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Tag Archives: freedom

1943 Tower July 2014

The 1943 Tower Senior Yearbook reflects this atmosphere of tension and concern. This would be the last yearbook published until 1947, as the entire country tightened its economic belt and focused on the battle at hand. Paper rationing, as well as limitations of other publication materials meant the war years would be closed to the Tower staff. It’s as if the war plunged the entire world into darkness for three years. Being without the yearbook during this time allows readers to see the value of the historic record these books offer. And perusing the pages of the 1943 Tower, offers a way into the state of campus life just before the lights went out....

University of Detroit Tower Yearbook Collection campus, freedom, history, publication, university, World War II, yearbook Linda Papa Updated: July 24, 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

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

Anthony Burns February 2014

Those of you who have visited the Black Abolitionist Archive have likely noticed the photograph of a young man named Anthony Burns in the upper left-hand corner of the main page. There’s an interesting history to this young man’s experience that helped to bring to light the depth of the outrage of slavery, and to change the hearts and minds of the citizens of Boston. Through his own words we learn of his plight....

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, African Americans, black abolitionist, black history, emancipation, escape, freedom, history, slavery Linda Papa Updated: February 5, 2014

1968 December 2013

The 1968 Tower Yearbook focuses on the student of this period, the way they looked, played, studied, and dreamed. The attention here is on those who worked to make sense of a senseless time, to gain knowledge that would allow them to make changes and help create the future we know now. They paved the way and redefined dedication, honor, and freedom. And while they may look and dress and communicate differently today, that drive and quest for knowledge still defines what being a UDM student really is....

University of Detroit Tower Yearbook Collection annual, campus, freedom, student, UDM, yearbook Linda Papa Updated: December 9, 2013

Fugitive Slave Laws October 2013

It could very well be that one of the “worst laws in the history of this country” is not what some might imagine. Take the Fugitive Slave Laws, for example. Slavery was bad enough, our entire economy was based on enslaved human labor. During this time, while some in government worked for a reasoned and compassionate solution to an obvious moral crisis, there were plenty of people in government who could not see any other way to realize economic prosperity for the country. Ending slavery meant, to them, the complete disruption of a booming economy, a growing national wealth, and a steady increase in power over England. If we took away the foundation of this economy, what in the world would save us from… disaster!?...

Black Abolitionist Archive African Americans, black abolitionist, black history, economics, freedom, fugitive, kidnapping, law, politics, slavery Linda Papa Updated: October 23, 2016

William Whipper September 2013

“Resolved, That the practice of non-resistance to physical aggression, is not only consistent with reason, but the surest method of obtaining a speedy triumph of the principles of universal
peace.” — William Whipper, 1837

Among the many speeches and editorials contained in the Black Abolitionist archive are three lengthy speeches delivered between 1833 and 1837 by William Whipper, black businessman and abolitionist. His were among the first speeches entered into the archive and the ones that had the most profound effect on me. Reading these speeches encouraged the excited feeling of discovery that would stay with me through the entire archiving project. Surely, I felt, I had discovered something that few others had seen. Surely, I thought, here is evidence of the seeds of change that altered the course of this country’s history in the years leading up to Emancipation....

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, African Americans, black history, freedom, history Linda Papa Updated: September 19, 2013

Agitation August 2013

Agitation is an interesting word and one used often in the Black Abolitionist speeches and editorials. One definition offered by dictionary.com is: “persistent urging of a political or social cause or theory before the public.” This defining seems to fit, yet it also offers the idea that this type of action is at once determined and steady without being violent and aggressive. “Agitation” says “we’re not going away” as it demands change. While protest marches and rioting can spark immediate attention and forceful response in kind, agitation works slowly to alter the direction of a nation over time....

Black Abolitionist Archive abolition, editorial, freedom, newspaper, protest, resistance, slavery Linda Papa Updated: August 1, 2013

British Emancipation Day – August 1 August 2013

Included in the festivities for the celebration of Emancipation Day each year, were speeches delivered by prominent abolitionists. One champion of the cause of abolition to speak in 1861 was William Howard Day, whose speeches and editorials can be found in the Black Abolitionist Archive among our digital collections. Day, formally educated (rare for a man of color during this time), spoke eloquently and passionately for the cause of freedom, for a reasoned approach to ending slavery. ...

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

Independence Day! July 2013

The July 4 holiday celebrates our national freedom and commemorates the hard won independence from England that Americans value. Yet for 300 years there were people living in this country without inclusion, without citizenship, without a national identity, and without freedom. Each year on the fourth of July, they watched the celebrations, the fireworks, and the merrymaking without feeling a connection to place or national pride. For so long, this celebration of freedom only served to remind a portion of...

Black Abolitionist Archive celebration, emancipation, freedom, slavery Linda Papa Updated: June 21, 2013

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