FREEDOM 1863 - 1963 - 2013
Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation & the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Past and Prologue
O
n the evening of Thursday, Jan. 12, 1865, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and Major-Gen. William T. Sherman interviewed 20 African-American men to determine the collective aptitude of the Negro race and their representative fitness for freedom. While the Emancipation Proclamation had already been signed, sealed, and delivered, the process of unhinging the collective physical and mental shackles of racial injustice had only just begun. The 20 men – William J. Campbell, John Cox, Ulysees L. Houston, William Bentley, Charles Bradwell, William Gaines, James Hill, Glasgon Taylor, Garrison Frazier, James Mills, Abraham Burke, Arthur Wardell, Alexander Harris, Andrew Neal, Jas. Porter, Adolphus Delmotte, Jacob Godfrey, John Johnson, Robert N. Taylor, and Jas. Lynch – ranged in age from 26 to 72 and had all been born free, released from bondage by their enslavers, or purchased their own freedom, in some cases, decades before the War. Businessmen, ministers, husbands and fathers, the men answered a series of 12 questions, including: State what your understanding is in regard to the acts of Congress and President Lincoln’s [Emancipation] proclamation, touching the condition of the colored people in the Rebel States; and State in what manner you think you can take care of yourselves, and how can you best assist the Government in maintaining your freedom. Garrison Frazier, 67, the appointed representative for the group of men offered the following reply to the latter question: “The way we can best take care of ourselves is to have land, and turn it and till it by our own labor – that is, by the labor of the women and children and old men; and we can soon maintain ourselves and have something to spare … We want to be placed on land until we are able to buy it and make it our own.” The men were eloquent in their delivery and deportment, forcing newspapers and official documents to classify them as being of superior intellect, dignity, and possessing both mental and physical strength. Frazier and the others understood that full citizenship meant social and economic self-sufficiency. It is here that the link between the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil Rights Movement cannot be overstated. In 1962, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., drafted an appeal to President John Kennedy, asking that on the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation a Second Emancipation Proclamation be signed into law, effectively ending a century of Jim Crow-sanctioned social and economic disenfranchisement. “It is precisely because race relations in America today are so deeply rooted, historically, in the socio-political conditions of Slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the ‘Black Codes’, and their aftermath that we believe the time has come for Presidential leadership to be vigorously exerted to remove, once and for all time, the festering cancer of segregation and discrimination from American society,” King wrote. King’s call for a Second Emancipation Proclamation acknowledged the near-century old battle by Black Southerners to maintain their birthrights – land and property that men like Frazier had purchased – against a tide of terroristic violence. It also demanded federal expediency after decades of state-sanctioned racial bias forced millions of Blacks from their Southern homes and into predatory job and housing markets. It is in keeping with a goal of introducing to some and reinforcing for others the narratives and metanarratives, official discourses of emancipation, and lesser-told stories of collective racial resilience, that the Washington Informer’s editorial team devised this special edition. Barrington Salmon and Shevry Lassiter sat down with three giants in the field of historical theory, analysis and preservation Lonnie Bunch, Hari Jones and Bernard Demczuk. They offer an examination of little known facts about the Emancipation Proclamation, myths, its links to the Civil Rights Movement, and how new, more inclusive histories can be presented to all Americans. James Wright examines the economic progress made since Dr. King suggested a Second Emancipation Proclamation, noting the work still left to do; and Dorothy Rowley takes a closer look at the techniques used to protect the Emancipation Proclamation. The Washington Informer celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Enjoy,
Shantella Sherman Editor, Special Editions
M-2 /January 2013 / MARTIN LUThER KING JR SUPPLEMENt
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Full Employment for
they are these huge, colossal initiatives, when in fact they are relatively modest. Affirmative action programs have been supported depending on the presidential administration in power and there has been a general decline in support of affirmative action.” Leigh said she believes Blacks suffer from an economic success perception problem, pointing to the economic success of people such as Oprah Winfrey, BET founder Robert Johnson, Magic Johnson and the small number of individual professional athletes and entertainers, who are perceived to denote the collective economic prosperity of the race.
