OURStory: Black Statue of Liberty

People around the world are aware of the Statue of Liberty. It is a sight seen by many immigrant families as they sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to come to the shores of the United States.

Few people know that the original Statue of Liberty was a Black Slave in shackles!

Soulclap to Jamia Shephard and Dr. Angela Molette for bringing OURStory (not "his"-story) to our attention. Dr. Molette points out that French Abolitionists (anti-slavery proponents and supporters of John Brown) were among the monument’s creators ... and this was the most compelling and overriding reason for creating the statue as a Black slave in shackles. The idea for the Statue of Liberty was born of a shared historical connection between Egypt (the original intended recipient of the Statue) and African slaves in America for whom the tribute to liberty and freedom was delivered.

It is worth noting that the final product delivered to America had significant changes that can be attributed to white privilege, arrogance, jealousy and financial pressure. This little-known history is discussed in an entry on the original Statue of Liberty documented by Dr. Leroy Vaughn in his book, 'Black People & Their Place in World History'.

The excerpt reads:

"In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte stated that history was only 'a lie agreed upon.' Nothing could be more illustrative than the history of the Statue of Liberty originally called 'Liberty Enlightening the World.' The liberation of African American slaves was the only inspiration for the creation of a Statue of Liberation for Edouard Rene LeFebvre DeLaboulaye. He recruited a young sculptor, Frederick Auguste Bartholdi to create a Black female slave Statue holding a broken chain in her left hand and with broken chains of slavery at her feet.

The official web site of the Statue of Liberty states that the statue was given to the people of the United States by the people of France as an expression of friendship and to commemorate the centennial of American Independence (1776). The Encyclopedia Britannica states Bartholdi designed the Statue of Liberty as a monument to the Franco-American alliance of 1778.

These are absolute and total lies!

Edouard DeLaboulaye

Edouard Rene LeFebvre DeLaboulaye, an internationally renowned lawyer and author of a three-volume history of the United States, first discussed the idea of a symbol to represent the end of U.S. Slavery at a dinner party in 1865, at his country home near Versailles, France. In attendance at the dinner party were many abolitionists including Victor Hugo and Frederick Auguste Bartholdi, who had initially been retained to create a sculptured bust of Mr. DeLaboulaye.

Victor Hugo and Edouard DeLaboulaye were leaders of the French Abolitionist movement. They hated slavery and were in strong support of John Brown when he attempted to arm slaves in West Virginia for rebellion by raiding the armory at Harpers Ferry in 1859. After John Brown failed and was hanged, Hugo and DeLaboulaye took up a collection among the French people and presented a gold metal to John Brown’s widow.

After Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States in 1861, the French liberals and abolitionists including Hugo, Bartholdi, and DeLaboulaye urged Lincoln to free the slaves even if Civil war resulted. Lincoln was told: “You would become the first country in history to have fought a war against itself to free the internal slave and you would go down in history as a truly great country and a beacon of light to all freedom loving people.”

The French abolitionists saw the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 as a worthless piece of paper since it only freed slaves in the Confederate controlled states where Lincoln had no jurisdiction and not in Union controlled states where Lincoln was still in authority.

When the war ended in 1865, French abolitionists were extremely happy and in addition to again urging Lincoln to free all slaves, DeLaboulaye and Bartholdi requested permission to build and dedicate a monument of colossal statuary to that freeing of all slaves in America. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, DeLaboulaye again headed the abolitionists’ committee that presented a gold medal to Mrs. Lincoln, just as he had done for the widow of John Brown.

In addition to a staunch abolitionist, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) was an outstanding French sculptor. Bartholdi trained to be an architect in Alsace and Paris and then studied painting with Ary Scheffer and sculpture with J.F. Soitoux. Bartholdi’s life and ideas changed dramatically after 1855 when he toured Egypt and witnessed the magnificent colossal monuments and statues created by the ancient Black Egyptians.

Bartholdi’s creation of a giant Black ex-slave female with broken chains at her feet and left hand was readily accepted in France. Although liberals, freemasons, and businessmen with American interests were the most enthusiastic supporters of the project, by 1881 some 100,000 people and 181 towns throughout France had contributed money.

