1
00 I part of a flve­
erie .beln published
by. t e Univer By of orth
Carolina Pre . The first two
olumes focused on the British
lales and Canada. Volume III i
the fint of three volumes to ex­
a I e the Blick abolltlonl t
movement in the United States.
The extent to which th en­
tire Blac community in north­
ern cl ties a enga ed in
anUs lavery wor is one of the
mo t revealin 'par of Ripley'
or. "Vi ilance committees
spran up in nearly every Black
community, and these Bllck­
run or anizations combated
louthern and northern prejudice
in a very.a relslve falhlon,"
layl ,Ripley, a profellor of his­
tory. d Blac Itudiel.
Vllilance committees were
t n rve centers of an under­
,round network. They shel­
tered runaway slave from
pOlice, mllteu, and profes­
Ilonal slave ca tche rs ; the y
warned the community about
kidnapping rings that old freed
Bllcks into lavery; and they
haunted the wharves of seaport
to liberlte Blacks victimized by
slave traden.
RIPLEY CITES the work of
David Ruggle , New York
City's "intrepid Black leader
who risked his life virtually on
a dilly basis to stop stave,
catchers Ind corrupt city offi-
cill ." He led I roup of Bl
ho obstructed the or of
lave catcher by e po in con':
niv nee bet een City 0 icial
and idnapper. bey even
oarded hip 0 re c I e
bound for th 0 tho
u le did not
lpley quote
bolltion t ich rd obin on'
remar that "every colored man
i an abolitioni t and every
laveholder no it to ch rae­
terlze the nti I very commit­
ment amon northern free
Blac s nd fu itive I ve .
The extent of involvement by
omen nd or in cl
BI c i one of the m jor find-
In of Ripley nd his
sociates. Anti lavery labor
depended on "men of over­
an -men of the h rf-tho e
ho could do 'he vy or in the
hour of difficulty," one BI c
leader de cribed them. Women
were the eye nd e r of the
movement; wor ing women
kept vigilance committee alert
to the pre ence of known lave
owner and idnapper in city
hotels, restaurants, and bu i­
ne ses,
"We hive undervalued the
role of Black women in the an­
tillavery movement," Ripley
said. "They rai cd the money,
organized lecture tour , col­
lected food and supplie , and
even he lped-re cue ace u cd
runaways from the gra p of
lave owner and city police.
Without their work," Ripley ex­
plain, "the movement would
not have had sufficient fund or
workers to maintain vigilance
committees. anti lavery
. newspapers, and abolitioni t
lecturers-which were the very
heart of the struggle." "Antis­
lavery informed Black life and
thought to an extent we never
before understood, tI reports
Ripley.
An 0 en Letter­
Free At Last
b, DANNY R. COOKS .
.
II?'I"�� JMAerdtilftnfhl
payoff f,or me, a predictable
rewlrd for remaining faithful to
I pre-teenage elf-image: A
misunderstood and badly­
abuaed child locked in constant
blttle with powerful authority
fllures determined to punish me
for beingawlre of and challeng­
inl their hypocrilY, deceit, and
bOltllity. Obviously all of tbas
wu lolng on at I pre-conscious
level. Rellrdlell, because of
Illy refusil to sec myself in a
different light prison offered me
.Ix lpecific Idvantages:
1.) It allowed me to avoid
relponlibility for lakl .. care of
I myself, Ihereby bldlnl my i�­
competence benealb I bitter
con'em�t of law and order. .
2.) Prilon compenlated for
III, lack of emotional control by
phYllcally reltrllnlnl me.
3.) It ,ave me tbe attention 1
couldn't ,et elsewhere. I felt
li,nificant to tbe authoriti�s
. and of value to less-educated,
and unfoculed prisoners.,
4.) . The slilma of prison al­
lowed me to escape tbe pres­
lures exerted by family, friends,
and sociely to be productive
andlor luccessful.
S.) It gave me a sense of
protection, stability, and sane­
De.s; an escape from an often
threatenin. free environment
and an out-of-contr,ol existence.
6.) Prison was a period of
relt and recovery where 1-could,
if I chose to examine under­
Itand, and perhaps overcome
the deprellion, anxiety, and
nelative programming that
were responsible for my feel­
ings of inSignificance, incom­
petence, and unlikeablene s.
ONCE I BEGAN to awaken
to what was going on inside my
head I became capable of exer- •
cising choice in the manner in
which I perceived myself,
otners; and the world. The more
I became aware of the un­
productive ideas and attitudes
clouding my mind, the less
frightening life became.
My deci 40n 'to accept
responsibility for how I respond
to life allowed me to stop an
inarained practice of blaming
other for my fall ure .
At that point prilon no �onger
provided me witb a psychologi­
cal payoff. Prison became a bit­
ter pill to be suffered in agony.
I DO lonler needed a�yone or
, - .....
