What happens when your self concept is rooted in lies? When the truth is revealed, how long does it take to accept the truth? Is freedom from the the lie immediate or does it take ages to unravel the ties binding the lie to your reality? How do you destroy systems supporting the lie? What will it take to create new systems to repair the damage? These were my questions after learning that Africans who arrived in the Jamestown Colony of Virginia in 1619 were not what I thought.
The first Africans in Jamestown, Virginia most likely had a status equal to Europeans who chose to trade their freedom for the promise of land ownership in Virginia. Many Europeans entered into indentured agreements. Their freedom was based on who held ownership of their indentured contract. Like these Europeans, early Africans would provide labor for the gentry for a specified time. At the end of this time, they were promised land and freedom from forced servitude. Both Europeans and Africans comprised the labor class of Jamestown. Many of these Africans shared the status of indentured servant with European unfree laborers. In 1619, hundreds of Africans were taken from Angola in West Central Africa. Fifty of them were stolen by Dutch and English raiders from a Spanish slave ship. About twenty of them were carried to Jamestown, Virginia and became currency in a business transaction. These Dutch traders, who had been raiding Spanish vessels along the Atlantic Coast and Caribbean, were low on supplies. They stopped along the coast near Jamestown. Fate would have it that Jamestown’s survival depended on laborers to establish the settlement. Jamestown colonists had supplies but needed laborers. These Angolans could provide labor. A trade was negotiated between the colonists and marauders resulting in Africans living in Jamestown. Historians believe that some of these Africans were literate and many were most likely Christian. Angola became a Christian nation in 1491 through Spanish missionaries. For several decades these Africans labored alongside European indentured servants. Over time their lives intertwined. The labor class grew through new arrivals and births - European, African, and mulatto. Anthony Johnson, an Angolan, arrived in Jamestown around 1621. He served as an indentured farmer on a tobacco plantation. He married an African woman named Mary who lived on the same plantation. Sometime after 1635 they both earned their freedom by purchasing their indentured contracts and land. By the 1650’s Anthony and Mary owned 250 acres and indentured servants of their own. Anthony Johnson is an example of black wealth in America. He attempted to manipulate an established system to obtain and maintain wealth. There are lessons to be learned from Anthony Johnson’s experience and the extent to which greed can transform systems. My next post will begin to reveal the untold story of the roots of racial slavery in America.
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Historians have limited the American story to a single English European perspective. By doing so, we ignore a wealth of contributions. The predominant narrative in American history is that the first Africans came to the American colonies in 1619. Even though this is a historical moment in our history, it is not completely accurate. Many Africans arrived on the continent well before this date. Spanish exploration began in the Americas around the 1500s. They were ruthless explorers who undertook large expeditions requiring vast amounts of labor. The Spanish could not fill their needs solely from their ranks. They turned to forced labor from infidels or Non-Catholics. These “infidels” came primarily from Africa and indigenous people encountered during their expeditions. From the early beginnings of Spanish exploration free and enslaved Africans were members of expeditions. Their physical labor was used to clear land for plantations, mine gold and silver, and construct fortitudes. African intellect and courage were harnessed by using them as soldiers, sailors, interpreters, and servants. In June 1527, Pánfilo de Narváez set sail from Spain with five ships to explore the Florida region. His expedition included about 600 men, including some Africans. After landing in what is now Tampa Bay, the expedition experienced a series of missteps ending with the survival of only 4 crew members - Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado and the African slave Estevanico (Esteban). Estevanico was a Spanish-speaking African who learned to communicate with the indigenous people they encountered in the American southwest. His skills as an interpreter and guide were used in a later 1530s Spanish expedition of the Colorado Plateau in New Mexico. The Spanish sailed the Gulf Stream currents from their Caribbean colonies back to Spain. These currents took them past Florida. The Spanish ships which often carried gold were targets for pirates who attacked them along the Florida coastline. In 1565, a Spanish garrison was built in St. Augustine, Florida to provide protection for these ships. St. Augustine became the first permanent non-indigenous settlement in North America. Africans were heavily involved in building St. Augustine. By the 1600s nearly 100 mostly-Spanish speaking Africans were living in St. Augustine. Some had accepted Christianity and practiced the Catholic faith. Historical documents from the Catholic church in St. Augustine records the birth and baptism of the first African slave born in America as 1606. Juan Rodriguez was a free mulatto from what is now the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez was the son of a Spanish or Portuguese father and an African mother. He was the first person with African heritage to choose to live in America. In 1613, he was a member of a Dutch trading vessel that stopped in what is now Manhattan, New York to trade furs with the Lenape people before continuing to Holland. Rodriguez demanded to stay in the area and began a profitable fur trading practice. Rodriguez was the first permanent non-indigenous settler and merchant in Manhattan, NY. The African presence in the Americas can be documented even prior to the events mentioned here. The ancestors of today’s African-Americans made rich and significant contributions of skill, courage and resourcefulness to our American story. The foundation for black wealth is anchored in these historical realities with global significance. Susan Barry, President & CEO of the Community Foundation of Louisville (CFL), introduced her staff to www.MyIntent.org. She encourages each staff member to select a word at the beginning of the new year to guide their individual professional and personal actions. As a member of the CFL staff, I have chosen WEALTH as my intention for 2019. Wealth can be simply defined as the accumulation of resources. My expanded definition of wealth encompasses the resources of mind, spirit, body, and possessions. It is more than the balance in a bank account. Transformative wealth allows for the sustained and generational transformation of entire communities.
In 2019, my intention is to focus on the strategic acquisition and harnessing of various forms of wealth to positively impact the black community. The cultivation of wealth in black communities has been largely ignored, discounted, and halted by mainstream America. I desire to better understand complex systems impacting wealth. I want to delve into our collective American history, face uncomfortable truths, confront established norms, challenge white-privilege and form partnerships all with the intent of empowering black people to embrace their innate ability to harness multiple forms of transformational wealth. The transformation of my community begins with individual actions. I intend to cultivate the wealth of my mind by asking questions and seeking answers that ultimately replace ignorance with knowledge. I will consciously and consistently make choices to improve my physical and mental health leading to increased intrinsic wealth. I will grow my sacred wealth by nurturing my divine and personal relationships. I will commit to the responsible management of my personal possessions to increase my financial wealth. 2019 represents historic anniversaries of two significant events in United States and black history - the 400th anniversary of American Slavery and the 100th anniversary of the Red Summer of 1919. Both of these anniversaries are rooted in the acquisition of wealth. Over the next few weeks, I will share my reflections regarding the relationship of wealth to these historic events and implications for America today. These posts will be the musings of a black American ready to take steps to change her own attitudes and actions regarding transformational black wealth. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His life was taken when his focus shifted from social injustice to economic injustice. Personally, I’m ready to take a prolonged look at the role of wealth in my life and American society. Confucious said, “To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.” I desire for my wealth to bring justice, peace, and empowerment to society. Only then will the acquisition of wealth result in honor. |
AuthorRamona Dallum Lindsey is an artist, speaker and curious citizen who finds strength in the wisdom of her elders. Archives
February 2019
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