The African-American Odyssey from Phyllis Weatley to Black Lives Matter

It is important to study African-American odyssey to contrast the Republicans attempts to white wash and
suppress American real history, their aim is to remove the teaching of the way how USA got to this
greatness. Teaching the real history of USA has become hard, even unlawful in some states.

The contributions of black Americans are huge, they built roads, produced cash, cleaned the land, they
originated banking systems, they built White House, black Americans kept contributing to the constant
battle for democracy for the true consistence that is supposedly American. The share of this contribution
was extracted (extractivism – stripping away without consent). It took 4 century of slavery 1 century of
segregation, and then a lingering unequal state to get this contribution.

The 1619 Project, launched by The New York Times in 2019, reframes American history by placing the
legacy of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at its centre. It marks the 400th anniversary of
the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the English colonies in 1619. Through essays and articles, the
project challenges traditional narratives, aiming to highlight the profound and enduring impact of slavery
on various aspects of American society.

1619 is considered the forgotten year that shaped America, was the year that saw the first slaves coming
from Africa, they arrived in Jamestown, Virginia. In 1619, during the early 17th century, American colonists
under English rule convened the first representative assembly, marking the birth of American democracy.
This assembly laid the groundwork for self-governance, as colonists began to gather and discuss matters,
representing a preliminary form of a parliament.

1776 Declaration of Independence - Gave birth to a new nation, 13 colonies made of different regions,
different ethnicities, gathered together to build a state.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)

The concept of Blackness in the United States was intricately shaped by the brutal institution of slavery,
the emergence of race as a defining factor, and the resilience of African Americans in their pursuit of
identity. Blackness became a symbol of resistance to the dehumanizing effects of slavery, and the African
American community constructed a sense of peoplehood, uniting themselves as survivors and dissidents in
the face of adversity.

The roots of slavery in America can be traced back to the conquest of the Americas in 1499, opening the
door to an unprecedented form of slavery. Unlike anything seen before, this global phenomenon was
championed by the Portuguese and Spanish, with Columbus being the first to engage in the sale of slaves.
Slavery proved immensely lucrative, introducing massive wealth to Europe through commodities like
tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton, coffee, and sugar.

The labor-intensive nature of sugar, tobacco, and rice production led to the enslavement of millions of
Native Americans in the 16th and 17th centuries. This form of extractivism, where labor was exploited
without consent or compensation, became a crucial component of capitalism's development.

The triangle of trade and exploitation involved Portugal's engagement in slavery in Africa, exchanging
manufactured goods, weapons, and jewellery. This expensive and risky business necessitated a complex
network connecting England, Africa, and the Caribbean, involving the movement of goods, capital, and
people, along with the introduction of insurance.

Virginia discovered the tobacco and started this industry. Sugar was used in Europe to increase the
productivity of workers in factories and in 19th century it spread throughout the population.
Slavery's legacy persisted through the 19th century, with the invention of the cotton gin in 1793
transforming the Southern United States into a hub of the textile revolution. The international system of
slavery left lasting structures, reflecting a political economy built on extracting labor and value without
proper consent or compensation.

The abolitionist movement emerged in response to the inherent cruelty of slavery, advocating for the end
of this infamous mode of production. Yet, the deep-seated ideologies of race, invented to justify the
enslavement of Africans, persisted for centuries. The concept of Blackness emerged from the social death
experienced by African captives, who, despite their differences, were collectively subjected to the
dehumanizing institution of slavery.

Resistance against this social death took various forms, from small acts of defiance to the broader struggle
for abolition. The idea of Blackness became a powerful force, allowing the African American community to
resist attacks on their humanity and form a cohesive identity that transcended the divisions imposed upon
them. Despite the horrors of slavery, Blackness emerged as a remarkable quest for life and dignity,
challenging the oppressive structures that sought to dehumanize and exploit a people based on their race.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade Began with the Portuguese and Spanish in 1400s. It was expanded by the
Dutch, English and French in the 1600s and 1700s. “Americans” aka English settlers in BCNA, become active
in the late 1700-early 1800s. The trade ends in the late 1800s, as slavery ends in the Americas. 1886 Cuba
abolished slavery, Brazil in 1888.

