MPORTANT IN THE RESEARCH of Yale historian David W. Blight were newspapers from the 1860s. The following story comes from the Charleston Daily Courier, a popular daily in South Carolina at the time. (It later merged in 1873 with another newspaper.) In its heyday, the Daily Courier had a reputation for innovation and diversity perhaps partly because it was founded by a Northerner in 1803: Aaron Smith Willington, a newspaperman from Massachusetts. The newspaper carried overseas news, gathered by staffers who rowed out to meet arriving ships. The staff also included a Spanish translator to cover news from Cuba, Mexico and South America.
In May 1865, the newspaper covered the nation’s first Decoration or Memorial Day observance, held on May 1, 1865. The photo at right shows the land where a former Confederate prison camp stood (also the site of a pre-Civil War race course). The photo shows work beginning on raising the remains in April 1865 in preparation for the new cemetery that eventually would include a wall, an archway entrance and properly buried remains.
Here is the Daily Courier coverage of that first Memorial Day, May 1, 1865 …
Original 1865 headline: “The Martyrs of the Race Course”
CHARLESTON, South Carolina—The ceremonies of the dedication of the ground where are buried two hundred and fifty-seven Union soldiers, took place in the presence of an immense gathering yesterday. Fully ten thousand persons were present, mostly of the colored population.
The ground had been previously laid out, the mounds of the graves newly raised, and a fine substantial fence erected around the enclosure by twenty-four colored men, “Friends of the Martyrs,” and members of the “Patriotic Association of Colored Men.” The exercises on the ground commenced with reading a Psalm, singing a hymn, followed by a prayer. The procession was formed shortly after nine o’clock, and made a beautiful appearance, nearly every one present bearing a handsome boquet of flowers. The colored children, about twenty-eight hundred in number, marched first over the burial ground, strewing the graves with their flowers as they passed.
After the children came the “Patriotic Association of Colored Men,” an association formed for the purpose of assisting in the distribution of the Freedmen’s supplies. These numbered about one hundred members. “The Mutual Aid Society,” an association formed for the purpose of burying poor colored people, about two hundred strong followed next. These were followed by the citizens generally, nearly all with boquets, which were also laid upon the graves. While standing around the graves the school children sung, “The Star Spangled Banner,” “America” and “Rally Rund the Flag,” and while marching, “John Brown’s Body, &c.” The graves at the close of the procession had all the appearance of a mass of roses. Among those present at the speaker’s stand inside the enclosure, were General Hartwell, Colonel Gurney, Colonel Beecher, Rev. Mr. Lowe, Mr. James Redpath and others.
The following letter from Admiral Dahlgren was received:
Charleston, May 1st, 1865.
Mr. James Redpath, General Superintendent of Education, &c:
Dear Sir—I am much obliged by the invitation to be present at the dedication of the ground for the interment of Union soldiers, but regret the demands of my time will prevent particularly as I expect my mail steamer to-day.
The object must have the best wishes of every lover of his country. We should never forget the gallant men who have laid down their lives for a great cause, but always keep their memory green.
I am, very truly, yours,
J.A. DAHLGREN, Rear Admiral
On the assembling of those within the enclosure around the speaker’s stand, Mr. James Redpath briefly announced the object of the gathering and the occasion. The assemblage was afterwards addressed by General Hartwell, Col. Beecher, Rev. Mr. Lowe, and several colored speakers, including Samuel Dickerson, Vanderhorst, Dart R. Duncan, Peter Miller, Magrath and others, about thirty in all.
During the exercises General Hartwell’s brigade, consisting of the 54th Massachusetts, 104th and 85th, colored regiments, appeared on the ground, and were reviewed by General Hartwell. They marched four abreast around the graves and afterwards went through all the evolutions of the manual.
Outside and behind the Race Course a picnic party was present with refreshments. The crowds dispersed, and returned to their homes about dusk.
(So ends the 1865 newspaper account.)
Friday, May 9, 2014
IGNORANCE DEVALUES
Our ignorance of self devalues our history and impedes our progress.