“We have always had stars among us but that has not translated to wider sustainable prosperity,” she said. “You can go in any city in America and what you will see is a color-coded labor force. Who is picking up the trash, driving the buses and teaching in the schools? It seems that the darker you are, the further down the employment chain you are.” Austin said that the leaders of the 1963 March demanded improvements to the employment opportunities open to Blacks. “They wanted a massive federal jobs program that would provide training and employment for
anyone that wanted it. They also wanted the federal government to commit to anti-discrimination laws and they wanted a high minimum wage. Some of those things did happen, but it has not been enough,” Austin said. Leigh said that Black employment is better than it was 50 years ago, but institutional hurdles still remain for Blacks. “There is a glass ceiling for Blacks in the workplace and it is real. African Americans have to break that mathematical constant that is between Black unemployment and white unemployment, which is always higher for Blacks.” mlk
Blacks is Still a Dream By James Wright WI Staff Writer
F
ifty years after the 1963 March on Washington called for jobs and equal employment opportunities for people of color, noticeable progress has been made but much needs to be done. When the March on Washington in 1963 took place, Blacks tended to be employed in sectors such as the domestic services, retail, agriculture and manufacturing, all at the lower ends of the wage scale. There were Black professionals but they tended to be in the educational and religious sectors, with much smaller numbers of attorneys, physicians and other health-care professionals and entrepreneurs. In 1963, the Black unemployment rate was 10.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor report, while similar data today shows the unemployment rate among African Americans at 13.2 percent – an increase that in some regards has the general economic downturn of the nation as causality. Algernon Austin, director of the Race, Ethnicity and the Economy program at the Economic Policy Institute in Northwest said that the contrasting numbers do not surprise him. “It is clear that African Americans are better off as a race in terms of employment now than in 1963, still, the situation is not as good as we think. Employment prospects now are better than they were then but we still have a long way to go,” Austin, 45, said. www.washingtoninformer.com
Wilhelmina Leigh, an economist with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Northwest, agrees. She said that while Blacks constituted 10 percent of the country’s labor force in 1963, they made up considerably fewer of those in white-collar and skilled-labor jobs. African Americans constitute a major force in white-collar professions today, with Black women emerging as an economic powerbase in the professional ranks. “Studies have shown that more Black women are going to college than Black men,” Leigh said. “As a result, Black women are much closer to white women in closing the income gap. Also, the educational gap between Black women and white women is closing.” In 1963, Black women tended to be concentrated predominantly in the domestic service sector, retail and the service industry, while a small number were professionals. Today, Black women are on pace to overtake Black men within 20 years in such professions as medicine and law and are making strides in ministry and engineering. The expansion of Black employment opportunities can be attributed to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the creation and implementation of affirmative action laws and initiatives and government programs that favored minority businesses in contracting and employment. Austin said that the actions taken by primarily the federal government have helped, some. “People tend to exaggerate the scope of these programs,” he said. “They make it seem like
MARTIN luther KING JR SUPPLEMENT / January 2013 / M-3
INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS BY ELTON HAYES
Viewp int
Princely Monju Takoma Park, Md.
I think America has come a long way. African Americans and Caucasians, who have had a history of conflict, are now working together and enjoy most of the same freedoms and privileges. With the election of the first AfricanAmerican president, it shows that African Americans and Caucasians are able to coexist, which is a great achievement.
Wes Virgin Washington, D.C.
I don’t think we’ve come that far. Despite what the Emancipation Proclamation did for [African Americans] 150 years ago, we’re still fighting for equal rights. We just do it in a different way. It shows in the workplace with jobs. Some companies would rather hire a white or black woman who isn’t educated, over a black male who is overeducated and who could possibly help that company grow. While we’ve progressed from how things were 150 years ago, much more needs to be done.
HOW FAR DO YOU THINK AMERICA HAS COME SINCE THE SIGNING OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 150 YEARS AGO?
Deloris Mixon Washington, D.C.
We’ve come a long way, especially with finally having a black president in a White House that was built by slaves. I participated in the civil rights movement in Alabama, and a lot has been accomplished since then. But we, as a people, can quickly regress if our young folks don’t recognize what we’ve accomplished and strive to preserve those rights. With God’s grace, we can go even further as a race.
Walter Ray Washington, D.C.
We’ve gone backward from what our forefathers put us in position to accomplish. The civil rights pioneers made strides in the 1940s and ’50s, but look at where we are now. We once controlled the District of Columbia, but gave that up for crack cocaine and other drugs. We have more people posturing as revolutionaries. In terms of the bigger picture, we’ve lost many of the strides that our forefathers made and I’m really ashamed.
Cardella Coghill Washington, D.C.
