Twelve Peak Events of Black History, from 1530 - 2021 (Part 1) - St. Michael the Archangel

Every February, we honor, commemorate and celebrate Black History Month. It is our nation's way of recognizing and honoring the sacrifices and contributions of over 30 million African Americans over last four centuries in America. Black History Month, as we now refer it was begun by Dr. Carter C. Woodson. It started as a one-day celebration in 1915, then, later changed to one week in 1926, and in 1970, one month.
Why is it so important to remember the contributions? First. African Americans are one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States. African Americans are the descendants of enslaved people who were captured, and taken from their African homelands forcibly to work as slaves in the Americas. From the time of slavery until today, they participated and contributed tremendously to the well-being, the growth and the development this great country today.
Unlike previous coverage of our history, which elevated pioneers, such as Crispus Attucks, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, W.E.B Du Boise, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Justice Thurgood Marshall, President Barack Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris-and so many more, this narrative will emphasize the historical events that set the stage for the emergence of these prominent figures. The topic is the “Twelve Peak Events of Black History, from 1530 to 2021.” They are brief summaries of the 12 subjectively chosen events. The topics are divided evenly into two parts. Part I covers the period from 1530 to the 1865 and Part II, the periods from 1865 to 2021.

For more detailed accounts of these events and Black history, the following resources are recommended:

Before the Mayflower, A History of the Negro in American, 1619-1962, Lerone Bennett, Jr., Copywrite by BF Publishing, 2017.
Ebony Magazine and Lerone Bennett Jr, Popular Black History in Postwar American, E. James West, University of Illinois Press 1973.
The History of Black Catholics in the United States, Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., Crossroad, 1990.
Black History 16-2019, An Illustrated and Documented African-American History, Sandra K. Yocum and Frances P. Rice, Paragon House, 2021.

Twelve Peak Events of Black History, 1530 – 2021
Part I: 1530 to the 1865

In the 16^th Century…

Before the English settlements in the United States, the Spanish and the Portuguese joined African explorers in the journey to the territory later named South Carolina, Florida, and New Mexico. The most notable and celebrated African explorer was Estaban, a Spanish-speaking Catholic, whose English translation of his name is Stephen. Estaban traveled through the Southwest territories in the 1530’s. These explorers established the city of St. Augustine, and later built one of the oldest Catholic churches in the city. Free Africans were a part of the congregation of the church. In those early years, Blacks from other colonies escaped from slavery and traveled to Florida and living with Native American populations. Subsequently, when the British expanded their territory and invaded Florida, it became a slave state.

1619-1790: The English Expansion and Slavery…

When the English expanded their territory to the new world in 1619, the Mayflower ship brought with it 20 Africans and landed in the English colony of Virginia. These Africans were indentured servants—persons bound to an employer for a limited number of years. Many poor Europeans were also brought over. The status of Africans changed by 1660 from indentured servants to enslaved. To justify this change to slavery, the White colonist rationalized that Africans because of their dark skin were “inferior,” where they came from and their language. Culturally, they culture were considered heathen, and non-Christians. Slavery was an improvement over their current status. Colonies established black codes to regulate the lives of the enslaved population.
By 1790, the English colonies imported approximately 790,000 Africans from territories, such as Angola, Senegal, and Ghana. Africans made up one-fifth of the population of the United States. It is estimated that from 1790 to the end of the Civil War 10 million Africans were captured and enslaved. Many scholars believe that the numbers were higher, especially since many who were captured either died of shock, disease and suicide during the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Many of the enslaved were also taken to countries outside of the United States, in particular Central and South America and the West Indies.

1712-1831: Early Slave Resistance and Rebellions…

From 1662 to 1669, Virginia and other colonies passed laws restricting the rights, freedom and movements of Blacks in the colonies. Immediately the enslaved resisted, sometimes violently. Many enslaved tried to escape to places in the North; some escaped into Florida and lived among the Native American Nations there; many also just rebelled and attempted to escape, although unsuccessfully. There was the New York Rebellion in 1712, the Stone Rebellion in South Carolina in 1739.
In order to control those enslaved, slave owners in Virginia invited a prominent slave owner in the West Indies to teach them. His name was Willie Lynch, and one of the methods was taking a rope and hanging the rebellious ones. He will always be remembered by the method of punishment he championed, “lynching.”
The most prominent rebellions occurred in the 1800’s. They include the Gabriel Rebellion in 1800 named after Gabriel Prosser a blacksmith living in Richmond, Virginia. Then, in 1822, Denmark Vesey, a carpenter and leader in his church, led a conspiracy in Charleston, South Carolina. Finally, Nat Turner, a preacher to the enslaved, rebelled in Southampton Colony in Virginia. All of the rebellions were unsuccessful. After the Turner’s revolt, legislatures tightened restrictions on Blacks in their worship service requiring the presence of Whites at all services.

