DOCSLIB.ORG

Slave Narratives, Their Status As Autobiography and As Literature Author(S): James Olney Source: Callaloo, No

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Slave Narratives, Their Status As Autobiography and As Literature Author(S): James Olney Source: Callaloo, No "I Was Born": Slave Narratives, Their Status as Autobiography and as Literature Author(s): James Olney Source: Callaloo, No. 20 (Winter, 1984), pp. 46-73 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2930678 . Accessed: 14/06/2011 03:45 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=jhup. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Johns Hopkins University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Callaloo. http://www.jstor.org 46 "I WAS BORN": SLAVE NARRATIVES, THEIR STATUS AS AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND AS LITERATURE* by JamesOlney Anyonewho setsabout readinga singleslave narrative,or even two or threeslave narratives,might be forgiventhe natural assumption that everysuch narrative will be, or oughtto be, a uniqueproduction; for- so would go the unconscious argument-are not slave narratives autobiography,and is not everyautobiography the unique tale, uni- quely told, of a unique life?If such a readershould proceed to take up anotherhalf dozen narratives,however (and thereis a greatlot of themfrom which to choose thehalf dozen), a sensenot of uniqueness but of overwhelmingsameness is almostcertain to be the result.And if our reader continuesthrough two or threedozen more slave nar- ratives,still having hardly begun to broachthe whole body of material (one estimateputs the numberof extantnarratives at over six thou- sand), he is sure to come away dazed by the mererepetitiveness of it all: seldomwill he discoveranything new or differentbut only,always moreand moreof thesame. This raisesa numberof difficultquestions bothfor the student of autobiography and thestudent of Afro-American literature.Why should the narratives be so cumulativeand so invariant, so repetitiveand so much alike? Are the slave narrativesclassifiable under some larger grouping (are they history or literatureor autobiographyor polemicalwriting? and what relationshipdo these largergroupings bear to one another?);or do thenarratives represent a mutantdevelopment really different in kind fromany othermode of writingthat might initially seem to relateto themas parent,as sibl- ing,as cousin,or as some otherformal relation? What narrative mode, what mannerof story-telling,do we findin the slave narratives,and what is theplace of memoryboth in thisparticular variety of narrative and in autobiographymore generally? What is therelationship of the slave narrativesto laternarrative modes and laterthematic complexes of Afro-Americanwriting? The questionsare multipleand manifold. I proposeto come at themand to offersome tentativeanswers by first makingsome observationsabout autobiographyand itsspecial nature as a memorial,creative act; thenoutlining some of thecommon themes and nearlyinvariable conventions of slave narratives;and finallyat- temptingto determinethe place of the slave narrative1) in the spec- *Thisessay will appear in The Slave's Narrative,ed. CharlesT. Davis and HenryLouis Gates (New York: OxfordUniv. Press, 1984). 47 trum of autobiographicalwriting, 2) in the historyof American literature,and 3) in themaking of an Afro-Americanliterary tradition. I have arguedelsewhere that there are manydifferent ways thatwe can legitimatelyunderstand the word and the act of autobiography; here,however, I want to restrictmyself to a fairlyconventional and common-senseunderstanding of autobiography.I will not attemptto define autobiographybut merely to describe a certain kind of autobiographicalperformance-not the only kind by any means but the one thatwill allow us to reflectmost clearlyon what goes on in slave narratives.For presentpurposes, then, autobiography may be understoodas a recollective/narrativeact in which the writer,from a certainpoint in his life-the present-, looks back over the events of thatlife and recountsthem in such a way as to show how thatpast historyhas led to thispresent state of being. Exercisingmemory, in orderthat he may recollectand narrate,the autobiographeris not a neutraland passive recorderbut rathera creativeand active shaper. Recollection,or memory,in this way a most creativefaculty, goes backwardso thatnarrative, its twin and counterpart,may go forward: memoryand narrationmove along thesame line onlyin reversedirec- tions.Or as in Heraclitus,the way up and theway down, theway back and theway forward,are one and thesame. When I say thatmemory is immenselycreative I do not mean thatit createsfor itself events that neveroccurred (of coursethis can happentoo, but thatis anothermat- ter). What I mean insteadis that memorycreates the significanceof eventsin discoveringthe pattern into which those events fall. And such a pattern,in the kind of autobiographywhere memory rules, will be a teleologicalone bringingus, in and throughnarration, and as it were by an inevitableprocess, to the end of all past momentswhich is the present.It is in the interplayof past and present,of presentmemory reflectingover past experienceon its way to becomingpresent being, that