We haven’t come that far. Racism is now transparent. The glass ceiling is still there, you just can’t see it. But you’ll keep bumping your head against it regardless of what you do. I have a child who has two degrees, but she can’t find a good job. Her job coach even explained to her that despite being good at what she does, and having two degrees, the glass ceiling is still there because of her race. We have a long way to go.
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On the cover is the painting “Built on Our Backs” courtesy of acclaimed artist Ted T. Ellis, whose series American Slavery: The Reason Why We’re Here documents the social and cultural evolution of African Americans – from enslavement to freedom. Ellis grew up and was educated in New Orleans, a city known for its history, style, and artistic exuberance. This backdrop inspired Ellis to capture the essence of the subjects of his childhood in the glory of their rich cultural heritage. For more information about Mr. Ellis, visit his website at www.tellisfineart.com
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education
The function of is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. and former Howard University President James Nabrit Jr. during a Charter Day ceremony on March 2, 1965.
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Stamped
‘Freedom’ I
n 1963 a stamp was issued commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The order was issued, officially, by President Lincoln on January 1st, 1863, during the American Civil War. Although, the Proclamation declared freedom for all slaves in Confederate areas still in rebellion against the Union, it did not effectively free any slaves. However, the Proclamation, eventually, led to the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, ending chattel slavery in the United States. Similarly, the United States Postal Service commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
with a limited-edition stamp, issued in Chicago, Illinois, in conjunction with the Century of Negro Progress Exposition. The expo highlighted the progress made by blacks in America after the Civil War, and into the 1960s. The stamp went on sale January 2 at Post Offices nationwide. It is the latest stamp to tribute civil rights events or leaders. “Stamps often tap into our culture and help us remember the events and people who have had an impact on American history,” said Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman. “The Emancipation Proclamation was a powerful symbol of President Lincoln’s determination to end the war, to end slavery, and to
reconstruct the economy of the country without slave labor.” The stamp is designed by Atonio Alcala and Gail Anderson. The phrase “Henceforward Shall Be Free” is prominently displayed on the stamp. The phrase is taken from the historic Emancipation Proclamation. mlk
“The Washington Teachers’ Union proudly embraces President Barack Obama’s leadership and vision for our country. We stand at the vanguard to keep the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. alive by fulfilling the commitment to
”
build great minds through public education.
—NATHAN A. SAUNDERS, PRESIDENT
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From the
Emancipation Proclamation to the March on Washington The Civil Rights Struggle Continues By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer
D
espite its importance to African Americans and the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation’s place in this country’s history is often misunderstood. President Abraham Lincoln signed the document in 1863 which led to the freeing of four million enslaved Africans but all too often, a noted historian said, the impression people are left with is that the proclamation was the last word on slavery and that America’s enslaved Africans did nothing to pursue their own freedom. “The Emancipation Proclamation didn’t end slavery but began the creeping process of emancipation, moving towards the abolition of slavery,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “The other part is that the Emancipation Proclamation isn’t just the grandchild of Lincoln; it’s the enslaved people who escaped bondage who pressed for freedom.” Because of Black efforts to secure freedom and the signing of the Proclamation, the federal government was “forced to define who these people were who were beginning to push for freedom,” Bunch said. In the long history of African Americans’ march to freedom, there is an indelible link between this document and the March on Washington, he added. “These were two important events that changed America,”
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said Bunch, who is also co-curator of a Smithsonian exhibit Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963. “I think it’s important to realize that Lincoln is important in the Emancipation Proclamation and the passage of the 13th Amendment. According to the Proclamation, “all persons held as slaves within any States, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” However, it did not free all slaves in the United States. In fact, the inherent weakness of the document is evidenced by that reality that while the former enslaved were freed in the District of Columbia, for example, others were free in name only until the end of the civil war. The Proclamation allowed Black soldiers to fight for the Union – an act that turned the tide of the war, while tying the issue of slavery directly to the war. “America’s promise of freedom is filled with contradiction. Perhaps no people understood this more than the 4 million enslaved Africans living in the United States before 1863. Among those contradictions is that while the Proclamation ended slavery, Lincoln’s goal “was to bring the union together,” Bunch said. “He was a person of his time. He believed in the inferiority of African Americans. His goal was to preserve the union.” And despite evidence to the contrary, Bunch said, African www.washingtoninformer.com
Americans were deeply and actively involved in pursuing their freedom. “What I argue is that there was a relationship between Lincoln, enslaved Africans and abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, he said. “I think without African American participation, he ([Lincoln] would not have moved to the position he ended up [embracing].” “Through their actions, large and small, enslaved people and www.washingtoninformer.com
abolitionists worked toward freedom for more than 200 years,” Bunch said. “Move forward to 1963 and the March on Washington, and you see a coalition of people and organizations continuing the pursuit of liberty and equality for all. This is a shining moment in America’s story.” Bunch said the exhibit, which runs until Sept. of this year, celebrates the intertwined nature of both events.