I hav a­
J "CI.. "Ire to
out to
brotl)er and
sl ter who battle
the demon of
their past while
they tranfple on
, their future
trong
reach
my
anything outside my elf to con­
trol, direct or protect me. In­
stead of seeking to manipulate
others, including the criminal
justice system, as I tried to con­
trol my life. I Simply con­
centrated on self-control.
Through self-control I .felt
less defensive and more con­
siderate of others. As I gained
the maturity to be willing and
able to plan and follow through
on a long-term, meaningful hap­
piness, the impulsive grasping
of fleeting joys became distas­
teful.
SELF-AWARENESS has
been the key unlocking pri�on
doors for me. It has provided
me with the maturity to handle
unpleasantness and frustration
without resorting to anti- ocial
displays of emotion, which ha
been a core issue for me.
P.-irons are crammed with
conflict-ridden individuals with
a' history of responding to
what's going on inside their
head instead of external
reaHtie. People just like the
"old" me. It took the better part
of thirty-six years for me to feel
comfortable enought to come
out of my fantasies and live in
the real world; live in peace' as
equalS with all the world's
people. .
Living in the nation im­
prisoning more Blacks than any
other, I have a strong de ire to
reach out to my brothers and
sisters who battle the demon of
their pa t while they trample on
the i r futures. Howeve r, my
eighteen year in and out of the
MiChigan Department of Cor­
rections has taught me that no
one can be saved from themself.
Neverthele ,if -my insight or
experience can be of assistance
to Michigan Citizen reader,
please addres all correspon­
dence to me, in care of the
Editor.
l
"
, .
e e led by
mana ter ho too their lave
p t nd nu 1 ery conviction
into the pulpit nd m de their
churche center of ctivi m
nd re \11 r top on the under­
round r ilro d. Their 0 pel
m nd te to end r ci I
pre] udice nd free the I ve."
In the third nd mo t m­
bitiou volume of the Blae
Abolitioni t Paper, Ripley nd
hi t ff et the hi tory right.
"BI ck mu t be credited ith
helpin to begin the r die I n­
ti I very movement." Ripley
id. One BI c leader often
reminded hi white 11ie th t
"people of color" ere organiz­
in g in t 1 very when Wil­
liam Lloyd Garri on, America'
be t-remembered white
abolitionist,"w a choolboy. It
"Black aboli tioni t pi yed
the key role at every critic I mo­
ment in the anti lavery move­
ment." ay Ripley. "Bl ck
spent a Jtreat de 1 of time and
. enerlY uiding their white al­
lies, trying to keep the move­
ment focu ed on the key i ue,
which was em nclp ting the
slave ."
Volume III shows th t even
the mo t radical white
abolitioni t never fully ap­
preciated the plight of Black
American. "By the 1840 ,"
Ripley said, "Black came to
understand that they could not
count on the sup ort of their
white friend ." who Black
aboli tionist Henry Highland
Garnet claimed, "hinder our im­
provement." Blacks learned to
rely on their own efforts, the
own institutions, and on them­
selves, to advance the antis­
lavery cause.
Volume III of the Black
Abolition'i&I· Paper3 c aI tbe
e to tnern' -Black life
I, nd cWa from I 30. 0 1 116.
The documents and accompany­
ing historical text explore the
full range of Black life, from
the purchase of families out of
slavery to the intense debate
among African-Americans over
l
ef ort to legitim te violence
n nti I very t eric.
The fi fth nd fin I volume of
tb erie commence with the
relation bip between Black to
"TH E TIME T in
the e Black document concern­
ing the Civil War and Pre ident
Lincoln will doubtle shock
ome people," Ripley speculates.
"They certainly contradict tbe
popular mythology." Black
Written in a yllabus format,
the scope of the study i from
Genesi to Revelation.
'Brown exposes nd challenge
many racist myths that indicate
that Black people are under an ar­
bitrary curse from God. Although
the subject matter i highly con­
troversial, the strong defense for
the rich B i bl ical heritage of
Blacks is eloquently defended.
THE PASSIONATE, PER­
CEPTIVE discourse will chat­
lenge clergy and laity to view the
mplete with charts, com- Bible in living color instead of the
mentary. and clear genealogical traditional white only illustrated
mappings, the study exposes over versions that are highly prevalent
400 specific, prominent Black today,
ch racters ,�hQ hav� traditionally According to Brown, most.
been portrayed a Caucasiaa. trat'i 01\ pu ll, '" Biblical
Brown's re earch indicaJe that. JH£r� !Ire portrax the,�lJtj.�e cast of
even the lineage of Jesus Christ Biblical characters as whites, ra-
has a rich Black ancestry. cially offensive. historically inac-
Brown's qualification include curate, tradition,
a degree in. Theology, teaChing, The icon 0 dear to the faith
tecbnical engineering, and over 10 and the relics that are accepted by
years of research on the subject. Black and whi te parishioners all
1991.