events are lifted out of time to be resituatednot in mere chronologicalsequence but in patternedsignificance. Paul Ricoeur,in a paper on "Narrativeand Hermeneutics,"makes thepoint in a slightlydifferent way but in a way thatallows us to sort out the place of timeand memoryboth in autobiographyin general and in theAfro-American slave narrativein particular."Poiesis," ac- cordingto Ricoeur'sanalysis, "both reflectsand resolvesthe paradox of time";and he continues:"It reflectsit to the extentthat the act of emplotmentcombines in variousproportions two temporaldimensions, one chronologicaland the othernon-chronological. The firstmay be called the episodic dimension.It characterizesthe storyas made out ofevents. The secondis theconfigurational dimension, thanks to which the plot construessignificant wholes out of scatteredevents."' In autobiographyit is memorythat, in the recollectingand retellingof 48 events,effects "emplotment"; it is memorythat, shaping the past ac- cordingto theconfiguration of thepresent, is responsiblefor "the con- figurationaldimension" that "construes significant wholes out of scat- teredevents." It is forthis reason thatin a classic of autobiographical literaturelike Augustine's Confessions, for example, memory is notonly themode butbecomes the very subject of thewriting. I shouldimagine, however,that any readerof slave narrativesis mostimmediately struck by the almost completedominance of "the episodic dimension,"the nearlytotal lack of any "configurationaldimension," and the virtual absence of any referenceto memoryor any sense thatmemory does anythingbut make the past factsand eventsof slaveryimmediately presentto the writerand his reader. (Thus one oftengets, "I can see even now .... I can stillhear. .. .," etc.) Thereis a verygood reason forthis, but itsbeing a verygood reasondoes not alterthe consequence thatthe slave narrative,with a veryfew exceptions,tends to exhibit a highlyconventional, rigidly fixed form that bears much the same rela- tionshipto autobiographyin a fullsense as paintingby numbersbears to paintingas a creativeact. I say thereis a good reason for this,and thereis: The writerof a slave narrativefinds himself in an irresolvablytight bind as a result of the veryintention and premiseof his narrative,which is to give a pictureof "slaveryas it is." Thus it is thewriter's claim, it mustbe his claim, thathe is not emplotting,he is not fictionalizing,and he is not performingany act of poiesis (=shaping, making).To give a truepic- tureof slaveryas it it reallyis, he mustmaintain that he exercisesa clear-glass,neutral memory that is neithercreative nor faulty-indeed, if it were creativeit would be eo ipso faultyfor "creative"would be understoodby skepticalreaders as a synonymfor "lying."Thus the ex-slavenarrator is debarredfrom use of a memorythat would make anythingof his narrativebeyond or other than the purely,merely episodic,and he is deniedaccess, by thevery nature and intentof his venture,to the configurationaldimension of narrative. Of the kind of memorycentral to the act of autobiographyas I describedit earlier,Ernst Cassirer has written:"Symbolic memory is theprocess by whichman not onlyrepeats his past experiencebut also reconstructsthis experience. Imagination becomes a necessaryelement of truerecollection." In thatword "imagination," however, lies thejoker for an ex-slavewho would writethe narrativeof his life in slavery. Whatwe findAugustine doing in Book X of theConfessions-offering up a disquisitionon memorythat makes both memoryitself and the narrativethat it surroundsfully
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Elizabeth Keckley, Confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln Lady Edison?” It Was Rare Enough to Be a How Would a Child Born a Ter’S Son As a Wedding Gift
    Vol. 11, Issue 2 Dr. Jeanne Ramirez Mather, Ed. March 2009 Who was called “The Elizabeth Keckley, Confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln Lady Edison?” It was rare enough to be a How would a child born a ter’s son as a wedding gift. While well known for her self- woman inventor in the 1800s, slave in Virginia grow up to Liz suffered various episodes of centeredness and unstable tem- but combine that with only an become the confidante to Mary abuse as a young slave, it was perament, but unlike most Liz elementary school education, Todd Lincoln? Since 2009 is between age fourteen and twenty- could see past all of this. Ap- and starting a career of inventing the bicentennial of Abraham four that she bore the brunt of both parently Liz recognized that as a child, and it becomes obvi- Lincoln’s birth, it seems appro- physical and sexual abuse, result- Mary’s life as a child was any- ous how Margaret Knight even- priate to introduce the reader to ing in her one and only child, a thing but perfect, and that they tually would be referred to as the child born Elizabeth son. shared an unhappy childhood. “The Lady Edison.” Born in Hobbs. Eventually she went back to Liz eventually would be in 1838 in Maine, Mattie was At her birth, Liz was con- live with her master’s widow and charge of caring for the Lincoln raised with her two older broth- sidered the daughter of literate children, and develop into ers by her mother.
