The Gist of Freedom Preserving American History through Black Literature . . .

Traitors! Tubman would pull out her revolver and tell them: "You go on or die. Dead Negroes tell no Tales" Dating from its origin, the Negro press printed the names of black informants,Freedom's Journal listing those of Moses Smith and Nathan Gooms, in its issue of November 7, 1828. The mere appearance of these names in the columns of the weekly was a sufficient deterrent to other informers whose identity the editors threatened to reveal.   

Join us in NYC! WWW.MalcolmX Films.com Screening: Slavery By Another Name Panelists David Byer-Tyer, Dr. Walter Greason,Stephanie James Wilson, Chet Whye ,Michael Coard and moderator Roy R. Paul @ The Malcolm X & Dr, Betty Shabazz Memorial Educational Center  (Formerly The Audubon Ballroom): Host Malcolm X's Daughter ILYASAH and Award winning Filmmaker Sam Pollard

The Gist of Freedom is pleased to present W.E.B DuBois' Grandson Arthur McFarlane!

Join The Gist of Freedom as we welcome Filmmaker Keith Beauchamp (The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till)   Keith returns to The ID Channel with– THE INJUSTICE FILES: HOOD OF SUSPICION  Premieres on Wednesday, February @ 8 PM   Join us in NYC this weekend www.MalcolmXFilmFestival.com   "Modern day self-defense laws, such as Florida’s Stand Your Ground law which was invoked in the Trayvon Martin case, and the Castle Doctrine – which states that a person has no duty to retreat when their home is attacked – continue to perpetuate the pattern of discrimination against African Americans. THE INJUSTICE FILES: HOOD OF SUSPICION examines three such recent cases, including: ROBBIE TOLAN: Bellaire, TX, REKIA BOYD: Chicago, IL and John McNeil "     

Join The Gist of Freedom and Host Preston Washington as we welcome Historian Linda Cousins-Newton.  Join us in NYC at The www.MalcolmXfilmFestival.com Mrs. Newton will be discussing her book, FREE GLOBALLY! - The International Underground Railroad, and her work as an historian, reenactor, and ancestral storyteller on the lives of the great Black Seminoles (who ushered the international underground rr to varied global spots).    

Willis Augustus Hodges' Black Abolitionists- Motivations Book: a Free Man of Color .."Immediately upon his entrance in the house, the demon began to act in a very improper and ungentlemanly manner, and grossly insulted my mother in various obscene ways. He was asked if that was the way he acted in people’s houses. He called mother a “d? yellow b?” and at the same time attempted to snatch a watch which she wore in her bosom, saying, “you look handsome with a watch and chain, don’t you?”……  Mother at this point took up a large hickory walking stick belonging to my father, and gave him two or three blows with such success that it made the pirate’s blood flow.  ---------------------------- Willis Augustus Hodges, the publisher of a the weekly newspaper, The Ram's Horn and an  Underground Railroad agent, Hodges helped escaping African Americans move, and establish the settlement, Blacksville. They used the land granted to them by Peterboro abolitionist Gerrit Smith. Gerritt Smith’s antebellum “scheme of justice and benevolence” championed black voting rights by the redistribution of land. Gerritt gave 3,000 free black New Yorkers 40 acres. Join Us In NYC @ WWW.MalcolmXFilmFestival.com  Screening Slavery By Another Name

Join the Gist of freedom and guest Marian Douglas-Ungaro as we discuss the history of African American Resorts! Join us in NYC www.MalcolmXfilmfestival.com The Fox Lake resort community was developed specifically for African Americans in the 1930s. Similar to other ethnic groups, African Americans chose to build their own institutions because they enjoyed the fellowship with their family, friends and colleagues. These enclaves were not established for us by us simply because we were rejected by Jim Crow. Today, in contrary to the myth that blacks rather integrate than celebrate and preserve their heritage, Fox Lake is still a successful black community. Its traditions are still maintained by many second- and third-generation owners, who occupy a large number of the cottages. Fox Lake was also a recreational destination for young African Americans who lived within driving distance. They came to swim at the beach, dance and socialize. During World War II, black troops stationed at Baer Field in Fort Wayne were invited to the resort during their free weekends. Numerous annual meetings of black fraternal organizations, churches and alumni groups were also held at the resort.

The Gist of Freedom welcomes Ida B. Wells: Warrior For Justice presented by Safiya Bandele!   Join us NYC @ WWW.MalcolmXfestival.com I had bought a pistol the first thing after Tom Moss was lynched, because I expected some cowardly retaliation from the lynchers. I felt that one had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat in a trap…   I felt if I could take one lyncher with me, this would even up the score a little bit!  

