Were There Free Blacks During Slavery?

Yes, there were free Blacks during slavery, hundreds of thousands. As early as 1619 a class of free Blacks existed in America. Their numbers included children born to free Blacks, mulatto children born to free black or white mothers, slaves who had escaped to freedom, children of free black and Indian parentage, and slaves who bought their freedom. Ultimately, of the almost four million Africans enslaved in America by 1810, 13% or, almost five hundred thousand of them were free.

Initially, the enslaved could also be freed if they served in the Army during the

Would You Deny Four Hundred Years of Your Own History?

America is the only country I know of that considers four hundred years of its own history a mere footnote, even though that history almost destroyed the country in the Civil War. Yes, I'm talking about the slave trade, and Jim Crow laws.

Most of what is known about slavery and Jim Crow law by six generations of Americans comes from the following three sources. 1)Hollywood, where accomplishments of Blacks that were depicted on film often used white actors; 2) news organizations, books, college courses, etc, that omitted or distorted news about a whole range of issues concerning Black life; 3)the education system where Black history was not taught in schools. For this blog post let's  first take a look at the evolution of formal education in North Carolina,  my family’s American ancestral home.     

Since I am not a historian in the academic sense, I asked

Thomas Day: The "Father" of the Modern Day Furniture Industry in North Carolina

In the early to mid 1800's a free Black man was the largest furniture manufacturer in North Carolina. Yes, I did say a free Black man. A furniture designer of such notariety that the then governor of the state ordered desks for his entire cabinet from this particular entreprenuer. And, some North Carolina museums and churches still, to this day, have furniture designed and manufactured by him and his employees. Yes, he grew up free and Black, even though back then being free in one state didn't mean you were free everywhere in America.

The gentleman in question is Thomas Day, born in Virginia in 1801, later migrating to North Carolina taking the family furniture business with him. His parents both came from prosperous Black families who were free, and had been since the Revolutionary War between America and England. There were countless Blacks who were free during the period of enslavement, although American history never mentions them or their status. America wanted Blacks to stay in their place, poor, uneducated, and with no self motivation to improve their lot in life. They had plenty of motivation, but few opportunities.

I first became aware of Thomas Day in 2003 after several years of