In 1871, Frederic Bartholdi at the urging of DeLaboulaye undertook a voyage to America to sell his idea of a colossal statue clearly symbolizing the end of chattel slavery in the United States. He was armed with a large terracotta statue and numerous drawings to clearly illustrate his proposed Statue of Liberty. The original African face of the Statue of Liberty was published in The New York Post dated June 17, 1986 as part of the centennial celebration. Bartholdi found little American support for his African slave model. In 1878, as the African head of Miss Liberty first went on display at the Universal Exposition in Paris, France, rampant reaction raged throughout the American South.

Bartholdi finally had to abandon his original ideas and changed the Statue of Liberty to the features we are now familiar with. The African face was re-sculptured into the face of his mother Madame Bartholdi. A tablet of law tucked into her folded arm that bears the date July 4, 1776, replaced the broken chains in the slave’s left hand. Ironically, the chains were left at the feet but the meaning changed from broken American slavery to broken English tyranny.

On May 18, 1986 during the centennial celebration, The New York Times joined The New York Post in describing the original Statue of Liberty and the intention of DeLaboulaye and Bartholdi in presenting this statue to America. It’s unconscionable that the Encyclopedia Britannica and the official Statue of Liberty literature can still lie and say that this is a monument celebrating American Independence of 1776 or Franco-American alliance of 1778. Dr. Jack Felder sums it up clearly:

"Once in place, Miss Liberty received a new meaning. She was hailed as the ‘Mother of White Exiles,’ greeting European immigrants seeking freedom in America. Nothing in the original conceptions of Bartholdi or DeLaboulaye envisioned this role for their stature."

I hope that you think about this blog post next time you see the Statue of Liberty.

Related articles

• A Symbol of Freedom
• Today's Lesson: Statue of Liberty

Wordless Wednesday: Underwater Sculpture in Grenada Remembers African Holocaust

SOURCE: - 'Alkebulan' Pinterest Board

OURstory: Slave Rebellions and Nat Turner (1800-1831)

Soulclap to Ori-Piankhi for pointing us to PBS story on Nat Turner and his 1831 slave revolt:

Nat Turner was born on October 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Virginia, the week before Gabriel Prosser was hanged. While still a young child, Nat was overheard describing events that had happened before he was born. This, along with his keen intelligence, and other signs marked him in the eyes of his people as a prophet "intended for some great purpose." A deeply religious man, he "therefore studiously avoided mixing in society, and wrapped [him]self in mystery, devoting [his] time to fasting and praying."

In 1821, Turner ran away from his overseer, returning after thirty days because of a vision in which the Spirit had told him to "return to the service of my earthly master."

The next year, following the death of his master, Samuel Turner, Nat was sold to Thomas Moore. Three years later, Nat Turner had another vision. He saw lights in the sky and prayed to find out what they meant. Then "... while laboring in the field, I discovered drops of blood on the corn, as though it were dew from heaven, and I communicated it to many, both white and Black, in the neighborhood; and then I found on the leaves in the woods hieroglyphic characters and numbers, with the forms of men in different attitudes, portrayed in blood, and representing the figures I had seen before in the heavens."

On May 12, 1828, Turner had his third vision: "I heard a loud noise in the heavens, and the Spirit instantly appeared to me and said the Serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first... And by signs in the heavens that it would make known to me when I should commence the great work, and until the first sign appeared I should conceal it from the knowledge of men; and on the appearance of the sign... I should arise and prepare myself and slay my enemies with their own weapons."

At the beginning of the year 1830, Turner was moved to the home of Joseph Travis, the new husband of Thomas Moore's widow. His official owner was Putnum Moore, still a young child. Turner described Travis as a kind master, against whom he had no complaints.

Then, in February, 1831, there was an eclipse of the sun. Turner took this to be the sign he had been promised and confided his plan to the four men he trusted the most, Henry, Hark, Nelson, and Sam. They decided to hold the insurrection on the 4th of July and began planning a strategy. However, they had to postpone action because Turner became ill.

On August 13, there was an atmospheric disturbance in which the sun appeared bluish-green. This was the final sign, and a week later, on August 21, Turner and six of his men met in the woods to eat a dinner and make their plans. At 2:00 that morning, they set out to the Travis household, where they killed the entire family as they lay sleeping. They continued on, from house to house, killing all of the white people they encountered. Turner's force eventually consisted of more than 40 slaves, most on horseback.

