The Civil War Part Seven: John Wilkes Booth, a Disillusioned Coward, and a Hypocrite

The infamous presidential assassin, John Wilkes Booth, succeeded in killing President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Booth was captured and killed in Virginia that same year. We have known that for a long time. Little is known, however, about Booth's warped inner motivation, cowardice, and racial hypocrisy. 

Booth was a disillusioned romantic coward, claiming that he would, heroically, "...live in history" for killing Lincoln. That might have been the case had Booth's crime been perpetrated 1863 when neither the Union nor the Confederacy had the upper hand in the war. But, the assassination took place in 1865, at the end of the war while the nation was in the process of trying to heal. In his warped mind Booth saw

The Teaching of Black History Outlawed in America. Again!

Several years ago I worked as an actor portraying famous African American figures from19th century North Carolina. One such figure was a freed African American named Thomas Day, who in the 1850's was the largest and most succesful furniture designer and manufacturer in the state of North Carolina. These re-enactments were produced by the Thomas Day Education Project. After one such presentation a caucasion gentleman from the audience approached me and, appearing quite disturbed, asked me "...why didn't I learn about this guy in school?"

The answer to that question is as old as America itself, and is something that educators, textbook publishers, and yes, politicians are continuing to shape to fit their own idealogical agendas.

In his new book, "The Half That Has Never Been Told: Slavery And The Making of American Capitalism", Edward Baptist uses economic data to

Stagville Plantation: A Crime Scene and A Mass Gravesite

If you've ever had the interest. The nerve. The bravery. Or, the respect for your deceased ancestors. Then, maybe you've visited them. If so, good for you. Their bones lie all over America. I hope you remembered to say a prayer. 

As a tour guide, I've taken many trips to Stagville Plantation. Its' located just north of Durham, NC. Stagville is now a state owned historic site. There are many such places, mostly in the South. 

Africans, were not "slaves" in Africa. They became enslaved after being brought to America. Their bodies are buried with no headstones. No markers. Nothing indicating who they were. If you are a person of color, it is possible that your ancestors are buried in such a place?

Each time I went to Stagville, I said a prayer for the dead. They deserve that much . Some of us "modern day" blacks want to act as though they never existed.

Three Letters From Our Ancestors

In my search to authenticate Black history, one thing I learned early on from museum curators, historians and educators was to seek out "primary source" materials and artifacts. These could include: pictures, utensils of everyday life, antiques, letters, ect, that have been preserved by our ancestors and their descendants. In other words, items that can be verified as original. 

My intention with this post is to introduce the reader to writings by three different Black men, from three different walks of life in the mid 1800's. Each writer demonstrates independence, devotion to family, and love of freedom.

As you read these letters, keep in mind that in many slave states it was illegal for enslaved persons to learn to read or write, punishable by death. 

The first letter is by Samuel Cabble, Civil War soldier, the second by free, Black entreprenuer Thomas Day, and the third by former slave, Jourdon Anderson. 

The following is a summary of each letter. 

Samuel Cabble, Soldier

The first letter is from Civil War soldier, Samuel Cabble, US Colored Troops 55th Massachusetts Infantry, who volunteered to fight for freedom in 1863 when President Lincoln called on Black freedmen

CW Part 6:The Civil War: Spy vs Spy

During the American Civil War(1861-1865), battlefield intelligence was critical to strategic and logistical battle plans, just as it is today. I have been intrigued by the Civil War for some time, the story of spying, a story within a story, added a new layer to the history. 

The allure of Civil War espionage first came to me as I was walking past an historic marker some years ago in downtown Wilmington, NC. The marker, placed in front of a two story home, read the name of a Confederate spy who frequently stayed at the residence during the war. Upon further research I found

Afro Caribbeans and The Panama Canal: Who Actually Built it?

I’m a history enthusiast  and one of the reasons I became interested in living in Panama was to study the history of Africans brought to the Caribbean, and Central & South America. In fact, two-thirds of those transported in the slave trade from Africa landed in places other than the United States.

With that in mind, picture ships, two to three football fields long, passing through the mammoth Panama Canal locks at Miraflores, just west of Panama City. Witnessing one of the greatest engineering feats in history, I was duly impressed.

The viewing tower, about eight stories high, allows you to look down on the locks in operation as ships of all sizes pass through the Panama Canal, which was completed in 1914, and will celebrate 100 years of operation in 2014.

But, who actually built it? The Spanish tried, and so did the French. By the early 1900′s the Americans stepped in during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt. The completion of the canal in 1914 helped elevate America’s status as a world power. But at an enormous human cost.

Early on, I was surprised to discover that a large number of those who worked on the Panama Canal, in the early 1900′s, were Caribbeans of African decent.

The canal project attracted workers from around the world, China, Europe, and America. However, the largest number of those who worked on the canal were Afro-Caribbeans, mainly from Barbados. These workers were among the greatest number to

Civil War Part Five : Letter From a Soldier

For anyone who has doubts about the mindset of the Black men recruited to fight and defeat their former masters, the following letter will let you know how many of them felt.

A letter home.

Samuel Cabble, US Colored Troops 55th Massachusettes Infantry(colored) 1863

Dear wife, 

I have enlisted in the army. I am now in the state of Massachusettes but before this letter reaches you I will be in North Carolina, and though great is the present national difficulties I look forward to a brighter day when I shall have the opportunity of seeing you in the full enjoyment of freedom.

I would like to know if you are still in slavery. If you are, "it will not be long before we shall have crushed the system that now oppresses you". In the