“We wanted to recognize that these were two important events that changed America,” he said. “The March celebrated the Emancipation Proclamation. He [The Rev. Martin Luther King] said the Emancipation Proclamation was a check written on Black freedom and they [the hundreds of thousands who gathered on the National Mall] came to cash that check.” “Both allowed people to change a country when it was
thought change was not possible. This reminds us that we have to push and prod for freedom.” Bunch said both events, 100 years apart, stand as seminal moments in American history. “These achievements were the culmination of decades of struggles by individuals—both famous and unknown—who believed in the American promise that this nation was dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal,” he said. “Separat-
ed by 100 years, they are linked together in a larger story of freedom and the American experience.” “Equality and freedom are a process not a moment. There has been fundamental change but there’s a profound need to continue holding [the nation’s leaders] accountable … we have to be vigilant so that positive goals and attainments don’t fall back and that America is forced to live up to its ideals.” MLK
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Archivist Shares History, Upkeep of Emancipation Proclamation By Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer
W
hen the Emancipation Proclamation was crafted in 1858, its architects probably had little notion the revered document would end up more than a century later, vaulted in the nation’s capital. But today, the original, five-page, extensively-worded document -which in 1863 declared all persons held as slaves had been freed -- is housed at the National Archives. On the eve of the proclamation’s 150th anniversary, millions visitors have toured the site – in its worn and fragile state, on exhibit only 30 hours a year. “All of our records are very significant and one of the things we do is advise on how to make documents last as long as possible,” said Catherine Nicholson, deputy director for the Archives’ conservation laboratory. “For both the United States and the National Archives, we want to make sure that when the Emancipation Proclamation is exhibited, it’s done so in a way that’s not going to cause harm.” The National Archives, located in
Northwest, serves as the country’s official record keeper. Nicholson, who has worked at the Archives for more than 30 years, said the Emancipation Proclamation is rarely shown as part of her agency’s strategy for preserving the document and making it accessible. “Our goal is to keep its current condition so that it can be enjoyed not only by people today, but by future generations,” Nicholson, who heads a staff of 12 Archives conservators, said. She went on to explain that the document is written on paper that’s not comparable to the stronger brands now in use. “If you had an opportunity to see it, there are a lot of breaks and tears, and the paper is just very, very weak,” Nicholson said. “It also has been exposed to a good deal of light which causes damage and deterioration. We don’t normally allow items to be displayed every year, but because there’s really been a calling to have this document visible every year, our response has been to say that if we’re going to put it on display, it has to be for a short period of time.” In the last decade the Emancipation Proclamation has been put on
A conservator at the National Archives looks steadies the Emancipation Proclamation for signs of deterioration. / Photo courtesy of the National Archives tour in various parts of the country at libraries and other public arenas where people have turned out in vast numbers to see it. When not on tour, the document is secured in a vault in a darkened room under carefully controlled temperatures and can only be accessed by a handful of people. Nicholson said that a story goes that when Lincoln was signing the document, his arm was so tired he had to concentrate on keep it from shaking.
“Lincoln was a very interesting, very far-sighted man,” Nicholson said. “There’s an anecdote that says he knew people would someday look back on the signing, and he supposedly said in affixing his signature that, ‘I have never been more convinced to the rightness of what I do as when I sign this.’” Nicholson said that the document was on display at the Archives from late December through Jan. 1. Following the tradition of “Watch Night” services -- which began on
Dec. 31, 1862, when many black churches awaited word that the Emancipation Proclamation would take effect -- an official copy of the proclamation was made on New Year’s Eve 2012 by President Barack Obama. It reads in part that: “Today, it is a legacy we choose not only to remember, but also to make our own. Let us begin this new year by renewing our bonds to one another and reinvesting in the work that lies ahead, confident that we can keep driving freedom’s progress in our time.” Nicholson said that presidents make proclamations at various times during their administration and they’re all kept together at the Archives. mlk
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“Change inevitability, Struggle.”
