Showing posts with label abolition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abolition. Show all posts

July 21 - Victor Schoelcher Day in the "French Caribbean"

    Posted on July 21, 2022     


This is an update of my post published on July 21, 2011:




Victor Schoelcher was born in Paris on July 22, 1804, but he is celebrated today in Martinique, Guadeloupe and other islands in the "French Caribbean" - because of his role in the abolition of slavery there.


I don't know why every source I consulted listed Schoelcher's birthday as July 22, yet every source on Caribbean holidays listed July 21 as the birthday celebration of the man! At any rate, Schoelcher seems to be one of history's unambiguous “good guys.”

He was born into a rich merchant family, and he became a journalist. He had a college education but learned about slavery when he traveled to America in 1829, visiting southern U.S. states, Mexico, and Cuba. From then on, he devoted himself to working to abolish slavery throughout the world.

I have always thought that travel is a great teacher, and Schoelcher deliberately chose his travel destinations to learn more about slavery. He traveled throughout the West Indies, including Haiti, and he traveled in Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and the west coast of Africa. He published many articles about slavery and the positive outcomes of its abolition. He also contributed some of his family fortune to establishing and promoting societies for the benefit of Black people.

In 1848, Schoelcher was appointed under-secretary of the navy and finally had some power to win freedom and rights for enslaved people. In April of that year, he wrote a decree in which France declared that slavery was abolished in all of its colonies.


Martinique
Schoelcher went on to serve in the legislature of Martinique—although he took time out from his service to defend Paris against Prussia in 1870.


Schoelcher Library, in Martinique;
Schoelcher left his 10,000 books and
250 musical scores to his adopted 
island as long as the library remained
open to all - and he especially stated
that the library was to be used to help
formerly enslaved people to gain an
education.


What islands are considered the "French Caribbean"?

Well, it depends on what year! This video shows the exploration and settlement of islands by many different groups. (If you don't want to do a lot of reading, scroll to the 0:30 second mark, to see the ever-changing map.) Watch for France's red-white-and-blue tri-color  flag and the blue color-coding on the map.


Nowadays, Guadeloupe and Martinique are French overseas departments, and Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy are French overseas collectives.


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March 22 - Emancipation Day in Puerto Rico

   Posted on March 22, 2022  

This is an update of my post published on March 22, 2011:





Although free men from Africa accompanied the Spanish Conquistadors when they first invaded the island of Puerto Rico, the Spanish soon started bringing over enslaved African people. The ugly reason was that the Spanish mining and fort-building operations depended on slave labor; the Spaniards had  enslaved the native islanders, the Taínos, but they had died out (mostly from epidemics). So the Spaniards got busy enslaving other folks! Horrible!

(Actually, although the Taínos were considered extinct as a people, centuries ago, a lot of people in Puerto Rico and elsewhere have been tested, recently, and their mitochondrial DNA proves that many Taíno had passed down their genes - and they are still around even today. So, the Taíno culture and language was erased by the colonizers' invasion of their land, and their brutality, but the Taíno people themselves lived on through intermarriage with people from Spain and Africa.)


Eventually the gold mines of Puerto Rico were depleted, and the island became a garrison for naval ships. Slavery continued. As early as 1789, a Spanish decree allowed enslaved folks to buy their freedom—but this decree didn't help free most! (One thing about slavery - it really cuts down on your ability to earn money when you are forced to work for free!) Over the years and decades, there were many slave revolts, and an abolition movement grew among free Puerto Ricans. Many enslaved people joined in the short-lived rebellion against Spanish rule in 1868. Finally, fear of more slave rebellions leading to more uprisings against the Spanish crown added to the very good case made by abolitionists—and slavery was abolished on this day in 1873.


(Puerto Rico became independent of Spain in 1898, as a result of the Spanish-American War. The island became a protectorate of the United States—and it remains one today!)

Abolition Park in Puerto Rico
It's cool that the anniversary of the emancipation of the slaves is a holiday in Puerto Rico! Apparently people enjoy music, dancing, and special foods on this day. Some people honor famous Black Puerto Ricans or teach about the history of slavery, abolition, and Black people in Puerto Rico.




Explore some more...


Learn about Dr. Jose Celso Barbosa, a medical doctor and political leader, here.  This Black Puerto Rican worked to make all Puerto Ricans citizens of the U.S.



Learn about Sylvia del Villard, an actor, dancer, choreographer, and Afro-Puerto Rican activist, here. 













Enjoy a photographic tour of Puerto Rico here.




Learn about the Puerto Rican coqui, a tiny frog, here.


 


Also on this date:


























Tuskegee Airmen Day











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June 19 - Juneteenth

 Posted on June 19, 2021

This is an update of my post published on June 19, 2010:


Juneteenth is sometimes called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. This holiday honors African American heritage, and it commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865. 

When I first wrote about Juneteenth, in 2010, 36 states celebrated it as a state holiday. Now it is a federal holiday!



By the way, the term Juneteenth is an example of a portmanteau, which is a combination of two words, in this case June and nineteenth, to create a new word.

The words brunch and smog are two more examples of portmanteaus. Do you know what words they combine?

ANSWER: Brunch is a combination of the words breakfast and lunch. Smog is a mash-up of smoke and fog.

For more on Juneteenth, check out last year's post.


ALSO ON THIS DATE:

Happy Birthday, Lou Gehrig

Born on this day in 1903, in New York City, Gehrig was an awkward athlete as a youth. However, he worked hard and constantly practiced baseball—and he became a star! From 1925 to 1939, Gehrig played in every single Yankee game, which was a record 2,130 games in a row.

Unfortunately, Gehrig came down with a rare disease that forced him to retire and that took his life just two years later. That disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS—and sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease. One of the best known recent folks with ALS is the famous physicist Stephen Hawking, who died at age 76 after living with ALS more than 50 years!!


Also on this date:

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