Slavery

Aug 18 2011

He detested slavery

On Oct. 2, 1800, one of the most highly regarded leaders of his time, Nat Turner, was born enslaved on a plantation in Southhampton County, Va. A deeply spiritual man, he engulfed himself in study, prayer and fasting on a regular basis. His mother and grandmother were brought from Africa to America and maintained a deep-seated hatred toward slavery.

Turner was an intelligent man and in his youth he developed the same view of slavery. At an early age, his family believed he was chosen by God to lead his people out of that peculiarly brutal institution.

Jul 7 2011

Slavery is a curse whose vestiges still remain

“The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of it people”—Ashanti proverb

“To understand the Black family one must recognize the historical and socio-political environment of African Americans in this country beginning with enslavement and its devastating effect on the Black family. Current economic, political, social and health conditions continue to negatively impact the Black family.”—Faye Z. Belgrave, Ph.D.

Jun 30 2011

102nd anniversary of establishment

June 30 marks the 102nd anniversary of the establishment of the town of Allensworth.

It was founded in 1908 by Lt. Col. Allen Allensworth with the help of several other African Americans. The small town rests in an unincorporated area of Tulare County in Central California.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jun 30 2011

Practical Politics

Next week, America will celebrate its most hallowed of holidays, its July 4th Declaration of Independence. One hundred forty-five years after the ratification of the 13th amendment legislation that ended legal slavery in America, 143 years after the ratified 14th amendment made Black Americans citizens of the USA, and 141 years after the 15th amendment (with a lot of help from the civil rights-era Voting Rights Act, 1965, with amendments) enfranchised us, do the vast majority of us finally feel real about being free and independent in America and that July 4th is our favorite holiday too?

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jun 16 2011

More than just an observation

As June 19 comes closer and conversations about celebrating the day that the last Africans in America received word of their emancipation from chattel slavery drew nearer, there are those folks who might wonder or even verbalize a familiar sentiment—“slavery was way back then; it has nothing to do with me today. Why should I go to such a celebration. It’s just old timey stuff.”

According to noted psychologist Wade W. Nobles, Ph.D., there are very good reasons to go to a Juneteenth celebration.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”