By about mid-day on August 22, Turner decided to march toward Jerusalem, the closest town. By then word of the rebellion had gotten out to the whites; confronted by a group of militia, the rebels scattered, and Turner's force became disorganized. After spending the night near some slave cabins, Turner and his men attempted to attack another house, but were repulsed. Several of the rebels were captured. The remaining force then met the state and federal troops in final skirmish, in which one slave was killed and many escaped, including Turner.

Nat Turner hid in several different places near the Travis farm, but on October 30 was discovered and captured. His "Confession," dictated to physician Thomas R. Gray, was taken while he was imprisoned in the County Jail. On November 5, Nat Turner was tried in the Southampton County Court and sentenced to execution. He was hanged, and then skinned, on November 11.

In total, the state executed 55 people, banished many more, and acquitted a few. The state reimbursed the slaveholders for their slaves. But in the hysterical climate that followed the rebellion, close to 200 black people, many of whom had nothing to do with the rebellion, were murdered by white mobs. In addition, slaves as far away as North Carolina were accused of having a connection with the insurrection, and were subsequently tried and executed.

The state legislature of Virginia considered abolishing slavery, but in a close vote decided to retain slavery and to support a repressive policy against black people, slave and free.

The story of Nat Turner isn't told in our public school system. Sometimes the impression is given that Black people approved of being enslaved because they were given food, shelter and such. Of course, that is nonsense. There were many slave rebellions ... Nobody wants to be enslaved. Nat Turner is proof.

GOP Gone Wild: Allen West Says that Obama Wants Americans 'To Be His Slave'

I am trying to remember if I've ever heard a Jewish leader accuse another Jewish leader of wanting to be a Nazi sympathizer. I can't recall that ever happening. That would be insulting and disrespectful and a sign of a person with a true lack of character. Rep. Allen West (R-FL) showed himself to be a disrespectful Black man without any true character a few days ago when he made the following statement:

“He does not want you to have the self-esteem of getting up and earning, and having that title of American. He’d rather you be his slave,”

Is Allen West so desperate for the approval of white folks in the Republican Party and in his congressional district that he will stoop to any level of nonsense in his effort of a government title?

Tea Party Wants to Re-Write History Books to Give Positive Spin on Slavery

Did any of you see the passionate comments by GOP candidate Rick Santorum towards the end of the debate last night? He was answering the question about what impact religion would have on his work as president if he were elected. He talked about the nation's founding fathers and the fact that "God-given rights" were at the heart of the Declaration of Independence.

Santorum noted that 'God-given rights' can't be given away by the government. As he was talking I kept thinking to myself about the Africans in America at the time of the Declaration of Independence. I wondered what Santorum would say about the "God-given rights" of those men and women who were enslaved by our Founding Fathers? Did they have any "God-given rights"?

Now, I learn that there are some in Santorum's Republican Party who no longer want to be troubled by the inconvenience of our nation's history of slavery. There are some GOP (aka, Tea Party) in Tennessee who want to re-write the history books being used in our public schools to give a positive spin on slavery. [SOURCE]

These Republican (or Tea Party) activists say that the way textbooks are worded now can portray out founding fathers in a negative light.

"Slavery is of course portrayed in the textbooks nowadays I'm sure as a totally negative thing. Had there not been slavery in the south, the economy would've fallen," said Tea Party Activist Brian Rieck.

I guess one person's dehumanizing atrocity is another person's economic stimulus agenda.

Another Racist School Teacher Asks 4th-Grade Students to Role-Play in Lesson on Slave Auctions

I wonder what it will take for white school teachers around the country to figure out that it is never a good idea to have Black students in elementary school pretending to be enslaved people in a mock slave auction? We saw this type of racist school activity in New Jersey and Ohio ... but, a fourth grade school teacher evidently didn't get the memo.

Jessica Boyle is the 4th-grade teacher who had the bright idea to teach a lesson on the Civil War to her children by separating them by race. She put the Black and mixed-race students in her mock slave auction as the enslaved people in chains. The white 9- and 10-year old students in her class played the role of the racist slave-owners.

