Explore African and Black History, One Story at a Time
Step into history with Eatonville, Florida, the USA’s oldest Black town, pioneering self-governance by freed individuals. Nestled just six miles north of bustling Orlando, this […]
African American History PlacesStep into history with Eatonville, Florida, the USA’s oldest Black town, pioneering self-governance by freed individuals. Nestled just six miles north of bustling Orlando, this quaint municipality in Orange County stands as a beacon of resilience and progress.
While not the initial Negro settlement in American annals, Eatonville boasts a unique milestone: incorporation. In a historic move on August 18, 1887, twenty-seven ex-slaves united in a resounding vote, marking the birth of Eatonville as the nation’s first self-governed black community.
As the dust settled after the Civil War (1861-1865), former slaves wanted to be free and independent. But white landowners wouldn’t let them buy land. Despite this, Black people from Maitland, Florida, and other places forged a united front. They were determined to create their own safe and self-governing community. They dreamed of a lively place where Black people could be in charge, without being controlled by white people.
In 1882, two white landholders, Josiah Eaton and Lewis Lawrence, agreed to sell large tracts of land to a group of black trustees from a local church. To help with the development of the settlement, Eaton sold Lawrence 10 acres.
Lawrence, a philanthropist from New York, donated an additional 12 acres to the African Methodist Episcopal Church on November 18,1885.
Elected as the townâs first mayor. Joseph E. Clarkâan ex-slave from Georgia, played a prominent role in the development of the new town.
On the day of incorporation in 1887, the townsfolk had gained an additional 90 acres of territory. With 112 acres, the freedmen were ready to build new lives. The townâs population at the time was 27 residents.
The founders named their new Negro settlement after Josiah Eaton, and St. Lawrence AME church is named in Lawrenceâs honor.
Eatonvilleâs most famous former resident is folklorist, anthropologist, and author, Zora Neale Hurston. She is best known for her novel, âTheir Eyes Were Watching God.â
Zora was an infant when her family moved to the town in 1892. Her father served three terms as mayor of Eatonville.Â
In 1989, the expansion of a main road leading through Eatonville provoked controversy. To raise funds to fight against the proposed road project, Eatonville residents started the Association to Preserve Eatonville.Â
In 1990, the association launched the first Zora! Neale Hurston Festival. As of 2023, the festival is set to celebrate its 34th season.
Zora! Fest is a celebration of arts, history, and culture. The festival draws over one hundred thousand visitors to the small town.
The Eatonville Historic District, designated and added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 3, 1998, encompasses 48 historic buildings, some dating back to the town’s inception. Among these structures are homes, churches, and community landmarks, each telling a story of Eatonville’s rich heritage.
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Discover how Bob Lemmons: The Dynamic African American Cowboy was leaving his own mark in history during Eatonville’s development.
Amidst the suffocating grip of slavery, the Easter Morning Slave Conspiracy sparked a flame of defiance in the heart of Virginia. In the shadows of […]
African American History EventsAmidst the suffocating grip of slavery, the Easter Morning Slave Conspiracy sparked a flame of defiance in the heart of Virginia. In the shadows of oppression, Sancho, a humble ferry operator, dared to dream of freedom. With each beat of his heart, the flames of rebellion grew stronger, igniting a fire that would burn through the annals of history. Alongside his comrades, Sancho orchestrated the daring conspiracy of 1802, a bold endeavor to break free from the shackles of tyranny and reclaim their stolen liberty. đȘđŸÂ
Enslaved black men, hired out by slave owners, held most, if not all, of the shipping jobs in Virginia and North Carolina. By the mid-1700s, these rivermen dominated the waterways, navigating treacherous currents and bearing the weight of cargo, along with the heavier burden of their enslavement.
Their vessels became symbols of defiance, carrying not just goods, but also the aspirations of a people yearning for freedom. Yet, beneath the surface, they harbored a forbidden knowledgeâa literacy in English that defied the laws of their oppressors.
In the swirling waters, the rivermen felt torn between freedom and captivity. đ A sense of longing mingled with the spray of the water. For the rivermen, the waterways symbolized a paradox that mirrored their own internal struggle.
In the crisp air of fall 1801, within the quiet expanse of Halifax County, Virginia, Sancho and his fellow enslaved souls convened in secret, their hearts pulsating with the desire for liberty. Together, they conspired to defy the shackles of oppression, meticulously planning an insurrection against the white townspeople and plantation owners who held them in bondage. Little did they know that their audacious bid for freedom would go down in history as the Easter Morning Slave Conspiracy of 1802.
Sancho and the rivermen weren’t like most slaves. They could read and write, and they spread news about the rebellion by talking to each other and writing notes. They were also skilled in their jobs and knew how to blend in with white society appearing as freedmen.Sancho said they shouldn’t keep weapons. Instead, they’d grab them when they heard đșa trumpet, and they’d use them to destroy anyone who tried to oppress them.
Alongside his trusted companions, he enlisted a select few leaders to rally more slaves to their cause. As word spread through the canals of southern Virginia, the movement gained momentum, coursing swiftly along the river routes to northeastern North Carolina. From all directions, enslaved individuals heeded đș the call, converging upon the cause. What began as a localized rebellion in Halifax County, Virginia, soon morphed into a widespread uprising, splintering into smaller factions across towns and regions. Sancho found himself at the helm of a movement far beyond his initial intentions as the tide of revolt surged beyond his control.