Join the Gist of Freedom as we continue our book discussion: Black Abolitionists by Benjamin Quarles!   Vicente Guerrero, Mexico’s first black president Texas President Sam Houston lamented that ". . . two valuable negro boys for which I had paid in cash $2100 previous to my visit to Nashville, ran away last spring to Mexico. Thus you can see I am in bad luck."(17) After the U.S.-Mexican War (1846-1848) Mexico continued to assert itself by refusing to enter into any extradition treaties with the United States.(18) Just two and a half months after Mexico abolished slavery Mexican officials were uneasy about the numbers of new Americans settling within Mexico and they attempted to curb the number of newcomers, including slaves, in another way. In 1830, Mexico decreed that foreigners could not cross the border without obtaining a passport issued by Mexican agents.(6) The Mexican government, however, was generally ineffectual in enforcing this law and it was largely ignored. Texans did not respect the MEXICAN border in their pursuits of Freed Blacks. In 1855, Captain James Callahan of the Texas Rangers under the orders of Texan Governor Elisha Pease entered Mexico in an attempt to recapture slaves. Callahan insisted that the purpose of his excursion was to pursue Indians rather than recapture fugitive slaves. The Mexican government with the help of Native Americans, however, forced him to retreat and withdraw without the slaves; although not without leaving a small village in ruins.(23)  

Join The Gist of Freedom as we discuss Benjamin Quarles' Book Black Abolitionists: With Dr. Walter Greason and hosts, Preston Washington & Ty El-Gray! Chapter 5/6 Self Emancipations, Self Help, and Mutual Aid Societies: The Dorcas, Sarah M. Douglass and Sarah Smith The Black Beauty ?Black, I am, oh! daughters fair,? But my beauty is most rare; Black, indeed, appears my skin, Beauteous, comely, all within: Black, when by affliction press'd Beauteous, when in Christ I rest; Black, by sin's defiling flood. Beauteous, wash'd in Jesus' blood: Black, I am in mine own eyes, Beauteous, in my Lord's I rise; Black I am to men 'tis true; Beauteous, in the angel's view: Black, if Jesus frowns awhile, Beauteous, when I see him smile; Black, while in the tomb I lie, Beauteous, when I mount the sky! Written from Solomon's Songs.

Join The Gist of Freedom as we welcome Professor John L. Lawlor!  John will discuss the Fugitive Slave Law, legal case of Moses Honer. The Revised Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 deputized and paid  any person in the U.S. for the sole purpose of enslaving any Free Black Person they presumed to be a self-emancipated (fugitive). Moreover, the law punished any person involved with assisting the self-emancipated African American. Prior to 1850, Slavers were mandated to obtain a warrant, thereby giving "Fugitves" due process of the Law. (Dred Scott) However as a result of the onslaught of the Underground Railroad's self-emancipations and the  moral and legal  support  from outspoken Anti-Slavery Organizations, the Slavers desperation to end the anti-slavery movement grew to an all-time high. Previously, their organization, The Colonization Society failed to convince the Free Black abolitionists to migrate to Africa.  Therefore when the Gold Rush presented itself, they placed all their golden chips on the table in an effort to force the Free Black Abolitionists out of the country or  at the least, back on the auction block. During the acquistion of the terriorty now known as California  the Slavers agreed to admit California into the Union as a Free State in exchange for the new Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. And it worked, for a brief period... thousands of Free Blacks and their organizations packed up and moved to Canada. But, the most radical black and white abolitionists, like John Brown and the black militia (The Copeland Brothers) remained. And they became more vigilant than ever.  Whenever bounty hunters attempted to cross the mason dixon line and kidnap African Americans such as Pennslyvania's "Christianna Rescue" and  (Anthony Burns, John Price, Shadrach Minkins) Violent skirmishes erupted between bounty hunters and Anti-Slavery Vigilant Committee Members. 

The Gist of Freedom Welcomes Stephanie Gilbert to the reading and book discussion, Black Abolitionists by Benjamin Quarles with hosts, Preston Washington and Ty Gray-EL. One of The First, Interracial Riots, Blacks and Whites, Anti-Slavery Supporters Rioted together, in defense of Shadrach Minkins a Self-Emancipated black man "Fugitive Slave"! in 1851, a group of outraged black men burst into a courtroom in Boston and rescued Shadrach Minkins, the first escaped slave seized in New England under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. About 20 black men grabbed Minkins "by the collar and feet" and ran out the door, down the hallway and stairs, and into the crowded street. The crowd was so large and so hostile that the marshals dared not pursue the rescuers.Here is Stephanie Gilbert's  great great grandfather's (Narrative) Account of what happened next... "A number of the colored people caught hold of the door and pulled it and took Shadrach out of the court house. Amid great excitement we run him off to Canada. Before sending him we run him to the west end and change his attire to that of a woman. It caused a great furor throughout the U.S, but we landed the fugitive beyond the reaches of the two legged blood hounds. Everybody who was suspected of having a hand in running him off to Canada were arrested. I happened to escape and being the first to give the alarm. Many had trials but none was convicted. This affair stirred us up in Boston. Hundreds of fugitive slaves fled from Boston after that. Some went to Canada, some to Halifax and some to St John’s N.B. and spent the remainder of their days there. He was taken to a hiding place on Beacon Hill. That night, he began his journey on the Underground Railroad. Six days later, he arrived safely in Canada."

