A family from Georgia has maintained a unique heritage by transmitting a mysterious song through generations, dating back to their ancestors’ era of enslavement. Upon investigation, researchers confirmed that this song was an authentic West African funeral tune in the Mende language, remarkably preserved through mother-to-daughter transmission over several centuries.
The Remarkable Journey of a Slave Who Mailed Himself to Freedom
In 1848, Henry Brown was a slave in his 30s who had spent almost 20 years working on a Virginia plantation. There, he met his wife and had three children with her. Tragically, the plantation owner sold Brown’s wife and children to another slave owner, leaving Brown powerless to intervene.
By March of the following year, Brown was determined to escape the plantation, slavery, and the oppressive conditions in the American South. With approximately $160 and few legal options, Brown had to think creatively. Instead of the Underground Railroad, which was the popular route to freedom for many American slaves, Brown chose the conventional railroad system. All he needed was some assistance and a large crate, as he planned to mail himself to freedom on March 23, 1849.
Brown entrusted half of his savings — $86 — to James C. A. Smith, a Southerner who supported the abolitionist cause. Smith then reached out to James Miller McKim, a Philadelphia-based Presbyterian minister and leader in the movement. McKim agreed to accept a package from Smith, which, if all went according to plan, would contain Brown. To avoid work, Brown deliberately burned his hand with sulfuric acid and then entered the crate. For the next 27 hours, he was under the care of the Adams Express Company, a shipping company at the time, as he journeyed from Richmond to Philadelphia in his crate. During his trip, Brown traveled by wagon, rail, ferry, and steamboat, eventually arriving at his destination, alive and free.
Brown’s extraordinary feat made him a symbol of the anti-slavery movement, but his prominence was short-lived. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass criticized Brown for publicizing his escape method, believing that it hindered others from using the same strategy. More significantly, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in September 1850, mandating the return of runaway slaves to their masters. Consequently, Brown fled to England and became a traveling performer. While he returned to the United States after the Civil War, his notoriety had faded, and the details of his death remain unknown to this day.
Mauritania, a country located…
Mauritania, a country located in West Africa still practices slavery even though it was abolished in 1981 then criminalized in 2007 making it the last country to do so.
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Mardi Gras Indians are a group…
Mardi Gras Indians are a group of black people from New Orleans that have their own parade during Mardi Gras. They chose this name to honor Native Americans that helped slaves escape to freedom.
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Harriet Tubman escaped slavery…
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in the southerns states, then returned again and again to rescue 70 more enslaved people. Then later, after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, she helped guide fugitives farther north into Canada. During the American Civil War she helped the Union Army.
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Great Britain abolished slavery..
Great Britain abolished slavery in 1807, then strong-armed other great powers to do the same, then used a large part of their fleet for 52 years to catch 1600 slaver ships, and in 1833 banned slavery in the full empire, buying free all slaves with a huge loan they were paying off until 2015.
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In 1857, a woman named Hannah Crafts…
In 1857, a woman named Hannah Crafts escaped her owner by dressing up as a man and pretending to be white. She later wrote a book called The Bondwoman’s Narrative, but didn’t publish it. It was found years later in a New Jersey attic and was finally authenticated and published in 2002.
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Slavery: Convict leasing and Peonage
In 1898, some 73% of Alabama’s entire annual state revenue came from convict leasing. There were two types of slavery in the post-Civil War USA south: 1) Convict leasing, where the States generated much revenue and where business owners got very cheap labor (even cheaper than having slaves) 2) Peonage, which meant being in debt […]
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In 1867, thousands of formerly enslaved…
In 1867, thousands of formerly enslaved African Americans in New Orleans protested and achieved desegregation of the city’s streetcars, nearly 90 years before the bus boycotts in Montgomery.
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William Clark’s slave, York…
William Clark’s slave, York, was instrumental to the Lewis and Clark Expedition not only because of his strength and services to the corps, but because many Native American tribes regarded him as a God due to his black skin and showered him with gifts and praise.
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