To enslave Africans and African Americans, as Patterson defines it, Europeans and European Americans had
to assert 3 types of power on a routine basis:
1. Social – Violence or threat of violence (threat of rape, disfigurement, the lash, sale, or death to extort
compliance)
2. Psychological – Convince someone to accept their subjugated position (often to avoid violence or death)
Natal alienation – cast enslaved people out of normal human order and its protections (life, liberty, family).
Isolate them socially, refuse to acknowledge social roles, deny them the right to perform social roles and
enjoy basic human protections
3. Cultural – Establish larger power system (law and ideology) that forces compliance and protects the
interests of the master.

Once they have been dishonoured, enslaved people have no value to society, except in relation to the
master class.

William Turner, The Slave Ship, 1781

The zong - The horrors of slavery were vividly depicted in incidents like the Zong massacre in 1781, where a
slave ship carrying more than 500 individuals threw 132 slaves overboard to exploit a clause in the
insurance system. This dark chapter in history highlighted the inhumane treatment of individuals as
commodities in the pursuit of profit.

Social Death
The term “Black” was the product of a social and technological machine tightly linked to the emergence and
globalization of capitalism. It was invented to signify exclusion, brutalization, and degradation, to point to
a limit constantly conjured and abhorred. The Black Man, despised and profoundly dishonoured, is the only
human in the modern order whose skin has been transformed into the form and spirit of merchandise—
the living crypt of capital. Manifest dualism to Blackness. In a spectacular reversal, it becomes the symbol of
a conscious desire for life, a force springing forth, buoyant and plastic, fully engaged in the act of creation
and capable of living in the midst of death - Achille Mbembe, Critique of Black Reason
1619 Twenty slaves in Virginia Africans brought to Jamestown are the first slaves imported into Britain’s
North American colonies

1667 Virginia decreed that converted slaves could be kept in bondage not because they were actual
heathens but because they had heathen ancestry, the justification for Black servitude changed from
religious status to something approaching race.

1793 U.S.-born inventor Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin

1808 Importation of new slaves was outlawed

Henry Ossawa Tanner “The banjo Lesson” 1894

Nat Turner's rebellion in 1831 was one of the bloodiest and most effective in American history. In the
hysterical climate that followed, many Blacks were murdered by white mobs, while others were
subsequently tried and executed. It ignited a culture of fear in Virginia that eventually spread to the rest of
the South, and is said to have expedited the coming of the Civil War…

Phyllis Wheatley

Long story short, she was a little girl born and realised in Africa, she was sold to American merchants, she
settled in Boston and renamed, she was purchased to become the domestic servant to take care of white
kids, she was so gifted that they gave her Latin books bibles, she started to write poems, very sophisticated
Victorian English, she became the talk of the town. 1770s star, performing her poetry in white houses, but
yet still a slave. In early 70s she was put on trial, a bunch of white men, bishops, plantation owners they
called her out to prove she was the authentic author of all the poems. She had to prove herself, perceived
as a fraud, if it’s true she was capable of such greatness. They enabled her to do that for fame, gratification.

Phillis Wheatley stands out in American history as one of the earliest recognized African American poets
during the 18th century. Despite the severe limitations on enslaved individuals expressing themselves
through literature or the arts, Wheatley, along with a few others, overcame significant obstacles to make
noteworthy contributions to literature and history.

Lucy Terry Prince: Lucy Terry Prince was an enslaved African woman brought to the American colonies in
the early 18th century. She is known for composing a ballad, "Bars Fight" which is considered one of the
earliest works of African American literature. Her poem was passed down orally for generations and
eventually transcribed.

Jupiter Hammon: He was an enslaved African American poet from New York who lived during the 18th
century. He is known for his religious and moral poems, including "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ
with Penitential Cries." His writings reflected his Christian faith and were among the earliest works of
African American literature published in the United States.

David George: David George was an enslaved African who escaped to freedom in Nova Scotia, Canada,
during the late 18th century. He became a Baptist minister and published religious writings and hymns,
contributing to the development of early African Canadian literature.

Venture Smith: Venture Smith, an enslaved African, wrote his autobiography in the late 18th century,
providing a detailed account of his life from slavery to freedom. His narrative, titled "A Narrative of the Life
and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of
America," is one of the earliest autobiographies by an African American.

Once upon a time, in the forging of a nation, the economic backbone rested heavily on the shoulders of
Black people. The term "political economy" aptly captures the pervasive nature of this reality. Racism, far
from mere thoughts or words, was deeply entrenched in political institutions and arrangements. The
economic engine was fuelled by the labour of enslaved Africans, turning human beings into commodities.
Laws were crafted, institutions built, defining the limits and roles of slaves, perpetuating the belief that
being Black meant being destined for enslavement. Political systems and institutions codified and
normalized this deeply unjust practice.