Join The Gist of Freedom as we welcome Kimberly Simmons- Descendant of The Militant Abolitionist  Lewis Leary, (John Brown Raider and The "John Price Rescue"). Kimberly will share stories of  her family legacy in social activism, The Underground Railroad,  which include two John Brown Heroes, Lewis Leary and John Copeland; Hiram Revels, (first African American United States Senator, filled the seat left vacant by the Confederacy President Jefferson Davis) and two American Revolutionary Soldiers. Oberlin, Ohio a free border state Oberlin was  a magnet for Kentucky Bounty Hunters, who ranged across Ohio in search of successful black escapees. As word of a kidnapping spread, a crowd of outraged Oberliners gathered in the town square. At least a hundred of them—both white and black—soon started off on the ten-mile trip to Wellington, traveling on horseback, in wagons, and on foot. The crowd of students, teachers, ministers, and townsfolk rushed headlong toward Wellington without coordination and without pausing to create any sort of organization. After only a few minutes, the abolitionists burst through the door and knocked several of the slavehunters to the ground. Although some of the rescuers were armed, not a shot was fired. Instead, they lifted John Price onto their shoulders and carried him downstairs and into the public square. Cheering in victory, the rescuers hurriedly threw Price into the back of a waiting wagon— Price was back in Oberlin. The freed slave was hidden for a few days in the home of a senior professor, and then he was taken surreptitiously to Canada. Kimberly Simmons~ "As a member of the Langston / Quarles family, these stories, ("John Brown's Raid with Five Black Vigilantes) are not lost to us.  

Join The Gist of Freedom as we discuss Black Abolitionists and their rescues from Benjamin Quarles book, "Black Abolitionists" Chapter 4. Professor Tonya Thames, Genealogist Preston Washington and Poet, Ty El Gray (A Black Woman's Smile) Rev. Samuel R. Ward and Frederick Douglass established the first black American labor union The American League of Colored Laborers (ALCL)  It was formed in New York City in 1850 as a collective for skilled free craftsmen, and sought to develop agricultural and industrial arts skills among its members, and to encourage African American business.The same year, The Slavers passed a the Fugitive Slave Law which targeted Black Abolitionists. The new law deputized and paid anyone who helped capture and enslave a Free black they suspected of being a fugitive, run-away slave. The law arrested anyone involved in the rescue of a "suspected fugitive slave". Ward an abolitionist, became involved in the rescue of a fugitive slave, William "Jerry" Henry.  Federal marshals accompanied by the local police, arrested William "Jerry" Henry. Word of the arrest quickly reached the Convention, then in session at a nearby church.We are here in the most extraordinary circumstances," ex-slave Samuel Ward," told a gathering. "We are witnessing such a sight as, I pray, we may never look upon again. A man in chains, in Syracuse! ..What a term to apply to an American!By pre-arranged signal, church bells began ringing, and a crowd of Negroes and Whites With a battering ram the door was broken in and despite pistol shots out the window by one of the deputy marshals, it became clear that the crowd was too large and determined to be resisted. The crowd broke into the jail and forced the marshals to free William "Jerry" Henry. 

Django movie & history review!  ..John Anthony Copeland, Jr. a Militant Black Abolitionist, Rescued John Price from the grips of bounty hunters and fought with John Brown at Harpers Ferry! John Anthony Copeland,   Oberlin College Student was member of the  Oberlin Anti-Slavery Society and the black militia (The Vigilance Committee) a hybrid of the NAACP and Black Panthers.  In 1858 Copeland was one of 37 men that was arrested for their role in the John Price rescue, also known as the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue.  When the crowd learned that Langston's negotiations had failed they quickly sprang into action. Wilson Evans, John Copeland, Jr., and Jerry Fox rushed the door guards, and allowed some of the rescuers to enter the inn. A struggle soon broke out in the hotel, during which Richard Winsor, a theological student, led Price outside, where he was led to a buggy and rushed back to Oberlin. Once in Oberlin, the rescuers celebrated their triumph over the hated Fugitive Slave Act. Price was hidden in the home of Oberlin College President James Fairchild, and later taken across the border to Canada.