Unique poetry, plays, short stories, children's stories and visual poetry by an American author |
The author, Deborah Young respectfully honors all of the souls sold into slavery in Natchez, Mississippi. The author recalls growing up in Natchez with an inkling of ill ease and surrounded by a constant heavy air of eeriness. The author learned years later that Natchez was indeed, built upon the commercializing of human beings. In Natchez, Mississippi, the selling of human beings afforded scores of individuals, lavish lifestyles, in the midst of atrocious mansions, recognized as antebellum homes. Deborah Young, Visual Poet has discovered her ancestral maternal genetic link to the Mende people of Sierra Leone, West Africa and paternal genetic link to the Ashanti (Asante) people of Ghana. Hundreds of thousands of the Mende were enslaved during the 16th and 18th century and transported to the United States, Caribbean and South America. The Akan-Ashanti (Asante) people were the earliest enslaved Africans brought to South Carolina in 17th century by Barbados colonists. Unfortunately, the powerful and regimented Ashanti (Asante) Empire sold their people into slavery and played a major role in the Atlantic Slave Trade. The Mende and other enslaved Africans arrived in one of two slave ports; Savannah, Georgia or Charleston, South Carolina. On March 2-3, 1859 the largest slave sale in United States history was held at a Savannah, Georgia racetrack. Due to the devastating anguish of the enslaved human beings and relentless rain; the two day event was called The Weeping Time Deborah Young is the first and only writer to honor human beings sold into slavery at the Natchez, Mississippi historical site, with visual poetry, poem, stage play and screenplay. The author's poem, etc, was written to pay tribute to the precious souls whose lives were annihilated because of greed, trolling at the Forks of the Road.
...Deacons for Defense and Justice, firm objectors of bigoted oppression Deacons for Defense and Justice, legitimate advocates for integration The almighty Deacons for Defense and Justice, dependable defenders of truth Deacons, fuh true, respect and appreciation for you is overdue Your undying sacrifices and dedication justifies a listin' in the Who's Who Deacons, I salute you with absolute, steadfast reverence, true-blue For, your audacity permitted us a peaceful setting, in which to abide So, a bust on a stand exalts the DDJ, Deacons, gentlemen, forever, dignified
Copyright by Deborah Young An Excerpt from Deacons for Defense and Justice; Civil Rights Warriors; Brothers Badass Bold
The author, Deborah Young wrote the poem The Coffle Song in the Gullah dialect and translated in English. The poem recalls the awful experiences of those ripped from their families, linked in chains, coffles and sold into slavery.
...Dese lines, dey iz mean trubble tuh b'hitch 'pun Eb'ry sun'up tuh sundown, us iz jine'up 'n ju'k along Yuh de chains stuhr, loud 'n strong Us freedum, us freedum, 'e jis' clean, done gon' Tuh 'nodduh, nodduh, us soon, b'long Dis iz sho' 'nuf, sho' 'nuf, wrong Us ain't got nutt'n, nutt'n, tuh mek us own Cep'm dese wu'd us moan 'n groan, een dishyuh song... Copyright by Deborah Young An Excerpt from The Coffle Song
These lines, they are mean trouble to be hitched upon Every sunrise to sunset, we are joined up and jerked along Hear the chains stirring, loud and strong Our freedom, our freedom, it's just clean, done gone To another, another, we soon, belong This is sure enough, sure enough, wrong We have nothing, nothing, to make our own Except these words, we moan and groan, in this here song... Copyright by Deborah Young An Excerpt from The Coffle Song On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, it went into effect January 1, 1863: That on the 1st day of January A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within any state... shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free... The Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th amendment initiated the freedom of enslaved African Americans. However, it was the numerous African Americans who continuously fought to assure freedom, equal rights and racial harmony. Even, many years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Natchez Blacks continued to suffer as a result of racism, segregation and the lack of civil rights. Therefore, countless Natchez citizens and local leaders participated in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s; Rev. Shead Baldwin, Wharlest Jackson, George Metcalfe, James Henry Young, Sr., Deacons for Defense and Justice, Mary Toles, and numerous other individuals. “I was all of 11 years old and daddy said I could join a Natchez Civil Rights march. As I positioned with my sister, brother and other marchers, I felt excited but scared. But I felt pretty safe because my daddy, James Young, was an active member of Deacons for Defense and Justice. The Deacons surrounded us and daddy walked beside me and my siblings. As we marched and sang “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around”; protesters yelled, threw things and pushed against us. The Deacons confronted the protesters and got the situation under control.” Deborah Young, Daughter of a Deacon for Defense and Justice, Natchez, Mississippi The Deacons for Defense and Justice were a 1960s armed self defense civil rights organization that played a vitally intricate part in the Civil Rights Movement. There is no doubt that in Natchez, Mississippi, the Deacons for Defense and Justice tirelessly paved the way for equal rights for African Americans. The Deacons intervened where local, state and federal government was grossly inadequate and negligent. The Deacons for Defense and Justice were truly men of valor, freedom warriors; determined to neutralize terrorism, stamp out segregation and inequality. It was the diligent hard work of constant marches, boycotts, legal actions, etc., which ultimately, lead to the 1967 integration of Natchez Adams County public schools. American Slavery and The Forks of the Road
The U. S. Postal Service has created postage stamps to honor the African Americans right to freedom and the tireless efforts of those who addressed racism, segregation, civil rights, etc. 75th anniversary of the 13th amendment of the U. S. Constitution stamp, Harriet Tubman stamp, Carter G. Woodson stamp, Sojourner Truth stamp, Martin Luther King, Jr. stamp, A. Philip Randolph stamp, Thurgood Marshall stamp, Ida B. Wells stamp, Roy Wilkins stamp, Mary McLeod Bethune stamp, Whitney Moore Young stamp, Ralph Bunche stamp, Booker T. Washington stamp, Frederick Douglass stamp, James Weldon Johnson stamp.
U. S. Postal Service African American Stamps |
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