The ubiquity of slavery didn't mean acceptance by everyone. The contentious nature of slavery, deeply
rooted in every facet of society, ultimately led to the Civil War due to the inability to find common ground.
The more integral slavery became to the nation's development, the more fiercely it was contested.
Americans, both powerful and critical to the nation's growth, grappled with the contradiction of a nation
built on equality yet grounded in the reality of slavery.

Efforts to oppose slavery were multifaceted. Slaves themselves consistently contested their conditions, not
confined to the plantations but echoing in debates across Europe. Abolitionists emerged, advocating for
the end of this horrendous practice. The case of James Somerset, who argued for freedom upon reaching
England where slavery was illegal, triggered significant unrest.

The case of James Somerset was a landmark legal proceeding in 1772 in England. Somerset, an enslaved
man, sought freedom upon his arrival in England, arguing that slavery was illegal there. The court, presided
over by Lord Mansfield, ruled in favor of Somerset's freedom, stating that slavery had no basis in common
law and that Somerset must be released. While the decision did not abolish slavery, it set a precedent and
was a significant step in challenging the institution.

The desire for American independence was not only fuelled by a rejection of British control but also by
England's increasing inclination toward abolition. The foundational trio of land, labor,and capital in the
USA's pursuit of equality was marred by the stark reality of slavery, with countless Americans recognizing
this contradiction.

Resistance was a daily reality, rooted in Christianity, which, initially a tool of white power, transformed into
a vehicle of resistance when embraced by the enslaved. Through faith, ideas, and words, resistance became
a mindset, challenging the oppressive system that sought to dehumanize and exploit based on race.

- More than one in four US presidents were slaveholder: 12 owned slaves at some point in their lives.
- 8 presidents owned slaves while living in the white house
- For 50 of the first 60 years of the new nation, the president was a slave holder.

In the saga of American abolitionism, various strategies emerged to challenge the deeply entrenched
institution of slavery. Advocates grappled with whether to adopt a radical approach to reshape the
political economy or demonstrate intelligence and likability to sway public opinion. Figures like William
Lloyd Garrison used articles and newspapers as weapons, attempting to disseminate the idea that could
change the system. Garrison, the most renowned British abolitionist, operated mostly in the North,
highlighting the geographical divide in anti-slavery sentiments. In 1831 he founded the newspaper The
liberator. In 1833 he created the American Anti-Slavery Society, in NYC, it made rapid progress and within
five years had 1350 local chapters and about 250,000 members. Refusing violence, he relied on “moral
suasion” to convince his fellow Americans.

Among the notable abolitionists there was John Brown, who believed slavery was a sin and attempted to
incite a revolution. His ill-fated plan to arm Black people ended with his capture, arrest, and execution. This
act of rebellion left abolitionists conflicted on whether to view him as a hero or a traitor. Garrison, an
advocate of non-violence resistance, chose not to support Brown, emphasizing his commitment to his
ideology. Frederick Douglass chose to attend the hanging.

In 1775 was founded in Philadelphia the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, 5 years later in 1780
Pennsylvania was the first state to abolish slavery. Quakers, a peaceful Christian group, exposed the
contradiction between slavery and God's plan. They were the first to organize societies to challenge the
institution. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania and a prominent early Quaker. They were the initial
individuals to highlight the conflict between slavery and the divine plan. In 1787 Governor Morris made a
crucial observation during the constitutional congress, asserting that a society heavily reliant on slavery
was unsustainable, slavery was a curse and a sin. He emphasized the need to address this matter in the
constitution, recognizing that the nation would eventually face consequences for its dependence on
slavery. In 1787 the “Philadelphia Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, or
the “Abolition Society” is created

Efforts to resolve the slavery issue included the American Colonization Society, which suggested sending
Black Americans back to Africa, leading to the establishment of Liberia, founded by 3 slaves. Prominent
figures like Lincoln and Jefferson supported this idea. Voices like Marcus Garvey argued that Black
Americans belonged in Africa.

In 1816, Robert Finley, a Presbyterian minister from New Jersey, initiated the founding of the society, to
establish an African colony.

• In the American Colonization Society, both abolitionists and slaveholders expected to repatriate Blacks to
Africa.