After complaints began to come in from some of the parents ... the Sewells Point Elementary School principal, Mary Wrushen wrote a letter dated April 6:

Mary Wrushen

"I recently became aware of a history lesson that was presented to the students in Ms. Jessica Boyle's fourth grade class. Although her actions were well intended to meet the instructional objectives, the activity presented was inappropriate for the students. The lesson could have been thought through more carefully, as to not offend her students or put them in an uncomfortable situation."

No shyt Sherlock!

The level of arrogance, ignorance and racism shown by this teacher is remarkable. Does anyone think that this teacher would have her Jewish students role-playing as victims of the Holocaust during a lesson on World War II? Of course she wouldn't. The idea of doing such a thing would horrify her. Yet this same teacher had no qualms about having Black children role-playing as slaves.

Ms. Jessica Boyle should be fired. Anyone with that little regard for her students simply should not be allowed to teach any longer.

via The Last Tradition source: Mail Online

Young Black Ohio Elementary School Student Forced to Play the 'Slave' in a Classroom 'Slave Auction'

Most people with commonsense would know that it is a bad idea to have young Jewish children role-playing as Holocaust victims as part of a social studies lesson. However, for some reason white teachers don't use that same commonsense when they are trying to teach young people about the peculiar American policy that condoned the enslavement of African people for centuries.

It happened a few years ago in Caldwell, New Jersey. It happened again this past Wednesday in Gahanna, Ohio.

Nikko Burton

Ten-year-old Nikko Burton was assigned by his Chapelfield Elementary School teacher to play an enslaved Black person for a social studies lesson in his fifth-grade class. To his credit, Nikko refused to take part in the simulated slave auction and was sent back to his desk.

"I ended up being a slave," said Burton, 10. "At first I didn't care, but after people were bidding on people it kind of made me a little mad and stuff."

Burton said that the students who were playing the part of master were told to feel the students playing slaves to see if they were worth buying.

"The masters got to touch people and do all sorts of stuff," Burton said. "They got to look in your mouth and feel your legs and stuff and see if you're strong and stuff."

His mother, Aneka Burton said that her son was humiliated.   She says the school should be more sensitive. School principal Scott Schmidt called her to apologize for what happened to her son. Schmidt said no harm was intended.

Burton says she appreciates the apology, but the exercise was inappropriate. The school district said in a statement Thursday that officials acted promptly once the concern was raised.

Nikko's teacher still hasn't apologized or shown any remorse for the lesson.


The problem is that white teachers and principals don't have any problem with assignments to market a pro-slavery message or to simulate a slave auction. I suspect that they would think twice if they had their precious little white children play-acting as the 'master' during a re-enactment of the many slave rebellions by folks like Nat Turner. Ya' think?

Am I Not Human? Child Slavery in United Kingdom

I imagine that going to Hell is something that all of us want to avoid ... and we can't imagine any reason that a child should have to go to Hell. In the United Kingdom it appears that they don't mind if a child goes to Hell more than once.

Here is the situation as told on Change.org website:

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The United Kingdom is losing children. A recent study found that 55% of child trafficking victims in the U.K. who are identified and rescued eventually go missing. Those children are going to Hell twice in a very short lifetime.

The U.K. is suffering from a guardianship crisis when it comes to trafficked children, namely, that trafficked kids have no guardian and the government isn't providing a good one. One government-run home which lost 77 kids in three years turned out to be a front for a trafficking ring. And Afghan children trafficked to the U.K. have been leaking out of the country faster than BP oil into the Gulf of Mexico. But an issue which before seemed to maybe be a failure of just a handful of agencies now looks to be a system-wide breakdown.

The Home Office's Centre for Exploitation and Online Protection reviewed several local authorities who serve trafficked children and found that over half the kids who are brought in slip through some rather gaping cracks. There are a number of reasons child trafficking victims get lost: they are re-trafficked by the agency or someone else, they run away out of fear of the trafficker, they are deported, or they run back to the trafficker, especially in cases where the trafficker was a boyfriend first.