MPORTANT IN THE RESEARCH of Yale historian David W. Blight were newspapers from the 1860s. The following story comes from the Charleston Daily Courier, a popular daily in South Carolina at the time. (It later merged in 1873 with another newspaper.) In its heyday, the Daily Courier had a reputation for innovation and diversity perhaps partly because it was founded by a Northerner in 1803: Aaron Smith Willington, a newspaperman from Massachusetts. The newspaper carried overseas news, gathered by staffers who rowed out to meet arriving ships. The staff also included a Spanish translator to cover news from Cuba, Mexico and South America.
In May 1865, the newspaper covered the nation’s first Decoration or Memorial Day observance, held on May 1, 1865. The photo at right shows the land where a former Confederate prison camp stood (also the site of a pre-Civil War race course). The photo shows work beginning on raising the remains in April 1865 in preparation for the new cemetery that eventually would include a wall, an archway entrance and properly buried remains.
Here is the Daily Courier coverage of that first Memorial Day, May 1, 1865 …
Original 1865 headline: “The Martyrs of the Race Course”
CHARLESTON, South Carolina—The ceremonies of the dedication of the ground where are buried two hundred and fifty-seven Union soldiers, took place in the presence of an immense gathering yesterday. Fully ten thousand persons were present, mostly of the colored population.
The ground had been previously laid out, the mounds of the graves newly raised, and a fine substantial fence erected around the enclosure by twenty-four colored men, “Friends of the Martyrs,” and members of the “Patriotic Association of Colored Men.” The exercises on the ground commenced with reading a Psalm, singing a hymn, followed by a prayer. The procession was formed shortly after nine o’clock, and made a beautiful appearance, nearly every one present bearing a handsome boquet of flowers. The colored children, about twenty-eight hundred in number, marched first over the burial ground, strewing the graves with their flowers as they passed.
After the children came the “Patriotic Association of Colored Men,” an association formed for the purpose of assisting in the distribution of the Freedmen’s supplies. These numbered about one hundred members. “The Mutual Aid Society,” an association formed for the purpose of burying poor colored people, about two hundred strong followed next. These were followed by the citizens generally, nearly all with boquets, which were also laid upon the graves. While standing around the graves the school children sung, “The Star Spangled Banner,” “America” and “Rally Rund the Flag,” and while marching, “John Brown’s Body, &c.” The graves at the close of the procession had all the appearance of a mass of roses. Among those present at the speaker’s stand inside the enclosure, were General Hartwell, Colonel Gurney, Colonel Beecher, Rev. Mr. Lowe, Mr. James Redpath and others.
The following letter from Admiral Dahlgren was received:
Charleston, May 1st, 1865.
Mr. James Redpath, General Superintendent of Education, &c:
Dear Sir—I am much obliged by the invitation to be present at the dedication of the ground for the interment of Union soldiers, but regret the demands of my time will prevent particularly as I expect my mail steamer to-day.
The object must have the best wishes of every lover of his country. We should never forget the gallant men who have laid down their lives for a great cause, but always keep their memory green.
I am, very truly, yours,
J.A. DAHLGREN, Rear Admiral
On the assembling of those within the enclosure around the speaker’s stand, Mr. James Redpath briefly announced the object of the gathering and the occasion. The assemblage was afterwards addressed by General Hartwell, Col. Beecher, Rev. Mr. Lowe, and several colored speakers, including Samuel Dickerson, Vanderhorst, Dart R. Duncan, Peter Miller, Magrath and others, about thirty in all.
During the exercises General Hartwell’s brigade, consisting of the 54th Massachusetts, 104th and 85th, colored regiments, appeared on the ground, and were reviewed by General Hartwell. They marched four abreast around the graves and afterwards went through all the evolutions of the manual.
Outside and behind the Race Course a picnic party was present with refreshments. The crowds dispersed, and returned to their homes about dusk.
(So ends the 1865 newspaper account.)
MPORTANT IN THE RESEARCH of Yale historian David W. Blight were newspapers from the 1860s. The following story comes from the Charleston Daily Courier, a popular daily in South Carolina at the time. (It later merged in 1873 with another newspaper.) In its heyday, the Daily Courier had a reputation for innovation and diversity perhaps partly because it was founded by a Northerner in 1803: Aaron Smith Willington, a newspaperman from Massachusetts. The newspaper carried overseas news, gathered by staffers who rowed out to meet arriving ships. The staff also included a Spanish translator to cover news from Cuba, Mexico and South America.