The Honorable Governor (of
Virginia) L. Douglass Wilder
will give th� keynote address.
Chairpeople are Mary Black­
mon, Dr. William Pickard, Lee
Iacocca. In effort to increase
the ticket sales and participa­
tion for the dinner, another
"fun" fundraiser for the Detroit
Branch will be the "Single's
Mingle's".
As well as being a great p'ace
·to mingle, have good clean (un,
and meet other ingle'. The
Singlo· Mingle' will allow a
portion of the events ticket
he the r the y could fi nd
o e in the United
/
/
. �
U.S. AIR FORCE MUSEUM lIOTO: In recognltlon of Black HI tory Month, tbe U.s. Air Force
Mu eum near Dayton ha as embeld a peclal collection of 26 photo raphs .alutlnl tbe
contribution of Black to Air orce hi tory. Here, mechanic of the 99th FilMer Squadron work
on a P-40 engine during World War 'II. 'other photographs In the exhibit Includ African
American pilots, nur e , astronauts and commander.
For ,"rther in/ormation abO"'
'he project, co tact C. Peter
Ripl�y, The Florida tate
University, Depart ent 0/ His­
tory, Tallahassee, FL 32306;
(904) 644-4527.
Book Exposes' Cover-Up Of Blacks In Bible
price to be used toward one half
of a Freedom Fund Dinner tick­
et. This spectacular affair will
be held in April 1991, at the
Cultural Center.
Another pre-Freedom Fund
Dinner event i the annual "Sip­
In" M,illionaires Celebrity
Party, Sunday, March 16. You
need not be a millionaire or a
celebrity to attend, but par­
'ticipants mu t have the capacity
to have fun and enjoy the steady
stream of dancing, refresh­
ment , fortune teller, games,
and the sheer fanta y of a Las
Vega tyle tmo phere! For in-
over the world are scheme
de igned to place tbe Cau ilD
people in an apparent hi tory
illusions, and in role in bich
they did not particip te via Il­
I ustrations.
Jes ,the central figure of !be
Chri tian bope, was not wbi •
Altbough be w of Jewish de­
scent, be ba Black roots, and
Blac feature. The ame group
of people tbat executed Him, later
.embraced Him, for power, and
profit, and for a platform to fur­
ther prop gate my tic tbeories
foreign to Christianity, Chri t j
made to appear white in order to
satisfy certain egos. More than
this, the misuse of the Bible to
. represe histori cbaractan
.. 1Ih1lve ty on the 8 1. M Y
Christian art forms ale insuJti.
and racially demeaning.
Brown notes in his book: "The
subject eerns to be racist from abe
outset, and since it touches on a
most revered and acred work, it
is witb a sense of respect and high
regard tbat the information on this
subject is presented. The Chris­
tian bope and faith i not on trial
bere. The WOld of God is still held
sacred."
SAN JOS CA-A Cry in the
Dark: the Biblical Black Perspec­
tive, wri Hen and published by
Spencer L. Brown, presents an in­
depth genealogical urvey of the
Bible version of Black history .
It fill an Information gap
created by centuries of prejudice
and fear. Contem orary gospel
renditions which emphasize
Caucasian illustrated literature
have left millions of Blacks nd
whites in ignorance of tbe tremen­
do . heritage of Blacks in Scrip-
BROWN VIEWS HIS treat­
ment of this i,mpo .. iant ubject IS
an exclusive one in which be
styles himself u a preconizer-a
alarmist who, cbampions a ca
and cries out against injustice, i,­
norance and. inhumanities tbat
seem irreparable.
In addition -to tbe Black Chris­
tain community, Brown vie 'ID
even larger global market of
potential readersbip since mil­
lions of people today arc curio
to know v Jid truths. . Brown ex­
pects an enthusiastic acceptance
of his work that III range from
joy from bonest individuals, to
anger and controversy from- per- .
verters of trutb." Br,own admits
his fear and reluctance to produc:c
this work, and confesses that it il
an ultra conservative presentation
of roots, race, and religious his­
tory.
A Cry in the Dark: the BibliclJI
Black Perspective, a privately
publisbed work, retails fOT $15.9S
(includes tax, shippinl and ban­
dhng) per copy.
The natio.n's oldest civil rights organization, need
by DEBORAH CULP
Corrtspond,nl .
The NAACP (National A -
sociation for the Advancement
of Colored People) is the na­
tions oldest civil rights or­
ganization, and has served as
spring board or assi tance to
African-Americans and non
Blacks everywhere.
The Detroit Branch of the
NAACP hosts the largest:
NAACP-Fight For Freedom
Fund Dinner each year.
This year's dinner will be
beld at the Cobo Conference cl
Convention Center, on April 28,
help
formation, contact the Branch
Office at: (313) 871-2087.
Branch's Executive Director,
Mrs. Joann Watson.
Support
Our
Advertisers