The Age of Information
Within the last three years since publication; new information and insights were realized. Here are some of the things that blew me away:
The Spanish established an all-black free settlement in Florida, years before Plymouth, Ma, and Jamestown, Va. (see former blog for details on Ft Mose and St Augustine).
The Native American population before 1492 was estimated to be 55,000. The Europeans who arrived, felt they had permission from their rulers, and even God, to utterly destroy the inhabitants, in order to possess the land. This continent was not “discovered”, it was conquered.
One documentary (there were several) about the Black Wall Street Massacre of 1921 featured an interview of a survivor. She spoke about the aftermath, and what was done to keep it quiet. Aside from burning the Greenwood district and massacring people; airplanes bombed the area. Any survivors were sent to detention camps. They intimidated everyone who dared speak of it. Anything of value was destroyed or confiscated. In other words, annihilation. A map of Oklahoma in the 1920’s shows there were 55 towns populated by blacks at that time [according to Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History, all-black towns]. “Greenwood’ was only a successful district of Tulsa. It took more 100 years (5 generations) for information to come to light about the rest of what happened. Of the 55 cities, 13 remain. With the great migration West, it was a safe haven for Native Americans and Negros, until Oklahoma became a state in 1907. The Wall Street Massacre marked the end of that hope,
From the Reconstruction Era of 1865, and throughout the 1900’s there were many predominately black towns that were purposefully destroyed or flooded throughout the US; places like Kowaliga, AL; Oscarville, GA; Vanport, OR; Albina, AL; Susannah, AL; Seneca Village, NY; and Ferguson, SC. Many thriving communities of black residents were targeted by those determined to eradicate any hope of progress, community, or relief from racism. This information can be found on You Tube [The Evil History of Flooding Black Towns]. The town of Ferguson, SC. might well have been the location of the popular musical play “Purlie Victorious.
State Law was a major contributor; economic suppression was another.
The focus of my book was two-fold; how law influenced black life, and The Timeline. Every entry in the book was cross referenced to other articles. The age of information has brought a great deal to light. We repeat this information because there may be those who don’t know it. You may wonder, why do I write? I am so tired of others blaming the victim.
CW Porter