E’S EORG G E C PRIN rming fo n a r t s orhoods hb neig IVE AT T INI I
does not roll in on wheels of
but through continuous
TN
TY
N COU
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Transforming Neighborhoods Initiative (TNI) is about creating change. TNI focuses on six neighborhoods in the County that face significant economic, health, public safety and educational challenges. By coordinating the efforts of all the County’s government agencies, we are improving the quality of life in those neighborhoods. Through TNI, change is inevitable.
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Industrial Bank is proud to join in the celebration honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and we continue to strive to make his Dream a reality for all people in the community we serve.
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Trial and Triumph Professor Bernard Demczuk Helps Students Embrace Black History and Culture By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer On a recent Tuesday morning, 21 students from School Without Walls selected seats in a classroom on the campus of George Washington University. A catchy blues tune filled the corners of Room 209 as students silently read a two page handout, Today in History and on a couple of desks at the front of the classroom lay a strip of kente cloth and a thick yellow candle. For 90 minutes, Professor Bernard Demczuk paced as he discussed and engaged students, using his hands to punctuate certain points, and at one point taking off his coat as he delved deeper into black history and culture covering the period 1750-1805.
Demczuk has been teaching African American history to students at this school for 10 years and said in a recent interview that the need to teach black history and culture in schools across the United States is greater than ever. He also discussed the true nature and design of the Emancipation Proclamation and the rewards and challenges of teaching the more complex social theory of civil disobedience as practiced by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. “I think the first challenge is that for young people, they don’t experience and haven’t experienced the same struggles for respect,” said Demczuk. “Young people today have no idea of what it would mean to have to stand off the sidewalk when a
white person came towards them and no idea of what it feels like to have a grown man be called a boy.” Demczuk said young people are told that they can go anywhere and be anything, and while that is essentially true, they’re not as free as they think. If a black man tries to hail a taxi or he is followed when he shops in the Gap, it illustrates the limits of that freedom. One of the rewards, Demczuk said, is the illumination his students receive once they begin to learn their history. “My students always tell me they had no idea what black history was. They are not taught black history and have no idea
See DEMCZUK on Page 17
Association for the Study of African American Life and History
87th Annual Black History Luncheon and Featured Authors’ Event 2013 National Black H istory Theme:
At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington
Featured Authors’ Event 10:00 a.m. Doors for the Luncheon open at 12:15 p.m. Program length: 12:30 pm – 3:30 p.m.
Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream, By Lerone Bennett Dr. Mary Frances Berry Former Chair U.S. Civil Rights Commission Guest Speaker
Aaron Gilchrist Emcee NBC News Anchor
Dr. Daryl Michael Scott President – ASALH
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10 Books and Articles to Bridge Historical Understanding
The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, By Eric Foner
Saturday, February 23, 2013
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Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground, By Barbara Fields Frederick Douglass, By William S. McFeely “Was Abe Lincoln a White Supremacist,” By Lerone Bennett, Ebony Magazine, February 1968 The Abolitionist Legacy: From Reconstruction to the NAACP, By James M. McPherson The Condemnation of Blackness, By Khalil Gibran Muhammad The History of White People, By Nell Irvin Painter Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? By Martin Luther King, Jr. Righteous Propagation: African Americans and the Politics of Racial Destiny after Reconstruction, By Michele Mitchell
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what impact the 247 years of slavery and 100 years of Jim Crow had in shaping their selfworth and dignity.” Demczuk said he uses all five senses and spirituality to impart knowledge to his scholars. “Food, the blues, touching a monument, smelling a candle, and experiencing the spirit of the Ancestors are the only ways to teach black history,” he said. “The reward is that students today really enjoy learning from the six senses. Black history is infused with sight and sound, smell…” Demczuk talked to his scholars about the Emancipation Proclamation towards the end of the class, explaining that from 1849 on, Lincoln opposed slavery and that he and Thaddeus Stevens were active in trying to abolish the odious practice. But Lincoln, he said, was a man of his time, believing in the inferiority of black people and also firm in his position that keeping the union intact was far more important than freeing the four million enslaved Africans in this country. Demczuk has been a vocal supporter of the need to teach black history and culture in District of Columbia Public Schools. He said America and its citizens would benefit and much-needed racial healing could begin but teaching the truth about slavery, lynching and the savagery of racism and discrimination are too painful for people to bear. “It’s not a conspiracy but convenience,” he said. “It’s convenient not to teach this because it’s too painful. Watching scenes from Amistad, Django is painful. We don’t tell the truth because it’s too painful. You’re not free because you’re
