A black man's observation of the July 4th Salute, p. 4
Dublin Core
Title
A black man's observation of the July 4th Salute, p. 4
Description
“Dear AFRO.
The 4th of July will be celebrated with all of the gusto white American muster. This is most fitting and proper. I would not scold you (black America) if you joined the celebration; but I deem it is my duty to tell you the truth of the matter as I perceive it.
I preceded the statue of liberty. I did not set sail from Liverpool or any of the European sea ports; but by brute force I was loaded on an English ship and set sail from the west coast of Africa.
I did not land at Ellis Island, but the Island of Jamaica. I was not a W.O.P. (person without papers). I had neither clothes nor name. The only concern my captors had was that I was healthy enough to bring a good price.
I arrived with a tether around my neck and a hobble around my legs. I was transferred to a holding compound I was subjected to the most cruel treatment imaginable (for six months) until I was docile. Then I was shipped to Charleston, S.C.
At Charleston papers were issued for me, not to me; (a bill of sale). Now I was in the land of the free, the home of the brave. I was a slave (chattel).
Please try to understand, Dear America, this condition of servitude was sanction by both the Protestant and Catholic churches. This you must understand, because the Statue of Liberty, is a monument to immigration. The root cause of immigration was greed/need.
The greed of the upper class to further exploit the resources of this country and the need of the lower class for relief of moral oppression and economic depression. To understand why this statement you must first try to understand the morality of the white man.
This historical fact of the matter is: From the beginning of recorded history the stronger peoples of the earth have subdued and dispossessed the weaker. The stronger have invaded the land of the weaker, exterminating them or making slaves out of them. They (the stronger) did this without scruples or compunction.
On the Fourth of July it is the custom to read a copy of the constitution from the steps of city halls in many cities and towns of this country.
THE PREAMBLE
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish JUSTICE, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” These are profound words, from July Fourth, 1776 (210 years ago).
210 years is almost an eternity for an oppressed of a nation possess people. Yet seven generations in the affairs of a nation is a very short time. Yes, the Founding Fathers of our nation labored hard over the slave problem.
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Patrick Henry looked upon slavery as morally wrong. Thomas Jefferson declared in regard to slavery, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.” Prophetic words indeed.
The words SLAVE and SLAVERY were excluded from the constitution; but South Carolina and made the recognition of slavery (for twenty years) a condition of joining the Union. Eighty-four years after speaking those words, the blood of the young men of America began to flow; Fort Sumter, South Carolina (April 14, 1861) Baltimore, Maryland (April 19, 1861).
The Civil War began, with father against son, and brother against brother, killing each other. January 1. 1863, Lincoln’s famous war measure, the Emancipation Proclamation. This was not an act of compassion, it was an act of war.
The lost of slave labor in the agricultural south was a great victory for the industrial north. The cotton and corn fields were abandoned. Then came April 9, 1865, the guns of the Civil War fell silent and its cost tabulated. Broken morally and economically, the defeated Southland was in a state of destitution.
Then came December 18, 1865: The XIII Amendment made me a freeman. I could not be bought bequeathed to anyone. July 28, 1868: The XIV Amendment made me a citizen; bestowing upon me all the rights and privileges of a citizen; except the right to vote. March 30, 1870: The XV Amendment gave me the right to vote.
These amendments (XII, XIV and XV) were my Bill of Rights; to me they were fundamental. They had a profound impact on my life (black America). I ceased to be chattel.
But in 1865, the year America was saved from self destruction, the question was, “What to do with the emancipated black man?” The answer, “Put the Negro back in his place” became the cry of the defeated South.
1865-1866 saw the promulgation in every legislative hall of the old confederate laws of the serf, the Black Codes.
The following are examples of some of the infamous laws: On marriage, Negro couples permitted, interracial marriages forbidden - punishment, life imprisonment imposed on both parties. The right to bear arms, vote, hold public office and free assembly were forbidden in all of the Southern states. The vagrancy law of Georgia: All persons (black) wandering or strolling about in idleness, who are able to work and have no property to support them might be picked up and tried, if convicted, they could set on state chain gangs or contracted out to planters and other employers who would pay their fines and upkeep for a stated period.
You see Dear America, I tried to chronologically tell you how I view the celebration of the Fourth of July and the salute to the statue of Liberty.
But, reaffirming my faith in God, knowing that JUSTICE will prevail, I shall walk out of the shadow of the dark past, into the brilliant light of the present and fill my glass with the wine of hope and drink a toast to the future. God Bless America.”