    [Show full text]
  • Racial Identity in Women's Life Writing of The
    University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--English English 2018 AMERICAN MNEMONIC: RACIAL IDENTITY IN WOMEN’S LIFE WRITING OF THE CIVIL WAR Katherine Waddell University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2018.169 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Waddell, Katherine, "AMERICAN MNEMONIC: RACIAL IDENTITY IN WOMEN’S LIFE WRITING OF THE CIVIL WAR" (2018). Theses and Dissertations--English. 71. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/english_etds/71 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the English at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--English by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known.
    [Show full text]
  • Advanced Study Guide
    Mike Wiley – The Playwright and Actor Actor and playwright Mike Wiley has spent the last decade fulfilling his mission to bring educational theatre to young audiences. In the early days of his career, Wiley found few theatrical resources to shine light on key events and figures in black history. To bring these often ignored stories to life, Wiley started his own production company. Through his work, he has introduced countless students to the stories and legacies of Emmett Till, the Tuskegee Airmen, Henry “Box” Brown and more. Most recently he has brought Timothy B. Tyson’s acclaimed book “Blood Done Sign My Name” to the stage. Mike Wiley has a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has appeared on the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and the National Geographic Channel and was recently profiled in Our State magazine. Synopsis Henry “Box” Brown was an African American born into slavery in 1816 in Louisa County, Virginia. Although he was not subjected to physical violence, Henry’s story (the basis for One Noble Journey) demonstrates the cruelty of slavery was every bit as devastating to the heart as it could be on the body. At the death of his master, Henry’s family was torn apart and parceled out to various beneficiaries of the estate. Henry, who was 33 at the time, was bequeathed to his master’s son and sent to work in Richmond, VA. While there, he experienced the joys of marriage and children, only to have slavery lash his heart again. Henry’s wife and children were taken from him, sold to North Carolina slave- holders and never seen again.
    [Show full text]
  • Text Complexity Analysis
    Text Complexity Analysis Text complexity analysis Michelle Henry Teachfest Connecticut: Summer Academy Created by: Event/Date: July 29, 2014 Excerpt from Narrative Of The Life of Frederick Public Domain Text and Where to Access Douglass, An American Slave, written by Frederick http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/dougeduc.html Author Text Douglass Text Description Published in 1845, Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave was the first volume of Douglass’s autobiography. In this excerpt, Douglass revealed the mental oppression that he had experienced as a slave and the importance of literacy as a means to enlightenment and freedom. It could be inferred that illiteracy perpetuated a slave’s ignorance and compliance while literacy inspired critical thinking and self-empowerment. For instance, alluding to his reading of the “Columbia Orator”, Douglass demonstrates how he was able to see the evil of slavery and how this realization instilled a profound sense of discontentment. This excerpt would fit well in an American Literature or U.S. History unit, highlighting the slave narrative genre and the struggles of slaves during the antebellum period. Douglass employs pedantic and emotional diction to convey the injustice of slavery. Quantitative th Lexile and Grade Level 1070L- 11 Grade Text Length 483 words Qualitative Meaning/Central Ideas Text Structure/Organization Literature has an impacting influence on readers. During the slave era, This text is a well-known excerpt of Douglass’s autobiography. The organization is literacy was a means to freedom. In today’s society, literacy and education sequential with Douglass introducing his first exposure to reading and then are just as important.
