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Category Archives: Black Abolitionist Archive

Education and Slavery February 2015

Alexander Crummell, among other Black Abolitionists of his day, spoke frequently and eloquently about the plight of the slave and the cause of freedom. His thoughts were offered not just to those with the power to free the enslaved portion of the population, but to the slaves themselves, encouraging them to live full and productive lives, urging them to be strong in their religious convictions, and offering them words of hope and comfort. He also stressed the importance of education and the idea that an educated population was a successful one. Although few slaves had the option of a formal education (in most places during this time, educating the slave was illegal), this was the key to their futures. ...

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, Africa, African Americans, black history, education, freedom, handwritten, Liberia, slavery Linda Papa Updated: February 12, 2015

“Old Winter has Come Again, Alack” January 2015

One of the best topics for conversation when nothing else is on table for discussion is the weather. Weather discussion offers you an endless supply of metaphor, an easy connection between strangers (who doesn’t enjoy talking about the weather?), and a huge area for opinion of one sort or another. It also offers a great way to ease into heavier subjects, such as poverty and the misery of the poor....

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, African Americans, black abolitionist, black history, editorial, history, newspaper, weather Linda Papa Updated: November 18, 2014

The Merry Christmas Time December 2014

There are only three small entries in the Black Abolitionist Archive associated with Christmas, so I chose this one. While this holiday was important to an enslaved people learning about the celebration of this Christmas story from the periphery of the Christian families who enslaved them, the way they celebrated this holiday was different. The celebration of any special occasion then was on Church, prayer, thankfulness, and finding joy where they could....

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, African Americans, black abolitionist, black history, celebration, emancipation, essay, heritage, history, newspaper Linda Papa Updated: December 11, 2014

Antebellum Education October 2014

So, even though educating the black population was not illegal in the northern states during this period, it wasn’t encouraged or supported. Many schools dedicated to educating black children folded under the pressures of lack of funding and lack of support from the white population. Education in this section of the population at one point became a communal endeavor: literate parents taught their children, friends taught friends, groups formed to help each other learn. In the South where educating slaves was not allowed, this type of communal education (mostly centering on learning to read the Bible) was unstoppable....

Black Abolitionist Archive African Americans, black abolitionist, black history, editorial, education, newspaper, school, slavery Linda Papa Updated: October 17, 2014

Josiah Henson and Harriet Beecher Stowe August 2014

It seems an unlikely pairing, but one theory in the history of slavery assures us that Harriet Beecher Stowe was influenced to write her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin after reading the autobiography of Josiah Henson, former slave and Black Abolitionist. Stowe’s character of Uncle Tom even looks a bit like the photograph of Henson available on various web sites devoted to African American history. And according to one site, Henson’s supporters even encouraged this connection after the book’s popularity to...

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, African Americans, black abolitionist, black history, education, history, newspaper, slavery, speech Linda Papa Updated: September 4, 2016

Sojourner Truth August 2014

One hundred years ago in June, 1863, Sojourner Truth (a name chosen by Isabella Baumfree, former slave and abolitionist) attended a Sunday School Convention in Battle Creek, Michigan. On the last day of the convention, during a mass meeting of white children and their teachers at the local Methodist Church, she sat patiently in the back of the church listening to various speakers. When the last one finished his speech, she rose and spoke clearly and distinctly to the men at the podium, “Is there an opportunity that I may speak?”...

Black Abolitionist Archive abolitionist, Baumfree, freedom, prejudice, racial, slavery Linda Papa Updated: August 5, 2014

Civil War and Civil Rights July 2014

It was fear mostly that kept free black men from being accepted for enlistment in the early days of the Civil War (1861-1865). Although they had fought in both the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the uprisings and revolts of later years encouraged government worry about arming black men. Yet while riots and desertion were plentiful when it came to drafting white men into the war, those black men who were committed to fighting for freedom were turned...

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, African Americans, black abolitionist, black history, Civil War, emancipation, freedom, history, slavery Linda Papa Updated: June 19, 2014

Celebrating Independence July 2014

Today all Americans celebrate Independence Day (July 4th) as a federal holiday commemorating the Declaration of Independence signed on July 4, 1776. This event marked this country’s freedom from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). But did you know that August 1 (Emancipation Day) was celebrated as a day of independence and liberation for thousands of enslaved and formerly enslaved people in this country and others for years after slavery was abolished in the West Indies on this day...

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, African Americans, black abolitionist, black history, celebration, emancipation, freedom, slavery Linda Papa Updated: June 30, 2014

Independence Day July 2014

In a New Haven, Connecticut church on July 5, 1832, black abolitionist Peter Osborne spoke of independence. In those early days of the movement towards freedom from slavery, each July 4th holiday offered a way for abolitionists to remind the country of those who had never known freedom here. This one day out of each year had come to symbolize what had become the hallmark foundation of the United States, and yet was denied to so many who lived here. ...

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, African Americans, black abolitionist, black history, celebration, emancipation, history, Liberator newspaper, slavery, speech Linda Papa Updated: July 3, 2014

Education, 1851 June 2014

History has a way of collapsing time. It moves along a social timeline from major event to major event and the small steps that occurred to the human beings involved in the day to day struggle between those events is often overlooked. We see for example the settling of Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 (and the African slaves who were included in this), the Civil War in 1861, and the emancipation of slaves in 1863. We’re told that slavery had a long history of cruelty and abuse, and we are hesitant to spend too much time exploring the detailed lives of those who survived this....

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, African Americans, archival, black abolitionist, black history, editorial, education, emancipation, freedom, history, slavery, student Linda Papa Updated: May 27, 2014

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