As tensions rose, White Patrollers disrupted a slave gathering, seizing handwritten notes in the process. The assembly dissolved quickly, some recruits betraying the conspiracy willingly, while others divulged details under duress. Soon, Virginia and North Carolina authorities uncovered the plot’s widespread reach across waterways.
Amidst escalating panic, enslaved individuals were rounded up en masse, facing dire consequences. Around 30 slaves faced the gallows, with many more subjected to violent reprisals by white aggressors such as cropping of ears and beatings. Only a few were spared from this brutal fate.
It’s fascinating to explore the history of slave rebellions and uncover how white society underestimated the Negroesâ ability to organize. Long before Sanchoâs Easter Morning Slave Conspiracy of 1802, there were significant uprisings in colonial states. These included the Stono Rebellion in 1739, a revolt of 150 slaves in North Carolina in 1798, and Gabrielâs Slave Revolt in Richmond, VA in 1800. Even in the Caribbean, the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) was in full swing, showing the widespread desire for freedom. Another notable event was the German Coast Uprising in New Orleans in 1811.
Despite previous failed attempts to challenge institutional slavery, Sancho and his allies remained undeterred, embodying the adage, Â “If at first, you don’t succeed, try,đș try again.”
As the narrative of the enslaved community’s struggle for dignity unfolded, a profound shift occurred. The once-powerful slave owner, now consumed by fear of retaliation, found himself transformed from hunter to hunted, trapped within a prison of his own making.
Image credit: Engraving of black workers on the Dismal Swamp Canal from Harperâs New Monthly Magazine, XIII (September 1856), 443. (Egerton, Douglas R. âFly across the Riverâ: The Easter Slave Conspiracy of 1802)”Â
Alexander Pushkin was an Afro-Russian poet, playwright, novelist, and social justice advocate. He was born in Moscow on May 26, 1799. He is one of […]
Global African History PeopleAlexander Pushkin was an Afro-Russian poet, playwright, novelist, and social justice advocate. He was born in Moscow on May 26, 1799. He is one of Russiaâs most famous poets.
His Russian father and mother of Afrikan ancestry raised their mixed-race son in a life of nobility. Pushkin was proud of his Afrikan heritage, but his eventual exile from St. Petersburg was more political than race-based.
Pushkinâs maternal great-grandfather is the legendary 18th-century General Ibrahim Petrovich Gannibal (Abraham). Gannibal was an Afrikan prince from Cameroon, Africa. Throughout Europe, he gained recognition as a prominent black intellectual.
Gannibal was a skilled engineer and military General to ‘Tsar Peter the Great.’ Pushkin, proud of this family connection to General Gannibal, honors his great-grandfather’s memory in the novel âThe Negro of Peter the Great.âÂ
In 1817, Alexander finished his studies near Saint Petersburg, Russia Selo Lyceum, a school of Liberal Arts. His studies trained him for growth as a future state leader. But Pushkin had other plans for his future.
At his graduation ceremony, Alexander Pushkin recited one of his political poems âOde to Liberty.â In the verses, he calls upon the people to rise and take a stand against oppressive laws.
He throws shade at the monarch by telling them that eternal law remains higher than they. âOde to Libertyâ called for permanent destruction and death of the throne. The Soviet Crown did not find âOde to Libertyâ entertaining.
Separately from poetry, A.P. had more ideas kindling inside him. Interested in âpure atheismâ and membership in secret societies, the âsocial reformerâ gained the monarchâs attention.
Alexander Pushkin was a member of the Decembristsâa Russian revolutionary movement of high-born Russians. The group advocated for all Russian laws to be written in Russian and not in French. At its core, the Decembrists worked to defend low-born families against Tsaristsâ rule.
In May 1820, Pushkinâs involvement with the organization led to his exile from Saint Petersburg, Russia. The ruling monarch sent him to Yekaterinoslav (modern-day Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine).
While exiled, Pushkin lived and traveled within the borders of Northern Caucasus and Crimea. After six years of living outside of St. Petersburg, his petition to return home was granted. The monarch closely monitored his actions and whereabouts. Publication of much of his work stopped.
In February 1831, he married Nathalie Goncharova. They produced three children. Nathalie was young, attractive, and flirtatious. Nathalie was cheating on Pushkin with her brother-in-law. It was her foolish behavior that led to Pushkinâs death.
Pushkin, determined to defend his ego, challenged his wife’s brother-in-law to a shooting duel. Pushkin, who had previously fought in twenty-nine duels, was not so lucky in this fight. The brother-in-law fired the first shot.
Pushkin sustained a fatal wound to his lower body that caused life-threatening abdominal injuries. A few days later, on January 29, 1837, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin died at thirty-seven.đč
Sources:
http://www.afropedea.org/afro-russian-black-russian
https://www.findoutaboutrussia.co.uk/who-was-alexander-pushkin.html
https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/blackeuro/pushkinnegro.html
http://www.saint-petersburg.com/famous-people/alexander-pushkin/