not telling the truth.” Demczuk said his students go through a range of emotions as they learn about this facet of American history. “I get a lot of sadness, quiet, a lot of anger and a lot of talk, ideas, and questions. Some people have never seen this,” he said. “My white students get as angry as their black counterparts. Some have said ‘I didn’t know about this and it pisses me off.’” Demczuk said all too often, black Americans are ashamed of their history and whites feel guilty over the actions of their forebears but he said they’re no reason for these feelings. “Learning about slavery should not be shameful for blacks. They are taught about the black experience as a catastrophe but not as a victory. Their story is victorious, brilliance and courage over a system that tried to smother them. It is an uplifting story that should be told.” “I also get a great deal of inspiration from the hundreds of thousands of white people who worked to end slavery.” Race remains an undercurrent that pulls people down at unsuspecting times because of the absence of dialogue, Demczuk explained. “We cannot understand race relations or the racial undercurrent unless we understand the 347 years of white supremacy, slavery and Jim Crow. Race always matters because we’ve never tackled it in dialogue. We need dialogue, teaching, a formal apology from the U.S. government, and reparations of the type offered to Native Americans, the Japanese in the U.S. and Jews in Europe.” mlk
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MARTIN luther KING JR SUPPLEMENT / January 2013 / M-17
One on One with Civil War Memorial Curator By Shevry Lassiter WI Staff Writer
Hari Jones
Informer: As an historian do you think the African American involvement in the Civil War and Emancipation is being told more truthfully and people are receiving our stories? There are still some obstacles, one of which is the myth that African Americans were simply objects of oppression and did not have agency. You have to tell the story of their agency to understand what they did because these are very intelligent people. These are very capable people. African Americans had as Robert E. Lee would say “what it takes to be imminently qualified to be a soldier.” That’s physical. That’s
like being a good football player because of your physical specimen. But then we also know that they can play quarterback. So they have the intellect. So we also know they can coach. We know this now. I don’t believe, in fact I’m certain, it’s not possible to understand them without recognizing their genius which is the handicap that most scholars, whether we’re talking about a scholar of African descent or European descent or of Asian descent, there is this
tendency not to appreciate the genius of persons of African descent in the 19th century. Informer: While Lincoln may have disagreed with slavery, emancipation was in fact military strategy. Explain this. Emancipation was definitely a military necessity, which he states in the Proclamation, was a “fit and necessary war measure for suppress-
ing said rebellion.” African Americans understood this in their lobbying. They understood that if the war was brought to an end without their assistance then the Emancipation would be tabled. So you’ll hear when they’re saying 3 years before the Civil War, “sooner or later a clashing of arms will be heard in this country and the Black man’s services will be needed,” that’s Dr. John S. Rock, an African-American physician, dentist, lawyer and school teacher. Frederick Douglas would even state this in August of 1861. What Douglas would actually say is “we have very good evidence to the fact that the administration in Washington (the Lincoln administration) not withstanding appearances, stands ready to enforce a policy in the rebellious states that would eventually abolish slavery in those rebellious states “just as soon as the people require.” What that means is that as soon as Congress passed the legislation. Informer: Speaking of that agency, the District has many descendants of the Civil War living in the area. Throughout the city I run into a lot of individuals who are descendants of the soldiers and of course we get them coming from across the nation (to the Museum) finding the names of their ancestors on that wall of honor. Some of the stories are very interesting and some are European Americans who come in and find out that their ancestor was an African American who fought in the Civil War by doing the genealogical research and then when they run into it then they start tracking it.
M-18 /January 2013 / MARTIN LUThER KING JR SUPPLEMENt
Informer: What are you trying to get across to the people concerning the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation? I want people to appreciate that in 1863 the official report from the U.S. War Department was that the slave had proven his manhood. Today we have scholars like Dr. Na’im Akbar, Florida State, who teach that our father’s manhood was taken from them that their psychological chains to slavery was about their manhood being taken away. So here it is after they have died, posthumously, we have African Americans saying their father’s manhood has been taken away from them when the people who knew their fathers said that their manhood had been proven. mlk Hari Jones is the assistant director and curator of the Washington, D.C.-based African American Civil War Freedom Foundation and Museum. He is one of the foremost authorities on the role of African Americans in the Civil War.
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