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Black Kos, Week In Review - The Legend of the Flying Africans [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-24 Drawing Depicting the Igbo Entering the Waters of Dunbar Creek Image Courtesy of Dee “Larue" Williams Igbo Landing - The Legend of the Flying Africans, When death is a better option than slavery IGBO Chant of DEFIANCE at Igbo Landing, georgia ”♫ Mmiri Mmiri ahụ wetara anyị, ♫ Mmiri Mmiri ga-akpọga anyị n'ụlọ ♫" ”♫ Mmiri Mmiri ahụ wetara anyị, ♫ Mmiri Mmiri ga-akpọga anyị n'ụlọ ♫" (Translation) ♫"The Water Spirit brought us, the Water Spirit will take us home♫"" ♫"The Water Spirit brought us, the Water Spirit will take us home♫"" By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor Stories of slave rebellions are severely under-taught in American history courses. With the current conservative culture war against AP African American studies the little progress being made in teaching them is under threat. In the Caribbean where my family is from, stories of slave rebellions comprise a much larger share of school history, and I’ve always had an interest in them. Unfortunately in the US the white supremacist who created slavery and later segregation, understood the power of slave revolts, and took active steps to strike them from both public memory and school’s historical curriculums. Furthermore the stories of American slave resistance that many of us do know from our times in high school only dwell on the rioting, bloodshed, violence, and destruction of slave revolts. We only learn of a few revenge killings as enslave people like Nat Turner rose up against their oppressors. But throughout American history there are other acts of resistance by slaves whose stories are worthy of being retold. These tales may have sad and bittersweet endings, but they also speak to the unconquerable spirit of Africans held captive by brutal economics of the transatlantic slave trade. Take for example the story of “The Igbo Landing” (also known as the Ibo Landing, Ebo Landing, or Ebos Landing). The story that gives Ebos Landing ( as it’s called in coastal Georgia) its name is one of the most colorful, anguishing, but enduring tales in the state of Georgia's rich history. This story has become better known as the "Myth of the Flying Africans”. Regardless of its name, the story of the Igbo landing has been retold and embellished for 200 years in the form of local legends, Gullah folklore, and children's tales. It has also been adapted into movies, novels, and television shows. The story of the Flying African is based on the historical event of the remarkable story of an Igbo slave rebellion on St. Simons Island. This melancholy tale has blossomed to become a powerful metaphor of African American courage, longing, conviction, and a refusal of the captives to submit to being conquered at all cost. Furthermore this story stands out for me for a personal reason, my brother-in-law is an ethnic Igbo from Nigeria. Because today modern Igbo people self identify with the spelling “IGBO” that is the spelling I will use when writing this piece. The historical roots of the flying Africans legend can be traced to the spring of 1803, when a group of Igbo slaves arrived in Savannah Georgia after enduring the nightmare of the Middle Passage. The Igbo (from what is now the nation of Nigeria, in West Africa) were renowned throughout the the current and former British colonies (including the US) for being fiercely independent and unwilling to tolerate the humiliations of transatlantic chattel slavery . The Igbo Landing itself is a historic site at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia . In May of 1803, the Igbo and other West African captives arrived in Savannah, Georgia, on the slave ship the Wanderer. Historical records show they were purchased for an average of $100 each by slave merchants John Couper and Thomas Spalding to be resold to plantations on the nearby St. Simons Island. On that day in May 1803 the chained slaves were then reloaded and packed under the deck of a coastal vessel, the York, which would take them to St. Simons where they were to be resold. During the voyage, approximately 75 Igbo slaves rose in rebellion. These brave captives fighting for their very freedom, overpowered their outnumbers captors. During their revolt they drowned or killed all their captors. But unfortunately the struggle that won their freedom also caused ship to the ground in Dunbar Creek, Georgia as they were unable to navigate their newly captured ship. The sequence of events that occurred after the ship ran aground remains unclear. It is only known that soon after running aground, the freed Igbo marched ashore singing. The Igbo were led by their high chief who was among the former captives on the ship. At some point at the high Igbo chief’s direction, the group of Igbo turned around and reversed course, walking in unison into the marshy waters of Dunbar Creek. They began singing in the Igbo language: ”♫ Mmiri Mmiri ahụ wetara anyị, ♫ Mmiri Mmiri ga-akpọga anyị n'ụlọ ♫" (“♫ The