In May 1865, the newspaper covered the nation’s first Decoration or Memorial Day observance, held on May 1, 1865. The photo at right shows the land where a former Confederate prison camp stood (also the site of a pre-Civil War race course). The photo shows work beginning on raising the remains in April 1865 in preparation for the new cemetery that eventually would include a wall, an archway entrance and properly buried remains.
Here is the Daily Courier coverage of that first Memorial Day, May 1, 1865 …
Original 1865 headline: “The Martyrs of the Race Course”
CHARLESTON, South Carolina—The ceremonies of the dedication of the ground where are buried two hundred and fifty-seven Union soldiers, took place in the presence of an immense gathering yesterday. Fully ten thousand persons were present, mostly of the colored population.
The ground had been previously laid out, the mounds of the graves newly raised, and a fine substantial fence erected around the enclosure by twenty-four colored men, “Friends of the Martyrs,” and members of the “Patriotic Association of Colored Men.” The exercises on the ground commenced with reading a Psalm, singing a hymn, followed by a prayer. The procession was formed shortly after nine o’clock, and made a beautiful appearance, nearly every one present bearing a handsome boquet of flowers. The colored children, about twenty-eight hundred in number, marched first over the burial ground, strewing the graves with their flowers as they passed.
After the children came the “Patriotic Association of Colored Men,” an association formed for the purpose of assisting in the distribution of the Freedmen’s supplies. These numbered about one hundred members. “The Mutual Aid Society,” an association formed for the purpose of burying poor colored people, about two hundred strong followed next. These were followed by the citizens generally, nearly all with boquets, which were also laid upon the graves. While standing around the graves the school children sung, “The Star Spangled Banner,” “America” and “Rally Rund the Flag,” and while marching, “John Brown’s Body, &c.” The graves at the close of the procession had all the appearance of a mass of roses. Among those present at the speaker’s stand inside the enclosure, were General Hartwell, Colonel Gurney, Colonel Beecher, Rev. Mr. Lowe, Mr. James Redpath and others.
The following letter from Admiral Dahlgren was received:
Charleston, May 1st, 1865.
Mr. James Redpath, General Superintendent of Education, &c:
Dear Sir—I am much obliged by the invitation to be present at the dedication of the ground for the interment of Union soldiers, but regret the demands of my time will prevent particularly as I expect my mail steamer to-day.
The object must have the best wishes of every lover of his country. We should never forget the gallant men who have laid down their lives for a great cause, but always keep their memory green.
I am, very truly, yours,
J.A. DAHLGREN, Rear Admiral
On the assembling of those within the enclosure around the speaker’s stand, Mr. James Redpath briefly announced the object of the gathering and the occasion. The assemblage was afterwards addressed by General Hartwell, Col. Beecher, Rev. Mr. Lowe, and several colored speakers, including Samuel Dickerson, Vanderhorst, Dart R. Duncan, Peter Miller, Magrath and others, about thirty in all.
During the exercises General Hartwell’s brigade, consisting of the 54th Massachusetts, 104th and 85th, colored regiments, appeared on the ground, and were reviewed by General Hartwell. They marched four abreast around the graves and afterwards went through all the evolutions of the manual.
Outside and behind the Race Course a picnic party was present with refreshments. The crowds dispersed, and returned to their homes about dusk.
(So ends the 1865 newspaper account.)
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Ancient Egypt had 3 writing systems: hieroglyphic, hieratic, demotic.
http://www.egyptvoyager.com/hieroglyphs_writingancient.htm
MUST AFRICA UNITE? IF SO HOW? TO WHAT END?
Africa cannot unite being Christian, Muslim, traditionalist. Blackness is no basis for African unity, being an imposed ideological construct. Wish I knew, upon what basis such vaunted unity could be attained other than by a greater paradigm not yet fully emergent which whispers in the wind...
After all, is Europe united? Home to two world wars? There is yet a heightening Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Is Asia united, given the Korea conflict, and China and Japan's simmering animosities?
Is the Asian subcontinent united any better, given the India-Pakistan conflict. And Afghanistan?
Moving to the west, there are Iran and Saudi Arabian tensions; the Iraqi debacle; and Israel against the world.
Even in the Americas, there is a partial wall between Mexico and the USA; Canadian trade tensions; and Cuba.
So, "Africa must unite"? Says who? How? And to what end?
