My People

"Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people."
-Langston Hughes

There are many different aspects of Black culture, no one site can cover all of it. I hope to offer information on the origins of some Black holidays, Black icons who have entered the general vernacular, and some literary sources. My personal coverage will end with the Harlem Renaissance. In addition I will provide links to other sites that could provide you with more information. Since Black culture is only taught in specialized classes, if at all, I hope this site can help with your personal studies and interests.

One of the most effective ways to learn about something is to go to source that experienced it. The same is true in the case of slavery. Slave narratives tell the experiences, thoughts and feelings of those who were enslaved. Since it was illegal to teach slaves to read many had to dictate their stories after obtaining their freedom. Others who had clandestinely became literate wrote their own narratives. An example of the latter is Linda Brent who first published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl under the pseudonym of Harriet Jacobs to protect herself and her family. Frederick Douglass published two narratives, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave and My Bondage and My Freedom.

Slave narratives have many common traits. Most open with the phrase "I was born ...." establishing the fact that the author did exist and was a human being. Many contain letters from White abolishionists testifying to the truthfulness of the narrative and the good traits of the former slave. Since many of these narratives were produced with the help and/or financing of White abolitionists they were often meant to be used as propaganda in their cause. These books were aimed at convincing White audiences of the evils of slavery and the humanity of those enslaved.

Another trait that appears in many of these narratives is the trophe of the talking book. The slave observes someone reading from a book and realizes that this is a form of communication. Later they will pick up the book and try to make it "talk" as it had before. This episode is often the spark of a quest for literacy.

Emily D. West was a free Black who migrated from New York to the the Mexican Providence of Texas in the 1830s. She was captured by Santa Anna's troops during the Battle of San Jacinto and distracted the General while Texas troops advanced. Emily applied for a passport to leave the Republic of Texas in 1837. Her activities after that, like much of the rest of her life are unknown. She was immortalized in song by a Black man who is known only as J.K. Author Anita Bunkley created a fictionalized account of her life in the 1989 novel Emily, the Yellow Rose: A Texas Legend.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on September 22, 1862 and took effect on January 1, 1863. However, Texas slaves did not learn that they had been freed until June 19, 1865. No one knows the reason for the two and a half year delay. Some say a freeman bearing the news was killed. Others say that the slaveholders knew the information in advance but withheld it in order to get one more planting season out of the enslaved.

During the following years Texas Blacks held celebrations commemorating their freedom. Former slaves told their stories and were honored. Churches held celebrations. It was the one day that everyone would stop work and celebrate as a community. The day came to be known as Juneteenth.

As the decades of the twentieth century advanced Juneteenth fell out of favor with many. These people saw it as a celebration of slaver or the clinging to of old fashioned or old-timey ways. However in recent years Juneteenth has been recognized for what it is:a time to reflect on the advantages we now have and their price and a time to remember the resourcefulness and resiliance of our ancestors. As Texas Blacks have migrated across the country so has Juneteenth. Juneteenth celebrations, large and small, can be found from California to Maine.

While Blacks in the Eastern part of the United States celebrate Emancipation Day on January 1, Texas Blacks see in the New Year with Watchnight services. Watchnight started with freed slaves gathering together on New Year's Eve to thank God for their freedom and blessings. They could also pray for God's guidance during the coming year. Today the tradition continues in Black churches around the state. Some hold formal services like they do every Sunday others make it an occassion for testimony and singing. Services end a few minutes after midnight.

Elijah McCoy was born in Canada of escaped slaves. He came to the United States after the Civil War and settled in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Over a period of two years he taught himself mechanics and developed a drip cup that would keep parts oiled. He set up a company in Detroit and earned 57 patents in his lifetime. The quality of his designs were so good that they were regularly imitated. Customers who desired the quality of McCoy's work would ask if the item was "The Real McCoy."

Lift Every Voice was first sung by a choir of 500 school children on February 12, 1900 to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's birthday . The lyrics were composed by James Weldon Johnson, his brother J. Rosamond Johnson provided the melody. The song documents the trials and triumphs of Black Americans while emphasizing their patriotism. It is often sung at celebrations. It is also know as the Black National Anthem.

The Harlem Renaissance(circa 1921 to 1942) was not only a time of vibrant Black creativity in letters and the performing arts; it was also a time of Black pride, self-reliance and self-definition. Young Blacks who flooded the "Negro city" in New York could be looking for any number of things, including fame, a job, intellectual freedom and freedom from White hostility. The social and particularly the literary definition of the time can be found in two essays, "The New Negro" by Alaine Locke and "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" by Langston Hughes. Among those writers who took part in this creative time were Jessie Fauset, Jean Toomer, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Wallace Thurman and Nella Larsen.