The 4th of July will be celebrated with all of the gusto white American muster. This is most fitting and proper. I would not scold you (black America) if you joined the celebration; but I deem it is my duty to tell you the truth of the matter as I perceive it.
I preceded the statue of liberty. I did not set sail from Liverpool or any of the European sea ports; but by brute force I was loaded on an English ship and set sail from the west coast of Africa.
I did not land at Ellis Island, but the Island of Jamaica. I was not a W.O.P. (person without papers). I had neither clothes nor name. The only concern my captors had was that I was healthy enough to bring a good price.
I arrived with a tether around my neck and a hobble around my legs. I was transferred to a holding compound I was subjected to the most cruel treatment imaginable (for six months) until I was docile. Then I was shipped to Charleston, S.C.
At Charleston papers were issued for me, not to me; (a bill of sale). Now I was in the land of the free, the home of the brave. I was a slave (chattel).
Please try to understand, Dear America, this condition of servitude was sanction by both the Protestant and Catholic churches. This you must understand, because the Statue of Liberty, is a monument to immigration. The root cause of immigration was greed/need.
The greed of the upper class to further exploit the resources of this country and the need of the lower class for relief of moral oppression and economic depression. To understand why this statement you must first try to understand the morality of the white man.
This historical fact of the matter is: From the beginning of recorded history the stronger peoples of the earth have subdued and dispossessed the weaker. The stronger have invaded the land of the weaker, exterminating them or making slaves out of them. They (the stronger) did this without scruples or compunction.
On the Fourth of July it is the custom to read a copy of the constitution from the steps of city halls in many cities and towns of this country.
THE PREAMBLE
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish JUSTICE, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” These are profound words, from July Fourth, 1776 (210 years ago).
210 years is almost an eternity for an oppressed of a nation possess people. Yet seven generations in the affairs of a nation is a very short time. Yes, the Founding Fathers of our nation labored hard over the slave problem.
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Patrick Henry looked upon slavery as morally wrong. Thomas Jefferson declared in regard to slavery, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.” Prophetic words indeed.
The words SLAVE and SLAVERY were excluded from the constitution; but South Carolina and made the recognition of slavery (for twenty years) a condition of joining the Union. Eighty-four years after speaking those words, the blood of the young men of America began to flow; Fort Sumter, South Carolina (April 14, 1861) Baltimore, Maryland (April 19, 1861).
The Civil War began, with father against son, and brother against brother, killing each other. January 1. 1863, Lincoln’s famous war measure, the Emancipation Proclamation. This was not an act of compassion, it was an act of war.
The lost of slave labor in the agricultural south was a great victory for the industrial north. The cotton and corn fields were abandoned. Then came April 9, 1865, the guns of the Civil War fell silent and its cost tabulated. Broken morally and economically, the defeated Southland was in a state of destitution.
Then came December 18, 1865: The XIII Amendment made me a freeman. I could not be bought bequeathed to anyone. July 28, 1868: The XIV Amendment made me a citizen; bestowing upon me all the rights and privileges of a citizen; except the right to vote. March 30, 1870: The XV Amendment gave me the right to vote.
These amendments (XII, XIV and XV) were my Bill of Rights; to me they were fundamental. They had a profound impact on my life (black America). I ceased to be chattel.
But in 1865, the year America was saved from self destruction, the question was, “What to do with the emancipated black man?” The answer, “Put the Negro back in his place” became the cry of the defeated South.
1865-1866 saw the promulgation in every legislative hall of the old confederate laws of the serf, the Black Codes.
The following are examples of some of the infamous laws: On marriage, Negro couples permitted, interracial marriages forbidden - punishment, life imprisonment imposed on both parties. The right to bear arms, vote, hold public office and free assembly were forbidden in all of the Southern states. The vagrancy law of Georgia: All persons (black) wandering or strolling about in idleness, who are able to work and have no property to support them might be picked up and tried, if convicted, they could set on state chain gangs or contracted out to planters and other employers who would pay their fines and upkeep for a stated period.
You see Dear America, I tried to chronologically tell you how I view the celebration of the Fourth of July and the salute to the statue of Liberty.
But, reaffirming my faith in God, knowing that JUSTICE will prevail, I shall walk out of the shadow of the dark past, into the brilliant light of the present and fill my glass with the wine of hope and drink a toast to the future. God Bless America.”
Creator
John Thronton
Publisher
Baltimore African American
Date
1986-6-28
Collection
Citation
John Thronton, “A black man's observation of the July 4th Salute, p. 4,” African American Fourth of July, accessed April 27, 2024, https://africanamerican4th.omeka.net/items/show/27.