According to a recent opinion poll regarding this research, 44% of British adults think they way the government is dealing with child trafficking victims is unacceptable. Really? Only 44%? That means over half of British citizens aren't concerned that their government is losing most of the children it rescues from slavery. Can that many people really be ok with the idea of a children's shelter acting as a front for a child trafficking ring? Or the government deporting children who have been enslaved in the U.K. back to war zones? I have to believe the poll response is based on denial that child trafficking exists rather than callous indifference to the suffering of hundreds or even thousands of children.

The U.K. needs to get their act together, and you can tell them to start by stopping the deportation of trafficked children back to Afghanistan. You can also sign the petition created by ECPAT UK and the Body Shop to ask the government to create stronger guardianship guidelines and more comprehensive services for trafficked children.

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Lest we feel superior here in America -- please note that we have our share of human trafficking of children in the United States.

Human trafficking is the third largest criminal industry in the world and it is thought that 1.2 million children and young people are trafficked every year for sexual exploitation and cheap labour.

What are you thoughts on this human rights issue?

Obama Speaks Out Against Slavery and Human Trafficking

President Barack Obama issued a proclamation declaring this to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Obama asked all Americans to recommit in our efforts to stop human traffickers.

"The victims of modern slavery have many faces. They are men and women, adults and children," Obama said in the proclamation. "Yet, all are denied basic human dignity and freedom."

Even though the "dim years of chattel slavery" in the United States ended by President Abraham Lincoln's actions and the Civil War, Obama said "the darkness and inhumanity of enslavement exists."

Obama called on the global community to provide safe havens to victims and to prosecute the traffickers.

"With improved victim identification, medical and social services, training for first responders, and increased public awareness, the men, women, and children who have suffered this scourge can overcome the bonds of modern slavery, receive protection and justice, and successfully reclaim their rightful independence."

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month culminates in National Freedom Day Feb.1, Obama said.

"I call upon the people of the United States to recognize the vital role we can play in ending modern slavery, and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities."

The Electronic Village participates in a monthly blog campaign on the 27th of each month called, 'Am I Not Human?'. Bloggers all around the world use this monthly effort to raise awareness of human rights abuse, including slavery and human trafficking. I hope that all bloggers reading this post will support our blogging campaign this month!

Wordless Wednesday: From There to Here!

Where Are They Now: Cleveland Middle School Teachers

What ever became of the teachers that brought the 'slavery is good lessons' to their sixth grade students at the Grover Cleveland Middle School in New Jersey?

Sixth Grade Students Defend Slavery

Villagers, do you remember when a prominent republican downplayed the significance of slavery last month? The slippery slope leads us to Caldwell, NJ where we learn over 100 sixth grade students at Grover Cleveland Middle School have been asked to take part in an assignment where they defend slavery. Students were told that they needed to come up with a "catchy" name for the plantation and list at least three reasons why slave labor is a good idea.

Click here to see video news report on the situation.
One student noted in his paper that "slavery is the way to go". Now we have over 100 young people who can conceive of slavery as a good thing. Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.

That is a scary thought for our nation. It is sad when we have people ready to joke about lynching in Facebook videos or hang nooses in public places. Lynching and slavery are not joking matters.

When will President Bush speak out against this nonsense? Why are the two teachers at Cleveland Middle School still working as educators responsible for molding the minds of our future?

Villagers, what say u?

Republicans Wax Poetic About Slavery While Skipping Debates

Drumbeats from Oliver Willis about a Michael Medved column that shares six reasons that republicans shouldn't feel bad about slavery. Coming on the heels of the disrespect shown by republicans at the recent PBS presidential debate hosted by Tavis Smiley ... is there any wonder why African Americans feel no kinship for the Republican Party. I still try to understand why Black conservatives feel they are safe with a party that is unwilling to talk with Black or Brown people in America.

Slavery wasn't all that bad. Presidential debates focused on African American issues aren't more important than fundraising events. Is there any issue where the republican party and people of color agree?

Villagers, why would anyone vote for a republican at local, state or national level?

Price of Sugar Includes Slavery

Drumbeats from Femigog for pointing out how slavery is part of the process in creating the sugar that we use in our morning cereal or coffee. Check out trailer for indie film on the quasi-slavery of Haitian citizens to create sugar in the Dominican Republic.




Villagers, what say u?