Water Spirit brought us, the Water Spirit will take us home♫ ") thereby accepting the protection of their God, Chukwu and certain death over the alternative of a lifetime of slavery, and committed mass suicide. Art work by Donovan Nelson Roswell King, a white overseer on the nearby Pierce Butler plantation, wrote the first account of the incident. He and another man identified only as Captain Patterson recovered many of the drowned bodies. Apparently only a subset of the 75 Igbo rebels drowned. Thirteen bodies were recovered, but others remained missing, and some may have survived the suicide episode, making the actual numbers of deaths uncertain. Regardless of the actual numbers, the deaths signaled a powerful story of resistance. These captives had overwhelmed their captors in a strange land, and then took their own lives rather than remain enslaved in a strange New World. Over time the Igbo Landing gradually took on enormous symbolic importance in the local African American folklore of coastal Georgia. The mutiny and subsequent suicide by the Igbo people has been called by many locals the first freedom march in the history of the United States. Local people claimed that the Landing and surrounding marshes in Dunbar Creek where the Igbo people committed suicide in 1803 were haunted by the souls of the dead Igbo slaves. Locals claim that on moonless nights, the singing and clinking of chains can be heard emanating from the marshes. From a ceremony freeing the soul of the Igbo landing people, 2002 To modern audiences the idea of a group of people taking their own lives together appears to be an unbelievably tragic act. But put yourself in the shoes of the Igbo landing folk, whose lives where shattered by the trauma of the events leading up to their actions that day. One fateful night you are stolen from your bed, dragged into a dank slave castle on the West African coast, sold as a slave, transported by strange people you have never seen the likes of before. These people speak a language you don’t recognize clad in garments that seem alien. These pirates store you in a dank dark ship galley, where you suffer from sea sickness and filth for weeks on end. They feed you strange foods and then sell you again, letting you know your freedom and liberty is forever vanquished. Finally rising up, you win your freedom only to recognize there is no hope to return to your beloved home and people. With only the prospect of imminent recapture and a lifetime of cruel servitude before you, the cold embrace of the arms of water spirit taking you to the home of your god Chukwu, seems like the only rational option. The story of the people of Igbo landing, who chose death over slavery which had long been part of Gullah folklore, was finally recorded from various oral sources in the 1930s by members of the Federal Writers Project. The Federal Writers Project was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program, created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression. According to Professor Terri L. Snyder, “the enslaved cargo “suffered much by mismanagement,” “rose” from their confinement in the small vessel, and revolted against the crew, forcing them into the water where they drowned”. Led by their chief, the Africans then marched ashore, singing. At their chief’s direction, they walked into the marshy waters of Dunbar Creek, committing mass suicide. Igbo Landing in Georgia But what happened to the official records of the revolt is a striking example of the ways in which African American slaves and white slave masters interpreted the fact of this historical events in starkly different ways. One of the only contemporary written accounts of the event by the aforementioned white overseer of nearby Pierce Butler. King recounted that as soon as the Igbo landed on St. Simons Island, they "took to the swamp"—committing suicide by walking into Dunbar Creek. But if you read the story from King's perspective the salient feature of this story was the substantial loss of a financial investment for Couper and Spalding. But what happened to the official records of the revolt is a striking example of the ways in which African American slaves and white slave masters interpreted the fact of this historical events in starkly different ways. One of the only contemporary written accounts of the event by Roswell King of nearby Pierce Butler. King recounted that as soon as the Igbo landed on St. Simons Island, they "took to the swamp"—committing suicide by walking into Dunbar Creek. But if you read the story from King's perspective the salient feature of this story was the substantial loss of a financial investment for Couper and Spalding. , has preserved a very different account of the events that transpired that day. As with all oral histories, the facts of the story have evolved as storytellers elaborated the tale over the years, such that there are now dozens of identified variations on the original episode. In the late 1930s, more than 100 years after the Igbo uprising on St. Simons, members of the Federal Writers Project collected