    [Show full text]
  • John AJ Creswell of Maryland
    Dickinson College Dickinson Scholar Faculty and Staff Publications By Year Faculty and Staff Publications 2015 Forgotten Abolitionist: John A. J. Creswell of Maryland John M. Osborne Dickinson College Christine Bombaro Dickinson College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.dickinson.edu/faculty_publications Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Osborne, John M., and Christine Bombaro. Forgotten Abolitionist: John A. J. Creswell of Maryland. Carlisle, PA: House Divided Project at Dickinson College, 2015. https://www.smashwords.com/books/ view/585258 This article is brought to you for free and open access by Dickinson Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Forgotten Abolitionist: John A.J. Creswell of Maryland John M. Osborne and Christine Bombaro Carlisle, PA House Divided Project at Dickinson College Copyright 2015 by John M. Osborne and Christine Bombaro Distributed by SmashWords ISBN: 978-0-9969321-0-3 License Notes: This book remains the copyrighted property of the authors. It may be copied and redistributed for personal use provided the book remains in its complete, original form. It may not be redistributed for commercial purposes. Cover design by Krista Ulmen, Dickinson College The cover illustration features detail from the cover of Harper's Weekly Magazine published on February 18, 1865, depicting final passage of Thirteenth Amendment on January 31, 1865, with (left to right), Congressmen Thaddeus Stevens, William D. Kelley, and John A.J. Creswell shaking hands in celebration. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword by Matthew Pinsker Introduction Marylander Dickinson Student Politician Unionist Abolitionist Congressman Freedom’s Orator Senator Postmaster General Conclusion Afterword Notes Bibliography About the Authors FOREWORD It used to be considered a grave insult in American culture to call someone an abolitionist.
    [Show full text]
  • The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass:An American Slave by Frederick Douglas
    Study Material On The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass:An American Slave By Frederick Douglas For the students of The Department of English, University of Calcutta MA Semester II DSE II Nineteenth Century American Literature Prepared by Dr. Sinjini Bandyopadhyay Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Calcutta I. Knowledge and Power: If the trajectory of Frederick Douglass’s life refers to a movement from oppression to liberty then it certainly involve a journey from ignorance to knowledge. Douglass’s freedom is amenable to the urge of knowing. With an innate ‘Humanist’ zeal Douglas is keen to know the ideas of the world; language, history, space, culture and so on and at the same time is eager to trace his identity. The issue of identity may be elaborated with reference to the following points: a) Confusion regarding his parental identity b) The rumour has it that his master is his father c) Vague memory of mother (Students may work upon the metaphor of the darkness of night as his mother was allowed to meet him only at night) d) Less attachment to his siblings who worked in the same plantation Such an absence of proper familial identity exasperated Douglass’s desire to establish an identity on his own which, he realized even at an early age, can be developed only with knowledge and learning. Douglass’ journey towards freedom is coterminous with knowledge the begins with a programme for literacy that he chose for himself, continued with, despite hurdles of several sorts coming along all the way and where he involves other fellow slaves.
    [Show full text]
  • THE PRICE of BONDAGE: SLAVERY, SLAVE VALUATION, and ECONOMICS in the ALBEMARLE by Jacob T. Parks April 2018 Director of Thesis
    THE PRICE OF BONDAGE: SLAVERY, SLAVE VALUATION, AND ECONOMICS IN THE ALBEMARLE By Jacob T. Parks April 2018 Director of Thesis: Donald H. Parkerson Major Department: History This thesis examines the economics of antebellum slavery in the Albemarle region of North Carolina. Located in the northeastern corner of the Carolina colony, the Albemarle was a harsh location for settlement and thus, inhabitants settled relatively late by Virginians moving south in search of better opportunities. This thesis finds that examination of a region’s slave economics not only conformed to, but also departed from, the larger slave experience in antebellum America. The introduction of this thesis focuses on the literature surrounding slave economics and valuation in antebellum America. After this, the main body of the thesis follows. Chapter one focuses on the various avenues slaves became property of white men and women in the Albemarle. This reveals that the county courts were intrinsically involved in allowing slave sales to occur, in addition to loop-holes slave owners utilized to retain chattel slavery cheaply. Additionally, this chapter pays special attention to slave valuation and statistical analysis. The following chapters revolve around the topics of: the miscellaneous costs associated with slavery in the Albemarle, such as healthcare, food, and clothing; insuring the lives of slaves and hiring them out for work away from their master; and examination of runaway slave rewards in statistical terms, while also creating a narrative of the enslaved and their actions. THE PRICE OF BONDAGE: SLAVERY, SLAVE VALUATION, AND ECONOMICS IN THE ALBEMARLE A Thesis Presented To the Faculty of the Department of History East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History by Jacob Parks April 2018 © Jacob Parks, 2018 THE PRICE OF BONDAGE: SLAVERY, SLAVE VALUATION, AND ECONOMICS IN THE ALBEMARLE by Jacob T.
