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BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Independence Day in black America

Reid

Lee Harter▲

History reminds us that blacks and whites settled together in very different positions and circumstances in South Carolina in April 1670. Blacks were taken from their native lands strictly against their desire. The general intent of whites was to use blacks as slave labor, enabling them to live and enjoy the fruits of colonization.

As time progressed, the European settlers saw the need for more and more slave labor and in some cases, blacks outnumbered whites. At the time of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, blacks and whites in South Carolina had been living and working together and in their respective positions for a total of 106 years.

At the signing of the Declaration by the Second Continental Congress, it was announced that the 13 colonies had been formed. All the members agreed to the following: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. " The signers from South Carolina were Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward Jr., Thomas Lynch Jr. and Arthur Middleton. Blacks were not included in this framework for governing the new nation.

The War of 1812 became the second war in the fight for self-rule and independence by the America colonies in effort to have total freedom from British rule. This war started on June 18, 1812 and ended with the final liberation from the British Empire on Feb. 18, 1815. From 1776 until 1812, which total another 36 years, blacks were again excluded from the rights of freedom and its benefits.                                 

On July 5, 1852, Fredrick Douglas delivered a speech in Rochester, N.Y., titled, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro. He said: “I am here to-day is, to me, a matter of astonishment as well as of gratitude. This, for the celebration, is the Fourth of July. It is the birth day of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. This, to you as what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God.

"Oppression makes a wise man mad. Your fathers were wise men, and if they did not go mad, they became restive under this treatment. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine.

"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham: your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all religious parades and solemnity, are to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.

"Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture, I have this day presented, of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery.

“The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and the doom of slavery is certain.”

Frederick Douglas felt no fears in assessments of his views on the character of America. His oratorical voice helped in the acceleration of freedom for the enslaved blacks and in his somewhat abrasive delivery, he displayed boldness in his chastisement of America. In other words, Douglas expressed that this day of celebrating independence is yours and not mine.

Eighty-nine years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the issue of black enslavement reached its turning point when the war between the Northern Americans and the Southern Americans broke out at Fort Sumter in Charleston. The dreams of living free from the grips of serving the role as a slave in America had finally come true. This sectional war was known as the Civil War started on April 12, 1861. It divided America and in some ways exhibited a sense of deja vu when the 13 colonies fought for their freedom from “British rule.”

Out of all of the wars that America fought from 1776 until 1861, blacks played no major role. And then at the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, blacks were mustered into a unit known as the United States Colored Troops. This marked the first time in the history of America that organized units of black soldiers protected the freedom and liberties of this nation.

When South Carolina started the secession movement, there were a total of 34 states that formed America. At the end of the war, there were 36 states with West Virginia being admitted in 1863 and Nevada in 1864.

From the decision by South Carolina to depart from the union, some folks in the North declared that “South Carolina will forever pay for breaking up the union.” This action of war divided the nation. 

At this separation of our nation, the states under the Confederacy designed and flew their own flag. The Confederate flag was designed by William T. Thompson. The first flag had seven stars, the second had nine, the third had 11 and the fourth had 13. During those years, the blacks could not and did not embrace the emblems that represented freedom.

President Abraham Lincoln made a gallant attempt to hold the nation together. On Jan 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring, “That all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free.”

At the end of the war in 1865, blacks in South Carolina had completed a totaled of 195 years of enslavement. When the chains were unlocked, black South Carolina was faced with the unfathomable position of survival by any means available, which in some cases resulted in many acts of unGodly deeds.

In the first recognition of Independence Day by both black and white South Carolina, blacks exhibited their usual cheerfulness and jolly delight of participating in the parades and celebration.

On July 3, 1865, just two months after the Civil War ended, The Columbia Daily Phoenix reported — “A letter from Orangeburg — Employers and employees never got along so well together before. There are disputes, it is true, but all things are settled amicably in the end; and the prospect of a crop is good. The weather has been hot at Orangeburg, the thermometer at 97 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade.

"General Gilmore orders a general suspension of business on the Fourth of July. The day is to be celebrated everywhere. A national salute will be fired at sunrise, one hundred guns at noon; the troops will be paraded; the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation are to be read to them, and orations are to be delivered.”

Then on July 4, 1865, the Columbia Daily Phoenix reported: “American Independence — the great day of the American Revolution is to be celebrated with great éclat by the colored population of Columbia and its precincts, and there will probably be visitors from a distance of thirty miles and more.”

On July 11, 1874, the Orangeburg News reported: “Celebration of the Fourth of July by the Militia — Mr. John H. Livingston who was listened to with marked attention told the colored people that he thought Emancipation Day should be nearer their hearts than the fourth of July; that from that period many of their race commenced to enjoy the sweets of liberty, and finally, all of them were endowed with its privileges.”

John H. Livingston became the sheriff of Orangeburg in 1877. He defeated Edward Cain, who became the first black sheriff in Orangeburg County in 1872.

In the history of black South Carolina, July 4, 1865, marked the beginning of enjoying the freedoms of life, liberty and the rights to pursue happiness.

A people who delight in having a good time, the blacks jumped on the bandwagon in celebrating a day that had been meaningless for 89 years. That is a long time.

Despite their previous conditions of life, blacks immediately joined in along with the whites in displaying their patriotism and love for America. But when the design of the American flag was adopted on June 14, 1777, the enslaved black people did not honor and hold respect to it as the whites. They simply did not feel that they were a part of that emblem that represented the freedoms of the whites.

At the completion of the “Star Spangled Banner" on Sept. 13, 1814, and while the War of 1812 was ragging, Francis Scott Key composed his masterpiece in which we still chant out at the beginning of almost every program that Americans attend.

Key was born Aug. 1, 1779, in what is now Carroll County, Maryland. He became a lawyer, an amateur poet and author. In 1820, he owned six slaves. Key was known to have represented several slaves seeking freedom. He was also considered to be a “decent mater.” And finally, he became known as “The Nigger Lawyer.”

For 51 years, the words and music of the Star Spangled Banner rang out melodiously across America for the whites to cherish and hold dear to their hearts and ears.

In 1946, Albert Einstein discussed in his article “The Negro Question.” Einstein said:

"In the United States everyone feels assured of his worth as an individual. No one humbles himself before another person or class. Even the great difference in wealth, the superior power of a few, cannot undermine this healthy self-confidence and natural respect for the dignity of one's fellow-man