• By 1822, the society succeeded in establishing the colony of Liberia on the west coast of Africa.

• By 1867, more than 13,000 African Americans had emigrated

The notion that Black people, even if freed from slavery, would not be equal gained traction. Abolitionists
like Frederick Douglass and David Walker emerged as influential figures. Douglass, a brilliant orator,
questioned the celebration of the Fourth of July by enslaved people. Walker, the first Black nationalist in
U.S. history, urged resistance and attempted to reach out to all African nations in Caribbean, appeal to the
citizens of the world is the book he wrote. Resist, stay put, you belong in this country don’t go back to
Africa, you belong here.

Sojourner Truth was woman former slave, she became an outspoken advocate for abolition, temperance,
and civil and women's rights in the nineteenth century. Her Civil War work earned her an invitation to meet
President Abraham Lincoln in 1864.

Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made
some thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved people, family and friends, using the
network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railroad, a clandestine network, facilitated the escape of thousands of slaves from the
South to the North, with Harriet Tubman playing a crucial role. Despite attempts to silence abolitionists, the
cracks in the system widened as escaped slaves and vocal opposition grew louder.

The inevitable clash over slavery erupted in the Civil War. Lincoln's election and the Southern states'
declaration of independence escalated tensions, with slavery at the core of the conflict. The war became a
catalyst for significant change, with Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and subsequent constitutional
amendments finally securing freedom for all slaves.

1860 Lincoln was Elected

1861 Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter: First Battle of Bull Run
1861 Texas declaration of secession
1862 Confederate forces retreat after Battle of Shiloh: General Robert R. Lee defends Richmond; battle of
Antietam
1863 Abraham Lincoln signs Emancipation Proclamation: Racially motivated riots break out in New York;
General Ulysses S. Grant leads Vicksburg Campaign: Battle of Gettysburg
1864 General William Tecumseh Sherman invades the South; Atlanta falls to Sherman’s forces; Lincoln is re-
elected
1865: 13th Amendment = Slavery abolished in the US

White supremacy, deeply ingrained in society, served to maintain a racial hierarchy. The symbolic wage of
whiteness, with associated privileges, aimed to prevent poor whites from aligning with slaves. The war's
midpoint saw Frederick Douglass gaining fame and influencing Lincoln to allow Southern slaves into the
Union army. The Emancipation Proclamation marked a significant turning point, declaring all slaves free in
1863.

Douglass in 1865 wrote that Lincoln was “emphatically, the black man’s president and the first to show any
respect for their rights as men”. A decade later he wrote he was “prominently the white man’s President”
even though he eventually wrote “in his heart of hearts he loathed and hated slavery.”

Despite the hardships, many escaped slaves joined the Union, such as Gordon, whose photograph
showcased the brutal scars inflicted upon him. These images, though horrific, became powerful tools in
changing public opinion and challenging the prevailing system. The journey toward freedom and equality
was long and arduous, marked by courageous acts, debates, and the ultimate reckoning with the institution
of slavery.

A Slave named Gordon - This famous photograph, usually titled “The scourged Back”, was widely circulated
by abolitionists and is one of the earliest examples of photography used as propaganda. The slave, named
Gordon, escaped his master in Mississipi by rubbing himself with onions to throw off the bloodhounds.
Abolitionists exploited the new medium of photography, circulating “The Scourged Back” and other cartes
de visite.

The ideals proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence faced stark contradictions in the American South
during the era of slavery. The abolitionist movement gained traction in the North, where freedom was
championed, while in the South, people remained enslaved. Frederick Douglass delivered powerful
speeches employing moral suasion to advocate for change.

The ongoing struggle between the North and South involved constant negotiations, particularly when new
states joined the Union, prompting debates over whether they would be slave states. Despite attempts to
find a middle ground, tensions escalated when Abraham Lincoln assumed office in 1861, leading to the
Southern states' insurrection.

Social status played a crucial role, with whiteness being considered both a status and capital. Southerners
fiercely resisted change, leading to the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history—the Civil War. The war ended with
the defeat of the South, resulting in extensive destruction, particularly in places like Atlanta.

The surrender of Southern General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant marked a challenging
period of acceptance akin to a harsh dictate, symbolizing the collapse of the Southern infrastructure and
the dismantling of white supremacy illusions.