    [Show full text]
  • Texts Checklist, the Making of African American Identity
    National Humanities Center Resource Toolbox The Making of African American Identity: Vol. I, 1500-1865 A collection of primary resources—historical documents, literary texts, and works of art—thematically organized with notes and discussion questions I. FREEDOM pages ____ 1 Senegal & Guinea 12 –Narrative of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo (Job ben Solomon) of Bondu, 1734, excerpts –Narrative of Abdul Rahman Ibrahima (“the Prince”), of Futa Jalon, 1828 ____ 2 Mali 4 –Narrative of Boyrereau Brinch (Jeffrey Brace) of Bow-woo, Niger River valley, 1810, excerpts ____ 3 Ghana 6 –Narrative of Broteer Furro (Venture Smith) of Dukandarra, 1798, excerpts ____ 4 Benin 11 –Narrative of Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua of Zoogoo, 1854, excerpts ____ 5 Nigeria 18 –Narrative of Olaudah Equiano of Essaka, Eboe, 1789, excerpts –Travel narrative of Robert Campbell to his “motherland,” 1859-1860, excerpts ____ 6 Capture 13 –Capture in west Africa: selections from the 18th-20th-century narratives of former slaves –Slave mutinies, early 1700s, account by slaveship captain William Snelgrave FREEDOM: Total Pages 64 II. ENSLAVEMENT pages ____ 1 An Enslaved Person’s Life 36 –Photographs of enslaved African Americans, 1847-1863 –Jacob Stroyer, narrative, 1885, excerpts –Narratives (WPA) of Jenny Proctor, W. L. Bost, and Mary Reynolds, 1936-1938 ____ 2 Sale 15 –New Orleans slave market, description in Solomon Northup narrative, 1853 –Slave auctions, descriptions in 19th-century narratives of former slaves, 1840s –On being sold: selections from the 20th-century WPA narratives of former slaves, 1936-1938 ____ 3 Plantation 29 –Green Hill plantation, Virginia: photographs, 1960s –McGee plantation, Mississippi: description, ca. 1844, in narrative of Louis Hughes, 1897 –Williams plantation, Louisiana: description, ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Image Credits, the Making of African
    THE MAKING OF AFRICAN AMERICAN IDENTITY: VOL. I, 1500-1865 PRIMARY SOURCE COLLECTION The Making of African American Identity: Vol. I, 1500-1865 IMAGE CREDITS Items listed in chronological order within each repository. ALABAMA DEPT. of ARCHIVES AND HISTORY. Montgomery, Alabama. WEBSITE Reproduced by permission. —Physical and Political Map of the Southern Division of the United States, map, Boston: William C. Woodbridge, 1843; adapted to Woodbridges Geography, 1845; map database B-315, filename: se1845q.sid. Digital image courtesy of Alabama Maps, University of Alabama. ALLPORT LIBRARY AND MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. State Library of Tasmania. Hobart, Tasmania (Australia). WEBSITE Reproduced by permission of the Tasmanian Archive & Heritage Office. —Mary Morton Allport, Comet of March 1843, Seen from Aldridge Lodge, V. D. Land [Tasmania], lithograph, ca. 1843. AUTAS001136168184. AMERICAN TEXTILE HISTORY MUSEUM. Lowell, Massachusetts. WEBSITE Reproduced by permission. —Wooden snap reel, 19th-century, unknown maker, color photograph. 1970.14.6. ARCHIVES OF ONTARIO. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. WEBSITE In the public domain; reproduced courtesy of Archives of Ontario. —Letter from S. Wickham in Oswego, NY, to D. B. Stevenson in Canada, 12 October 1850. —Park House, Colchester, South, Ontario, Canada, refuge for fugitive slaves, photograph ca. 1950. Alvin D. McCurdy fonds, F2076-16-6. —Voice of the Fugitive, front page image, masthead, 12 March 1854. F 2076-16-935. —Unidentified black family, tintype, n.d., possibly 1850s; Alvin D. McCurdy fonds, F 2076-16-4-8. ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. Wilmore, Kentucky. Permission requests submitted. –“Slaves being sold at public auction,” illustration in Thomas Lewis Johnson, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave, or The Story of My Life in Three Continents, 1909, p.
