free black named John Tubman and
took his last name. She also changed her first name, taking her mother's name,
Harriet. In 1849, worried that she and the other slaves on the plantation were
going to be sold, Tubman decided to run away. Her husband refused to go with
her, so she set out with her two brothers, and followed the North Star in the
sky to guide her north to freedom. Her brothers became frightened and turned back,
but she continued on and reached Philadelphia. There she found work as a
household servant and saved her money so she could return to help others
escape.
Harriet Tubman During the Civil War
During the Civil War, Tubman worked for the Union army as a
nurse, a cook, and a spy. Her experience leading slaves along the Underground
Railroad was especially helpful because she knew the land well. She recruited a
group of former slaves to hunt for rebel camps and report on the movement of
the Confederate troops. In 1863, she went with Colonel James Montgomery and
about 150 black soldiers on a gunboat raid in South Carolina. Because she had
inside information from her scouts, the Union gunboats were able to surprise
the Confederate rebels.
At first when the Union Army came through and burned
plantations, slaves hid in the woods. But when they realized that the gunboats
could take them behind Union lines to freedom, they came running from all
directions, bringing as many of their belongings as they could carry. Tubman
later said, "I never saw such a sight." Tubman played other roles in
the war effort, including working as a nurse. Folk remedies she learned during
her years living in Maryland would come in very handy.
Tubman worked as a nurse during the war, trying to heal the
sick. Many people in the hospital died from dysentery, a disease associated
with terrible diarrhea. Tubman was sure she could help cure the sickness if she
could find some of the same roots and herbs that grew in Maryland. One night
she searched the woods until she found water lilies and crane's bill
(geranium). She boiled the water lily roots and the herbs and made a
bitter-tasting brew that she gave to a man who was dying-and it worked! Slowly
he recovered. Tubman saved many people in her lifetime. On her grave her
tombstone reads "Servant of God, Well Done."
Harriet Tubman : Conductor of the Underground Railroad
A reward poster for runaway slaves from 1847
A reward poster for runaway slaves from 1847
After Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery, she returned to
slave-holding states many times to help other slaves escape. She led them
safely to the northern free states and to Canada. It was very dangerous to be a
runaway slave. There were rewards for their capture, and ads like you see here
described slaves in detail. Whenever Tubman led a group of slaves to freedom,
she placed herself in great danger. There was a bounty offered for her capture
because she was a fugitive slave herself, and she was breaking the law in slave
states by helping other slaves escape.
If anyone ever wanted to change his or her mind during the
journey to freedom and return, Tubman pulled out a gun and said, "You'll
be free or die a slave!" Tubman knew that if anyone turned back, it would
put her and the other escaping slaves in danger of discovery, capture or even
death. She became so well known for leading slaves to freedom that Tubman
became known as the "Moses of Her People." Many slaves dreaming of
freedom sang the spiritual "Go Down Moses." Slaves hoped a savior
would deliver them from slavery just as Moses had delivered the Israelites from
slavery.
Tubman made 19 trips to Maryland and helped 300 people to
freedom. During these dangerous journeys she helped rescue members of her own
family, including her 70-year-old parents. At one point, rewards for Tubman's
capture totaled $40,000. Yet, she was never captured and never failed to
deliver her "passengers" to safety. As Tubman herself said, "On
my Underground Railroad I [never] run my train off [the] track [and] I never
[lost] a passenger."
At this time I'd like to say a few words especially to my
sisters: SISTERS. BLACK PEOPLE WILL NEVER BE FREE UNLESS BLACK WOMEN
PARTICIPATE IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR STRUGGLE, ON EVERY LEVEL OF OUR STRUGGLE.I
think that Black women, more than anybody on the face of the earth, recognize
the urgency of our situation. Because it is We who come face to face daily with
the institutions of our oppression. And because it is We who have borne the
major responsibility of raising our children. And it is We who have to deal
with the welfare systems that do not care about the welfare of our children.
And it is We who have to deal with the school systems that do not educate our
children. It is We who have to deal with the racist teachers who teach our
children to hate themselves. It is We who have seen the terrible effects of
racism on our children. I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT OUT TO EXPRESS MY LOVE TO
ALL OF YOU WHO RISK YOUR LIVES DAILY STRUGGLING OUT HERE ON THE FRONT LINES. We
who have watched our young grow too old, too soon. We who have watched our
children come home angry and frustrated and seen them grow more bitter, m!
ore disillusioned with the passing of each day. And We who
have seen the sick, trapped look on the faces of our children when they come to
fully realize what it means to be Black in Amerikkka. And we know what
deprivation is. How many times have We run out of bus fare, rent money, food
money and how many times have our children gone to school in hand-me-down
clothes, with holes in their shoes. We know what a hell-hole Amerikkka is.
We're afraid to let our children go out and play. We're afraid to walk the streets
at night. We sisters, We have seen our young, the babies that We brought into
this world with such great hopes for, We have seen their bodies bloated and
aching from drugs, scarred and deformed by bullet holes. We know what
oppression is. We have been abused in every way imaginable. We have been abused
economically, politically. We have been abused physically, and We have been
abused sexually. And sisters, We have a long and glorious history of struggle
on this land!
/planet. Afrikan women were strong and courageous warriors
long before We came to this country in chains. And here in Amerikkka, our
sisters have been on the front lines. Sister Harriet Tubman led the underground
railroad. And sisters like Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hammer, Sandra Pratt and our
Queen Mother Moore have carried it on. Sisters, We have been the backbone of
our communities, and We have got to be the backbone of our nation. We have got
to build strong family units, based on love and struggle. We don't have no time
to play around.
A REVOLUTIONARY WOMAN CAN'T HAVE NO REACTIONARY MAN.
If he's not about liberation, if he's not about struggle, if
he ain't about building a strong Black nation then he ain't about nothing. We
know how to struggle. We know how to struggle and finagle to survive. We know
what it means, sisters, to struggle tooth and nail. We know what it means to
struggle with love. We know what unity is. We know what sisterhood is. We have
always been kind to each other, brought each other hot soup and biscuits. We
have always helped each other through the hard times. Sisters, We must
celebrate Afrikan womanhood. We don't want to be like Miss Ann. She can keep
her false eyelashes and her false, despoiled image of womanhood. She can keep
her mink stole and her French provincial furniture. We will define for
ourselves what womanhood is. And We will create our own style and our own ways
of dress. We can't have no white man in France telling Afrikan women what to
look like. We will create our own New Afrikan way of living. We will create our
own wa!
y of being and living our own New Afrikan culture, taking
the best of the old and mixing it with the new.
SISTERS WE HAVE GOT TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES AND OUR
FUTURE WHEREVER WE ARE. AND WE HAVE GOT TO ORGANIZE OURSELVES INTO A STRONG
BODY OF AFRIKAN WOMEN.
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