Cursive Writing Crisis
Distressing! This discourse on cursive writing epitomizes the woeful, present state of American education and 'mis-education,' perfectly! Ancient Egyptians had 3 forms of writing: hieroglyphic (religious), hieratic (cursive). and demotic (commercial). We formerly had 2 forms--print and cursive, and now only have 1! During the past 40 years, education 'theorists' and pedagogical 'innovators' have destroyed the roots of the American education system right under our noses. They perfumed their perfidy with pretensions of progress and improvement, like "closing the educational gap;" referring to it as "a nation at risk:" They pushed teachers out of the classroom, and, having commandeered it, discarded their irreplaceable practical knowledge, wisdom and intuitive insight with somebody else's antagonistic agenda. While the public focused its attention on questions of integration, busing, and other sociological diversions, these intruders marched right in behind their pseudo-scientific studies and took control. Educational impact studies must be performed on affected communities before anymore of these destructive amulets or charms are purchased with our tax dollars. We must be assured of their efficacy before, not after, their implementation! Cursive writing's demise is one example of the many causes of the continuous and ongoing crises in public education, whose destruction is sought by somebody with power, money and a political agenda. No less terrorist than Al-Qaeda's or Boko Haram's, agendas are these, of those who also detest 'western education, and are determined to 'dumb it down' to facilitate their rule over its now-defective bypducts! The so-called 'Core Curriculum' is hollow and vain.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
BIRTH OF DOCTRINE OF WHITE SUPREMACY
"Slavery in America was perpetuated not merely by human badness but also by human blindness. True, the causal basis for the system of slavery must to a large extent be traced back to the economic factor. Men convinced themselves that a system so economically profitable must be morally justifiable. They formulated elaborate theories of racial superiority. Their rationalizations clothed obvious wrongs in the beautiful garments of righteousness. This tragic attempt to give moral sanction to an economically profitable system gave birth to the doctrine of white supremacy. Religion and the Bible were used to crystallize the status quo. Science was commandeered to prove the biological inferiority of the Negro. Even philosophical logic was manipulated to give intellectual credence to the system of slavery. Someone formulated the argument of the inferiority of the Negro according to the framework of an Aristotelian syllogism:
"All men are made in the image of God;
God, as everyone knows, is not a Negro;
Therefore, the Negro is not a man.
"So men conveniently twisted the insights of religion, science, and philosophy to give sanction to the doctrine of white supremacy. Soon this idea was imbedded in every textbook and preached in practically every pulpit. It became a structured part of the culture. And men embraced this philosophy, not as the rationalization of a lie, but as the expression of a final truth. They sincerely came to believe that the Negro was inferior by nature and that slavery was ordained by God. In 1857, the system of slavery was given its greatest legal support by the deliberations of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dred Scott decision. The Court affirmed that the Negro had no rights that the white man was bound to respect. The justices who rendered this decision were not wicked men. They were victims of spiritual and intellectual blindness. They knew not what they did. The whole system of slavery was largely perpetuated by sincere though spiritually ignorant persons."
P. 37-38, "Love in Action," STRENGTH TO LOVE, by Martin Luther King, Jr., (Fortress Press, Minn. MN: 1963, 2010)
Monday, May 5, 2014
BUREAU OF COLORED TROOPS
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=35
We had to fight for the right to fight for our own freedom in the Civil War, both sides deeming it to be a "white man's war," that would quickly be over. The blacks knew, however, that this great opportunity was that FREEDOM WAR, for which they had long labored, hoped, and prayed. Prolonged Union losses, declining white volunteers, and 'contraband' overwhelming Union lines, were motivating factors.Others included, Generals like Fremont and Hunter issuing their own Emancipation Proclamations freeing slaves in their military departments in Missouri and South Carolina, in 1861 and 1862, respectively. Their bold 'military necessity' actions, though later revoked by President Abraham Lincoln, put a spur to politicians like Lincoln. Sen. James Lane's 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry's victory at the Battle of Island Mound, on October 28-29, 1862, put a burning whip to Lincoln. It was the clinical evidence, plastered on the pages of HARPER'S WEEKLY, that blacks 'fought like tigers' even when confronting mounted, better-armed opposition, that were twice their size! So on January 1, 1863, an Executive Order, freeing the slaves in certain parts of belligerent states was issued by Lincoln, as threatened by him in September 1862. On May 22, 1863, a Bureau of Colored Troops was created to manage the thousands of black men who rallied to the flag, following appeals from Douglass, Langston, Delaney, and many others.
