Bless you, Steven, for revealing the stories of the slaves to us! Made me sick; made me cry; made me happy.
In or about 1965, I was coming back from a Friday night service at our temple, with my parents. They were Holocaust victims from Poland & Germany. To get to our home, we had to travel onto a “round-about” at Smith Crossroads in Lenoir, NC. What we encountered that night is emblazoned in my mind. Right in the middle of that “round” were Klansmen burning a big cross. They were not met with horns honking. I think there was shock, even amongst those who hated “colored people”. I acknowledge what my family went through was horrendous but Black Americans have been consistently living in a holocaust in this country. We must DO SOMETHING to rid ourselves of these regime monsters and not wait until tomorrow. The time is NOW!
This one line jumped out at me: "but they turned us out to graze or starve." Have we really moved all that far from that? I have had black friends since my days as a young USAF Airman. That was in the 1960s. We are so quick to judge and assign. To scoff. To deny. Simply look at this current White House administration. Trump's grandfather was a Nazi-lover. His father was a member of the KKK (along with his mother). Trump is a racist. No doubt he hates black and brown folk. Just like Stephen Miller, a Jew who has lost all sense and perspective of the trials and trauma of his own tribe. They bring shame down upon us. The callous inhumanity makes me want to vomit.
You’ve shown the best way to tell the story of becoming free the words those who lived it. Not only the joy that came but the confusion and realization there was no bridge to this new life. They and their freedom were their only resources.
I remember, growing up in the 1950s, walking on sidewalks built by the WPA. But the most lasting legacy of the WPA will be the memories they preserved for posterity, far more than the useful infrastructure projects they built.
There were no federal welfare programs, as far as I can tell, when the slaves were freed. These personal accounts reflect the horrendous mixed feelings of being “free” but with no means of self care. One doesn’t learn how to be an adult instantaneously.
I would add April 9, 1865 to the dates of Freedom. Without Lee's surrender to General Grant, that Freedom was not ensured. When our government today can vacate amendments at the whim of a racist president, the Union needed to win the war in 1865.
"40 acres and a mule" was a promise made to formerly enslaved African Americans after the Civil War, specifically by Union General William T. Sherman's Special Field Order No. 15. This order, issued in January 1865, allocated confiscated Confederate land along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida for settlement by freed families, with the intention of providing them with 40 acres of land and a mule to help them become self-sufficient. While the promise was initially implemented, it was largely revoked by President Andrew Johnson shortly after the war ended, making it a case of a broken promise.
Thank you for re-posting this piece. The former slave’s interviews are eye opening regarding their struggles to survive. The concept of “ freedom” is still loaded with misunderstandings and controversy, it seems.
Thanks Steven for sharing those letters from the 1930s - and what a wonderful thing the WPA was to gather those stories. Reading them is touching, heart warming and sobering all at once. I'm actually surprised that most of the slave owners (those referred to here) let their newly freed workers go so graciously. Maybe they thought there would be repercussions from the Union Army if they refused.
Bless you, Steven, for revealing the stories of the slaves to us! Made me sick; made me cry; made me happy.
In or about 1965, I was coming back from a Friday night service at our temple, with my parents. They were Holocaust victims from Poland & Germany. To get to our home, we had to travel onto a “round-about” at Smith Crossroads in Lenoir, NC. What we encountered that night is emblazoned in my mind. Right in the middle of that “round” were Klansmen burning a big cross. They were not met with horns honking. I think there was shock, even amongst those who hated “colored people”. I acknowledge what my family went through was horrendous but Black Americans have been consistently living in a holocaust in this country. We must DO SOMETHING to rid ourselves of these regime monsters and not wait until tomorrow. The time is NOW!
"the fierce urgency of now," as Dr King put it.
This one line jumped out at me: "but they turned us out to graze or starve." Have we really moved all that far from that? I have had black friends since my days as a young USAF Airman. That was in the 1960s. We are so quick to judge and assign. To scoff. To deny. Simply look at this current White House administration. Trump's grandfather was a Nazi-lover. His father was a member of the KKK (along with his mother). Trump is a racist. No doubt he hates black and brown folk. Just like Stephen Miller, a Jew who has lost all sense and perspective of the trials and trauma of his own tribe. They bring shame down upon us. The callous inhumanity makes me want to vomit.
You’ve shown the best way to tell the story of becoming free the words those who lived it. Not only the joy that came but the confusion and realization there was no bridge to this new life. They and their freedom were their only resources.
Thank you, Ann. Glad to hear they resonated.
I remember, growing up in the 1950s, walking on sidewalks built by the WPA. But the most lasting legacy of the WPA will be the memories they preserved for posterity, far more than the useful infrastructure projects they built.
An incredibly poignant collection of stories. Thank you for sharing these on this commemorative day of Juneteenth.
Thank you.
There were no federal welfare programs, as far as I can tell, when the slaves were freed. These personal accounts reflect the horrendous mixed feelings of being “free” but with no means of self care. One doesn’t learn how to be an adult instantaneously.
If reading through this excellent post doesn’t make anyone white (me) humble as hell, and squirm, they are lacking a very necessary emotion.
I would add April 9, 1865 to the dates of Freedom. Without Lee's surrender to General Grant, that Freedom was not ensured. When our government today can vacate amendments at the whim of a racist president, the Union needed to win the war in 1865.
"40 acres and a mule" was a promise made to formerly enslaved African Americans after the Civil War, specifically by Union General William T. Sherman's Special Field Order No. 15. This order, issued in January 1865, allocated confiscated Confederate land along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida for settlement by freed families, with the intention of providing them with 40 acres of land and a mule to help them become self-sufficient. While the promise was initially implemented, it was largely revoked by President Andrew Johnson shortly after the war ended, making it a case of a broken promise.
Thank you for re-posting this piece. The former slave’s interviews are eye opening regarding their struggles to survive. The concept of “ freedom” is still loaded with misunderstandings and controversy, it seems.
Excellent post!
Wonderful to hear these stories!
Thanks Steven for sharing those letters from the 1930s - and what a wonderful thing the WPA was to gather those stories. Reading them is touching, heart warming and sobering all at once. I'm actually surprised that most of the slave owners (those referred to here) let their newly freed workers go so graciously. Maybe they thought there would be repercussions from the Union Army if they refused.