1770-1833: The Founding Fathers…

These were amazing men. They rebelled against the King of England,
George III. They were signers of the Declaration of Independence, members of the Constitution Convention, and from the group 90 members of the first Congress emerged and through 19^th Century, 14 Presidents elected.
During the Revolutionary War or War for Independence, approximately 3,000 Blacks served in the army. Some, like James Armistead, were spies. Interestingly, many troops were integrated. Crispus Attucks, of African and Native American descent, was one of the first persons to die in the Boston Massacre. Although Blacks served honorably in the military, they were still enslaved. When the Constitution was signed and ratified, ending slavery was not included. Many of the founding fathers were slave owners.
Although the enslaved persons were not citizen with all the rights they would be entitled to, they were still counted for the Census as 3/5 of a person giving more power through representation to the South.
After the Declaration of Independence was signed, several Northern states, such as Vermont, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York, banned slavery and freed their enslaved persons.

1800-1865: The Expansion of Slavery and the Abolition Movement…

Slavery was cheap labor and South used this system to obtain workers to cultivate cotton and sugar fields. The economic and political power of the South existed and grew because of slavery. Southern plantation owners resisted any attempts by the government and institutions to eliminate it, ultimately leading to war. In 1854, Congress enacted the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This act would extend slavery into those areas of the country where slavery did not previously exist.
The abolitionist movement emerged to fight for an end to slavery. The earliest was the Society of Quakers who believe that slavery was a sin and morally wrong. Others, like Rev. Absalom Jones, the first Black Bishop of the AME Church, preached against slavery and the importation of the enslaved in 1808. Later during the 1800’s, Abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglas, Harriett Tubman, Josiah Henson, Sojourner Truth, Levi and Catherine Coffin, William Lloyd Garrison, Horace Greeley, Harriet Beecher Stowe and John Brown came on the scene. Many took direct action; many wrote articles and books; and many gave their voices to the cause of ending slavery.
Outrage over slavery increased dramatically and another political party came into existence-Republican Party. Its first presidential candidate was Abraham Lincoln.

1860-1865: The Election of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War…

In 1860, Abraham won the nomination for President over three well-known candidates, who were considered the favorites-Senator William Henry Seward, Ohio Governor Salmon P. Chase, and former Missouri Congressman Edward Bates. The campaign was horrible. Lincoln received countless threats against his life, but still he won the election over more popular favorite of the Democrat Party, Stephen Douglas.
            Leading up to and adding suspense the election, is the Supreme Court ruling in 1857 against Dred Scot Scott was enslaved in Missouri who escaped and moved to Illinois, a free state. Although Scott lived in Illinois, the Court ruled that he ineligible to sue for his freedom and had to return to Missouri and his slave owner. To rule in Scott’s favor meant that the owner would be denied his legal to his property. The public was outrage increased because of this decision. Adding to the outrage was the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. Escaped and now freed slaves can legally be returned to their owners.
Then, Abraham Lincoln won the election solidifying the move to end slavery. The South reacted, and in February 1861 South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas voted to secede from the Union. On April 12, 1861, the South Carolina militia attacked Fort Sumter igniting the Civil War.
            Of the 31 million people living in the United States, approximately 4.5 million were Black, and 3 million Blacks lived in the South. There were approximately 400,000 who were free. Initially the captured enslaved were kept as contraband to damage the southern economy. Due to the large number of enslaved and free Blacks who could serve in the military, Congress passed Militia Act of 1862. President Lincoln wasted no time enlisting these men in the war efforts against the South. Frederick Douglass promoted the cause and encouraged Black men to join the army. Harriett Tubman also joined and led a regiment of soldiers. The Department of Army authorized the establishment of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment and the all-black 54^th Massachusetts infantry. The movie, Glory, portrayed the accomplishments of the 54^th.
            On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln aided tremendously to the war efforts by signing the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the enslaved in the states of the Confederacy. It became an incentive to encourage Black men, in particular from the South, to join the military. Black soldiers fought in every major campaign in the war. Black regiments captured Charleston, cradle of the secession and assisted in the fall of Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy.
            Approximately 180,000 Black soldiers fought for the Union. Close to 40,000 died over the course of the Civil War. Black men and women showed their dedication to the United States and many gave their lives for the cause. Twenty-five Black soldiers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in this war. The Civil War ended April 9, 1865 with the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses Grant of the Union Army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Even with the gallant war efforts of Black men and women, they still were not citizens of the United States nor were they eligible to vote. This would change.
President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865 at the Ford Theater in Washington, D.C.

Part II: From 1865 to 2021 will begin next week.