We had to fight for the right to fight for our own freedom in the Civil War, both sides deeming it to be a "white man's war," that would quickly be over. The blacks knew, however, that this great opportunity was that FREEDOM WAR, for which they had long labored, hoped, and prayed. Prolonged Union losses, declining white volunteers, and 'contraband' overwhelming Union lines, were motivating factors.Others included, Generals like Fremont and Hunter issuing their own Emancipation Proclamations freeing slaves in their military departments in Missouri and South Carolina, in 1861 and 1862, respectively. Their bold 'military necessity' actions, though later revoked by President Abraham Lincoln, put a spur to politicians like Lincoln. Sen. James Lane's 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry's victory at the Battle of Island Mound, on October 28-29, 1862, put a burning whip to Lincoln. It was the clinical evidence, plastered on the pages of HARPER'S WEEKLY, that blacks 'fought like tigers' even when confronting mounted, better-armed opposition, that were twice their size! So on January 1, 1863, an Executive Order, freeing the slaves in certain parts of belligerent states was issued by Lincoln, as threatened by him in September 1862. On May 22, 1863, a Bureau of Colored Troops was created to manage the thousands of black men who rallied to the flag, following appeals from Douglass, Langston, Delaney, and many others.
THE FLOW
THE FLOW
Nature is genetic. Nurture is culture. Each plays its part in personal and interpersonal growth, harmony, and development. Together, they contribute to a person's and to a people's well-being, kindred or not.
These are not alone. There is also the environmental: both the temporal, as in a given time, and the contextual, as in a given space.
So, genetics and culture are further mediated and modulated in a person and in a people, kindred or not, by time and space, the environmental.
Nature, culture, time, and space are not static facts, but dynamic energy. They are part of that same energetic stream, or flow, that produced and yet produces the stars, galaxies, and all else that is or was or ever shall be.
In the ultimate sense, therefore, there is, cosmologically, no we, no you, no me. Neither, given infinity, is there an Earth, Sun, or Milky Way. There is only "Being" into which, out of which, always part of which, all things flow.THE FLOW
Nature is genetic. Nurture is culture. Each plays its part in personal and interpersonal growth, harmony, and development. Together, they contribute to a person's and to a people's well-being, kindred or not.
These are not alone. There is also the environmental: both the temporal, as in a given time, and the contextual, as in a given space.
So, genetics and culture are further mediated and modulated in a person and in a people, kindred or not, by time and space, the environmental.
Nature, culture, time, and space are not static facts, but dynamic energy. They are part of that same energetic stream, or flow, that produced and yet produces the stars, galaxies, and all else that is or was or ever shall be.
In the ultimate sense, therefore, there is, cosmologically, no we, no you, no me. Neither, given infinity, is there an Earth, Sun, or Milky Way. There is only "Being" into which, out of which, always part of which, all things flow.
These are not alone. There is also the environmental: both the temporal, as in a given time, and the contextual, as in a given space.
So, genetics and culture are further mediated and modulated in a person and in a people, kindred or not, by time and space, the environmental.
Nature, culture, time, and space are not static facts, but dynamic energy. They are part of that same energetic stream, or flow, that produced and yet produces the stars, galaxies, and all else that is or was or ever shall be.
In the ultimate sense, therefore, there is, cosmologically, no we, no you, no me. Neither, given infinity, is there an Earth, Sun, or Milky Way. There is only "Being" into which, out of which, always part of which, all things flow.THE FLOW
Nature is genetic. Nurture is culture. Each plays its part in personal and interpersonal growth, harmony, and development. Together, they contribute to a person's and to a people's well-being, kindred or not.
These are not alone. There is also the environmental: both the temporal, as in a given time, and the contextual, as in a given space.
So, genetics and culture are further mediated and modulated in a person and in a people, kindred or not, by time and space, the environmental.
Nature, culture, time, and space are not static facts, but dynamic energy. They are part of that same energetic stream, or flow, that produced and yet produces the stars, galaxies, and all else that is or was or ever shall be.
In the ultimate sense, therefore, there is, cosmologically, no we, no you, no me. Neither, given infinity, is there an Earth, Sun, or Milky Way. There is only "Being" into which, out of which, always part of which, all things flow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)