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MUST READ! Epic Letter Written By A Slave To His Former Master.

Rusty Redenbacher — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:33:05 +0000

Oh, this is RICH!

In August of 1865, Colonel P.H. Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee wrote his former slave, Jourdon Anderson, requesting that he come back to his farm to work. Jourdon Anderson had already been emancipated and was gainfully employed and providing for his family in Ohio at this point.

His response to the Colonel is nothing if not golden. I’m making sure to post the entirety of it, because it is priceless.

“Dayton, Ohio,

August 7, 1865

To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin’s to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.

I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy,—the folks call her Mrs. Anderson,—and the children—Milly, Jane, and Grundy—go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated. Sometimes we overhear others saying, “Them colored people were slaves” down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.

As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor’s visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams’s Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.

In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve—and die, if it come to that—than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.

Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.

From your old servant,

Jourdon Anderson.”

Simply epic. Happy Black History Month.

Source: Letters Of Note

NFL Living Black History Coming to Indy

Terri D — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:56:30 +0000

Mr. George Taliaferro and his wife, retired Supreme Court judge Viola Taliaferro, will be at the Crispus Attucks Museum, 1140 Dr. MLK Street on Saturday February 4th at 3 p.m. Also featured will be a newly installed exhibit highlighting the lifework of this true American legend.

George Taliaferro was drafted by the National Football League and was the first African-American quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens. As the leading rusher and an All-American at Indiana University, Taliaferro led his team to their only undefeated Big Ten Conference championship. Taliaferro was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981 and was picked by the Chicago Bears in the 13th round of the 1949 NFL Draft, but instead opted to play with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-American Football Conference. He played with the Dons in 1949, then moved to the NFL, where he played with the New York Yanks 1950-51, Dallas Texans 1952, Baltimore Colts 1953-54, and Philadelphia Eagles 1955. He went to the Pro Bowl in 1951, 1952, and 1953. Taliaferro is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

Check out my fascinating interview with Mr. Taliaferro as he talks about football, his thoughts on breaking barriers in the world of sports and his life beyond the playing field on the listener interactive, social interest and news talk show, “The Chat Room,” this Sunday and every Sunday at 8 a.m. EST on 106.7 WTLC-FM!

First Lady Spotlight: Jill Brown

First Lady Khris Raye — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:35:49 +0000

DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH I WILL BE SPOTLIGHTING AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN THAT WERE THE PIONEERS IN THEIR FIELDS. TODAY'S FIRST LADY SPOTLIGHT: JILL BROWN CLICK Read more..

First Lady Spotlight: Ruth Carol Taylor

First Lady Khris Raye — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:35:02 +0000

DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH I WILL BE SPOTLIGHTING AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN THAT WERE THE PIONEERS IN THEIR FIELDS. TODAY'S FIRST LADY SPOTLIGHT: RUTH CAROL TAYLOR CLICK HERE TO LIKE FIRST LADY ON... Read more..

10 OTHER Things Dr. King Said (Video)

Rusty Redenbacher — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:42:37 +0000

It would be a safe bet to say that everyone is familiar with a few quotes from Dr. King ("I have a dream..." and "Free at last, free at last..." immediately come to mind), but Dr. King provided some choice quotations that remain relevant to this day. Popular vlogger and DJ, Jay Smooth shared 10 great quotations from Dr. King that aren't quoted as frequently, relating to a variety of s... Read more..

MLK Jokes With Harry Belafonte on ‘The Tonight Show’

Rusty Redenbacher — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:51:11 +0000

It's not very often that we speak of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. without some very serious tone to the conversation. Dr. King was a fascinating multifaceted man, that delivered some of the most important, influential speeches of all-time... ...and he could tell a joke. I thought it would be nice for us to have a laugh with Brother Martin. Enjoy this c... Read more..

Ouch! Spike Lee: “The Oscars Don’t Matter”

Cochise — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 17:23:34 +0000

LOS ANGELES — Film Director Spike Lee was recently interviewed by the Hollywood Reporter and criticized both Hollywood actors and The Oscars.

“In 1989, ‘Do the Right Thing’ was not even nominated,” he said. “What film won best picture in 1989? ‘Driving Miss Mother F*cking Daisy!’ That’s why [Oscars] don’t matter. Because 20 years later, who’s watching ‘Driving Miss Daisy’?… There are many times in history where the best work does not get awarded. And I’m not even talking about my own work. So that’s why [the Oscars] don’t matter.”

Read The Whole Story At The Hollywood Reporter

Spike Lee Tells SSU Students To Seek Education And Passion

The Real Housewives Of Civil Rights

First Lady Khris Raye — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:25:42 +0000

BE FRIENDS WITH FIRST LADY ON FACEBOOK OR FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER

If you are a fan of the Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA), you are in for a treat with this spoof of the show. The Real Housewives of Civil Rights parallels the different events of RHOA from Cynthia’s “friendship contract” with NeNe and on to the showdown between Ne Ne and Cynthia’s husband.

The spoof uses the ladies of the civil rights era: Rosa Parks, Betty Shabazz, Maya Angelou, Winnie Mandela, Coretta Scott King and of course there has to be a white woman–for Kim’s character–Marilyn Monroe. The skit even involves a funnyman we all know well as Martin Luther King, Jr. Prepare to be thoroughly entertained! Check them out:

On This Date: 1965 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Marched To Montgomery, Ala.

Tony Lamont — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:44:06 +0000

By Tony Lamont On this date in history the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived at the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., to protest blacks being denied the right to vote. The March started out in Selma with about 3,200 participants, and by the time they reached Montgomery the crowd had grown to 25,000. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 less then five months l... Read more..

First Lady Spotlight: Mae Jemison

First Lady Khris Raye — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:15:53 +0000

BE FRIENDS WITH FIRST LADY ON FACEBOOK OR FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH I WILL BE SPOTLIGHTING AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN THAT WERE THE PIONEERS IN THEIR FIELDS. TODAY'S FIRST LADY SPOTLIGHT: MAE JEMISON Read more..