Our History with Native Peoples
November, 1997
The indigenous peoples of North American have a unique relationship with those of us of African descent in this country. Africans have interacted with Native Americans from the time we were stolen from Mama Africa and brought to these shores as cargo. Most people don’t know that all the land in the western hemisphere was once populated by millions of so-called Indians, whether they were Eskimo, Cherokee, Inca or Mexican. Their numbers, of course, have been decimated by the invasion and subsequent genocide by Europeans.
In contrast with our mixed heritage with Europeans, most of which was forced, the liaisons with Native Americans were often of mutual consent. Runaway slaves regularly found refuge in the red people’s tribal societies. We fought with the red people against continued conquest of their lands by Europeans. The Seminole Indian War in Florida between 1835-42 is a good example. We were also found with our red brothers in the union army against the Confederacy. Africans intermarried with members of most tribes. Even when Africans fought against Native Americans, they were respected as true warriors and given the name Buffalo Soldiers.
Some notables who shared their lives with red people are Jean Baptiste DuSable, founder of Chicago. He joined the Potawatomi tribe and married Kittihawa. Matthew Henson, North Pole explorer, married an Eskimo woman and set up home there for a while. James Beckworth and others who went West also enjoyed special relations with Native Americans. So, whether as Afro-metizo or zambo, our roots are definitely woven with those of our red brothers and sisters.
This background gets me to the point of this article. With Thanksgiving coming up, we need to reflect on the struggle of Native Americans. We need to kick the good pilgrims’ story to the curb. As African Americans, we should be shoulder to shoulder with the Red tribes (that are left!) in the struggle for their land, dignity and human rights. We should be appalled that the fairy tale of Columbus “discovering” America is still being taught in our schools. We should be equally offended in regard to Indian stereotypes. They are similar to the racist ones we constantly have to confront in the media and in the general society.
Africans in this country need to join forces with Native Americans who are calling for the end to the use of the red people’s image as mascots and other caricatures. When Dr. Bernice Jackson was in town recently, she referred to these images as red sambos. We know all too well, the grinning, patronizing images of the black sambo-types in our own history.
I’m asking that we all think about the images of native peoples, particularly at Thanksgiving time. They, too, have a proud history although they are portrayed in U.S. history books as heathens and savages. As they fight to protect their culture and history, even to this day, our red brothers and sisters should expect - and receive - our support and solidarity. There is much we have in common. Remember this on November 27th.
Lift Every Voice, Then We Can Sing
March, 2000
You all know by now that I don’t stay between the lines. For example, I believe African people in America can celebrate their story any time and any place. This month, I want to tell you about Lift Every Voice and Sing. It is a phenomenal project that highlights the life and times of 100 black St. Louisans.
Ann Morris and Doris Wesley were responsible for the writing and editing of the powerful narratives told in the words of the chosen few. Award-winning photographer, Wiley Price, brought the text into visual form by capturing the subjects’ moods and personalities in black and white photos. You will recognize a few household names and sometimes their story - people like William Clay, Sr., Bernie Hayes, Ora Lee Malone, Percy Green, Donald Suggs, Betty Thompson, Mae Wheeler, Oliver Sain, or Pearlie Evans. There are also many unsung heroes and sheroes.
Their stories are not only inspiring, but make you want to do more research and study. They could be a really cool teaching tool, especially because many of the “Voices” are still alive. Kids can actually meet and talk to them in the flesh.
I felt as if I were right there with Mr. Weldon Young in his bid to become the first black engineer at Vashon High School during the Depression years. I wonder what happened to the Oblate Sisters of Normandy, a black order of nuns that Olivia Calloway talked about. I found out from Lorraine Gasaway the history of a church I pass regularly on DeBalivere. At the turn of the century, when black people could not worship at Catholic Churches on the Hill, they worshipped in a tent. Ms. Gasaway’s grandfather and other folks pooled their money to buy a small house that became the Pattison Avenue Baptist Church until Highway 44 came along.
Can you believe Kinloch, MO was a resort area for whites? So said Sylvester Smith, who grew up in Kinloch and became superintendent for the Kinloch school district. He was the first black school superintendent in Missouri and the first to register in 1944 at Saint Louis University. Check out the reserved and dignified Elizabeth Garlington! She lost a job and her Republican husband when she joined the Marcus Garvey Movement during the Depression.
Reading John Ware’s trek as a Pullman Porter, I discovered that Theodore McNeal was the local field organizer for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Everett Agnew, promoter extraordinaire, talked about his work as a teenager at Forest Park’s lily white Triple A Golf Club. Wayman Smith, Sr. challenged in court the use of a public park as a private club - and won. I bet black folks swinging clubs over there now don’t even know that.
We would do well to use these poignant stories as living history lessons. Most of the people in Lift Every Voice lived through segregation. For many, they did the best they could with what they had. For others, they struggled to make sure those of us who came after them had more than they did. In the wise words of Clifford Frazier, “we must pass those stories on to our children.” Our children would learn about work ethic, sacrifice, pride, family, community, and the struggle for human rights. It is the determination, strength and dignity of one generation that propels the next.
In 2008, the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation was established
in St. Louis by Scotts’ descendants to preserve the important
history of their legal battle for freedom.
Three Fifths and Counting
January, 2004
I always find it interesting that a number of civil rights events are held at the Old Courthouse. Many local people, and sadly - far too many black folks, don’t know that this courthouse is where the infamous Dred Scott decision was made. The Old Courthouse is supposed to represent the history of days gone by. However, there are times when I hear the words of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney coming out of the mouths of modern day racists, or bear witness to the unequal and unfair treatment of African Americans in St. Louis as if we were in the era of pre-Emancipation.
In 1846, Dred Scott had the audacity to sue for the freedom of his wife, Harriett, and himself. The litigation lasted over ten years and ultimately went to both the Missouri and U.S. Supreme Courts. Initially, a local jury ruled the Scotts free but that decision was overturned. Scott then appealed to the highest court in the land that rendered a stinging ruling. Led by Justice Taney, the high court stated that Scott was a black slave and therefore could never be free. Further, he had no business bringing suit in federal court or engaging in any other acts as if he were a full-fledged citizen. Taney spoke for the court’s majority when he said that Dred Scott “had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” The landmark decision made it quite clear that slaves existing for the “benefit” and “profit’ of white men. The Scott family was then purchased by the original family that owned them, and who eventually granted the Scotts their freedom. The irony is that Dred Scott enjoyed being a free black man for only nine months before his death in 1858.
Hundreds will gather at the Old Courthouse this month for the commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s