oral histories in the Sea Islands (many of which can now be found in Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies among the Georgia Coastal Negroes). An older African American man by the name of Wallace Quarterman was asked if he had heard the story of Ebos landing. Quarterman replied: On the other hand African American oral tradition , has preserved a very different account of the events that transpired that day. As with all oral histories, the facts of the story have evolved as storytellers elaborated the tale over the years, such that there are now dozens of identified variations on the original episode. In the late 1930s, more than 100 years after the Igbo uprising on St. Simons, members of the Federal Writers Project collected oral histories in the(many of which can now be found inDrums and Shadows: Survival Studies among the Georgia Coastal Negroes). An older African American man by the name of Wallace Quarterman was asked if he had heard the story of Ebos landing. Quarterman replied: Ain't you heard about them? Well, at that time Mr. Blue he was the overseer and . . . Mr. Blue he go down one morning with a long whip for to whip them good. . . . Anyway, he whipped them good and they got together and stuck that hoe in the field and then . . . rose up in the sky and turned themselves into buzzards and flew right back to Africa. . . . Everybody knows about them. A typical Gullah telling of the events, incorporating many of the recurrent themes that are common to most myths related to the Igbo Landing, is recorded by Linda S. Watts: The West Africans upon assessing their situation resolved to risk their lives by walking home over the water rather than submit to the living death that awaited them in American slavery. As the tale has it, the tribes people disembark from the ship, and as a group, turned around and walked along the water, traveling in the opposite direction from the arrival port. As they took this march together, the West Africans joined in song. They are reported to have sung a hymn in which the lyrics assert that the water spirits will take them home. While versions of this story vary in nuance, all attest to the courage in rebellion displayed by the enslaved Igbo.[*] For centuries, some historians had cast doubt on the events of the Igbo Landing. Many of these historians argued that the entire incident was more local folklore than fact. But a 1980 research project verified the accounts that Roswell King and others provided at the time. University researchers used “modern scientific techniques to reconstruct the episode and confirm the factual basis of the longstanding oral accounts”. So powerful is the story of resistance of the Igbo Landing that it is often referred to in African American literature. Famously writer Alex Haley recounts it in his high acclaimed book, Roots, and it was the basis for Nobel laureate, Toni Morrison’s, novel, Song of Solomon. Contemporary artists like Beyonce have also depicted and paid homage to the Igbo Landing in their music. x YouTube Video In the acclaimed Marvel comic film, Black Panther, Killmonger, played by actor Michael B Jordan, refers to this event, the Igbo Landing, saying, “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, ’cause they knew death was better than bondage”. x YouTube Video In September 2002 the St. Simons African-American Heritage Coalition organized a two-day commemoration with events related to Igbo history and a ceremonial funeral procession to the site. 75 invited attendees came from across the American South, as well as Nigeria, Belize, and Haiti, all countries where similar acts of resistance to a life of slavery had taken place. They gathered to designate the site as holy ground and give the souls rest. The account of the Igbo is now part of the curriculum for coastal Georgia schools. Igbo Landing site The Igbo Landing has come to occupy great symbolic importance in local African American folklore. The mutiny and subsequent suicide by the Igbo people have been called the first freedom march in the history of the United States and local people claim that the Landing and surrounding marshes in Dunbar Creek were haunted by the souls of the dead Igbo slaves. Sometimes when faced with between only two choices, a life of slavery or dying with the loved ones of your community, the unfortunate choice becomes clear. The brave rebel slaves of the Igbo Landing chanted ”♫ Mmiri Mmiri ahụ wetara anyị, ♫ Mmiri Mmiri ga-akpọga anyị n'ụlọ ♫" (“♫"The Water Spirit brought us, the Water Spirit will take us home♫"") accept the protection of Chukwu and decided to walk back across the waters to their ancestors. Sources: Wikipedia “Igbo Landing,” New Georgia Encyclopedia New Georgia Encyclopedia “Igbo Landing,” Glynn County, Georgia History and Lore Georgia History and Lore Marquetta L. Goodwine, The Legacy of Ibo Landing: Gullah Roots of African American Culture (Atlanta: Clarity Press, Inc., 1998). The Legacy of Ibo Landing: Gullah Roots of African American Culture (Atlanta: Clarity Press, Inc., 1998). Professor Terri L. Snyder, Igbo Landing