    [Show full text]
  • A TIMELINE of AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY in BUFFALO, NY 1790-PRESENT Ince Our Inception, Buffalo Bike Tours Has Sought to Amplify Buffalo’S Lesser Known Histories
    CELEBRATE BUFFALO BLACK HISTORY A TIMELINE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY IN BUFFALO, NY 1790-PRESENT ince our inception, Buffalo Bike Tours has sought to amplify Buffalo’s lesser known histories. This February (2021), in light Sof Black History Month and our commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement, we present a series of 4 articles on our city’s black history of resistance and resilience. Want to learn more? Buffalo Bike Tours can provide private tours themed around black history. We are also developing tours for younger audiences. For school field trips on Buffalo black history by bike, bus, or foot, see our website or contact us for more information on hosting your class. BUFFALO BIKE TOURS BUFFALOBIKETOURS.COM [email protected] (716) 328-8432 2 1790-1900 EARLY HISTORY OF BUFFALO’S BLACK COMMUNITY rior to the war of 1812, Buffalo was a pioneer town with a population of just under 1,500. PBuffalo’s first black citizens lived alongside early settlers and largely resided in the Fourth Ward. Buffalo’s black population faced many adversities but experienced more freedom than many other parts of the country. New York State was one of the more liberal states and enacted policies, such as abolishing slavery in 1827. Still, life in Buffalo was far from perfect for black families in the 1800s. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, Professor Wilbur H. Siebert’s underground railroad of WNY map Buffalo soon became a key part of the underground railroad: it was the last stop before reaching freedom. The city became known to conductors around the country as a network of “stations” were established.
    [Show full text]
  • ENG 3705-001: Multicultural U. S. Literature Christopher Hanlon Eastern Illinois University
    Eastern Illinois University The Keep Summer 2012 2012 Summer 6-15-2012 ENG 3705-001: Multicultural U. S. Literature Christopher Hanlon Eastern Illinois University Follow this and additional works at: http://thekeep.eiu.edu/english_syllabi_summer2012 Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Hanlon, Christopher, "ENG 3705-001: Multicultural U. S. Literature" (2012). Summer 2012. 7. http://thekeep.eiu.edu/english_syllabi_summer2012/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the 2012 at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Summer 2012 by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I f :: - '~-1r ' ~;\... I I / .,.,- - ._......... ~ r ~~,,:. Professor Christopher Hanlon Coleman Hall 3811 Office Hours: MTuW 10:45-12:00 [email protected] Ifyou ask me, the very word "multiculturalism" has become a problem. In university-level literature classes, the pedagogy of multiculturalism descends from the work of the Modern Language Association's Radical Caucus, which during the 1970s worked to unloose literacy education from near-constant attachment to white male authors. The generation of literature professors who initiated the project of multicultural canon revision were explicit that the purposes behind their task were not only (1) to give voice to important writers who had been buried by generations of indifferent literacy historians, but also (2) to effect change in American social life. By teaching a more diverse canon of texts, literature professors would promote an openness to multiple traditions as opposed to investment in some monolithic One, and the inclusive ethos behind such undertaking would have salutary effects well beyond the classroom.
    [Show full text]
  • One Noble Journey National Standards and Study Guide
    One Noble Journey National Standards and Study Guide • Synopsis • Discussion Questions • Words & Phrases to Know • Find Out More • Curriculum Standards Mike Wiley Productions 1999-2004 Mike Wiley Productions is a theatrical company specializing in African American History Plays. One Noble Journey is about the life of Henry “Box” Brown. Brown was an African American who was born a slave in 1816 in Louisa County, Virginia. At the age of thirty-three he was bequeathed to his master's son, who sent him to work in his tobacco factory in Richmond, VA under the authority of a relentlessly evil overseer. Although his experiences in slavery were comparatively mild, and he was not subjected to physical violence, Brown was not content to be a slave. One Noble Journey demonstrates that slavery was still unbearable even under the best of conditions. Brown was able to experience the joys of marriage and even children under slavery’s oppression but his wife and children were eventually taken from him and sold to North Carolina. That horrible incident was Brown’s breaking point and he devised an escape plan. He had himself sealed in a small wooden box and shipped to friends and freedom in Philadelphia. He later settled in Massachusetts and traveled around the northern states speaking against slavery. One Noble Journey dramatizes Brown’s life while demonstrating what an evening with “Brown: The Escaped Slave, Turned Abolitionist!” might be like. Within One Noble Journey is embedded the miraculous true account of Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom the narrative of William and Ellen Craft's escape from slavery.
    [Show full text]