An American Bloodshed
About 750,000 Americans died
One in 10 white men of military age died
One-fourth of the South's men of military age died
One-fifth of all the black soldiers (about 37,000) died 200,000 white women were widowed

On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln warned the Confederate States of America by announcing
that by Jan. 1, 1863, he would proclaim the slaves to be free if the Confederacy did not return to the Union.
The 10 states that seceded from the Union were not planning to return. So Lincoln went on with his plans
and signed the final Emancipation Proclamation that even allowed freed slaves to fight in the Union Army.
According to history, the message did not reach many blacks who were still enslaved. But it changed the
status of more than 3 million slaves.

On April 9 1865 Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant

Following the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Abraham Lincoln pursued the constitutional
transformation of freeing slaves, culminating in the 13th amendment. This marked a pivotal moment in
American history, altering the nation's DNA and reconstructing its political economy.

The Reconstruction era from 1865 to 1877 aimed to redefine America. However, Washington's attempts to
create a new economy clashed with Southern resistance, leading to a twelve-year period that reinvented
the nation. The political battle between Republicans and Democrats shaped laws and amendments,
including the transformative 14th and 15th amendments that granted citizenship and voting rights to all.

13th Amendment December 6 1865

'Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.'

14th Amendment July 28 1868

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution declared that all persons born or naturalized
in the United States are American citizens including African Americans.

15th Amendment February 3 1870

The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United
States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's race, color, or previous condition of
servitude

This Reconstruction period faced opposition from those who sought to preserve white supremacy. The
struggle to redefine the purpose of the nation's ideals and systems was epitomized by the Reconstruction
amendments—life-changing adversaries to white supremacists.

The policies of the Radical Republicans enabled African Americans to participate widely in the nation's
political system for the first time. Congress provided for black men to become voters in the South but also
governmental representatives at the local, state and national level. Although their elections were often
contested by whites, more than 100 blacks held public office during Reconstruction.

The Entrenched war between President Johnson and Radical Republicans (1865 - 1869)
“This is a country for white men" Committed to limited government and a strict constructionist
interpretation of the Constitution, Johnson’s Reconstruction plan allowed the former Confederate states to
return quickly to the Union. This would have left the civil rights of the former slave completely under the
auspices of the former slave-owners.

•Gave confiscated land back to southern white landowners and pardoned them for participating in the
War.
•Ordered plantations returned to their original owners
•Vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (passed despite his veto) Tried to block passage of the Fourteenth
Amendment.
•Took away lands that were to be given to former slaves.
•Allowed Southerners to reorganize their own local and state governments as they wished which allowed
the slave codes to be passed
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under
the "separate but equal" doctrine. Homer Plessy, of mixed race, challenged Louisiana's Separate Car Act,
arguing it violated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause. The Court's 7-1 decision
supported segregation, providing legal justification for racially segregated facilities. It wasn't until the 1954
"Brown v. Board of Education" case that the Court overturned "Plessy," declaring segregation
unconstitutional and marking a pivotal moment in the fight against racial segregation.

In 1897, the Supreme Court's decision that segregation was not unconstitutional solidified Jim Crow laws,
enforcing racial segregation. These laws, which restricted freedoms and liberties, created a pervasive
system of discrimination. The term "Jim Crow" itself was a derogatory label designed to mock black people
and reinforce their perceived inferiority.

Jim Crow laws encompassed various aspects of life, from public spaces to education, segregating black
and white populations. The systemic devaluation of black lives extended beyond legislation to include
cultural representations that perpetuated racial stereotypes.

The soft power of white supremacy manifested in the deliberate crafting of memory. Cultural products like
"Gone with the Wind" and "Birth of a Nation" portrayed a distorted view of the South, promoting a
narrative of contented whites and a glorified past. Memorials and statues honoring Confederate heroes
further solidified these distorted memories, becoming symbols of resistance to change.

The struggle for dignity among black Americans post-emancipation was multifaceted. While W.E.B. Du Bois
emphasized the importance of community life, others like Booker T. Washington argued for economic
advancement. The soft power of white supremacy, manifested through cultural products and the rewriting
of history, posed a constant challenge to the quest for dignity.

Despite progress, the legacy of white supremacy continued to shape perceptions, and the fight for dignity
persisted in the face of historical distortions and systemic barriers. The removal of Confederate monuments
became a cultural battleground, reflecting ongoing debates about the interpretation of the nation's past
and the path toward a more just and equitable future.