May 1803 a Symbol of African Resistance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How a landmark Supreme Court decision was shaped by the racist idea that poor children can’t learn. VOX: The racist idea that changed American education ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The lawsuit, filed by Rodriguez and a number of other parents, remarkably, had reached the Supreme Court. Civil rights groups were hoping — and some reporters expecting — it to be the “Brown vs. Board of Education of the 1970s,” as a front-page story in the Wall Street Journal put it. But as the case wound its way through federal court, a nascent counter-idea was blossoming: Maybe, an influential cadre of social scientists claimed, it didn’t matter how much money schools spent. In fact, maybe schools weren’t actually a key factor in what students learned. Maybe — most insidiously — poor children of color weren’t likely to succeed in school no matter how well-funded their schools. This idea was spreading, appearing in academic journals and publications like the Atlantic and the Washington Post. A New York Times news article from 1970 included this startling line: “In the case of a slum child,” it read, citing supposedly cutting-edge research, “his chances of learning to read were quite limited, even though large amounts of money might be devoted to his education.” Fifty years ago this year, the Supreme Court cited some of that same research to rule against the Rodriguez family. The racist notion that children in poverty could not benefit from additional or even equal resources may well have influenced the court’s decision. “The poor people have lost again, not only in Texas but in the United States, because we definitely need changes in the educational system,” Demetrio Rodriguez told one of the reporters that Alex recalls descending on their home. The media soon left, and Alex went back to the same underfunded school. “It was famous for a day or two — then that was it,” he says now. Admittedly, the legal and practical merits of the Court’s 1973 decision in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez are complex and up for legitimate debate. In the long run, the ruling was not the devastating blow to funding equality efforts that many advocates feared. Funding gaps due to property taxes have narrowed or fully closed, in part because state courts stepped in after the Supreme Court stepped aside. But that often took decades, and the decision had a lasting impact. It left multiple generations of low-income children, like Alex Rodriguez, in schools with lesser funding. This is particularly troubling because more recent evidence has found a meaningful link between spending and student success. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Using racial gerrymandering to segregate citizens legal options. Amsterdam News: Mississippi lawmakers seek return to Jim Crow with separate white system of justice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jackson, Mississippi’s Black community is outraged that state lawmakers are moving closer to establishing a separate justice system in Jackson for whites and African Americans. According to Mississippi Today, the proposed new law would let the state’s white chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, its white attorney general, and its white state public safety commissioner appoint new judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and police officers to run a new district in the city that includes all the city’s majority-white neighborhoods. Such a move would create a separate justice system for whites in an area where whites are statistically the majority. And it would happen without a single vote from any of Jackson’s 80 percent Black residents for any of these officials. “It makes me think of apartheid,” Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said. Three of the bill’s principal backers said on the floor of the Mississippi Legislature that “public safety” was the bill’s primary goal because of worries about the crime rate in Jackson. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A 50-year-old corporate attorney, McClellan has represented parts of the Richmond area in the General Assembly since 2006. McClellan makes history as Virginia’s first Black woman elected to Congress ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Democrat Jennifer McClellan defeated her Republican opponent in a special election Tuesday to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she will be the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress. McClellan, a veteran state legislator from Richmond, prevailed over pastor and Navy veteran Leon Benjamin in the race for the blue-leaning 4th District, which has its population center in the capital city and stretches south to the North Carolina border. The seat was open after the death of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin in November. McEachin died weeks after being elected to a fourth term after a long fight with the secondary efforts of colorectal cancer. A 50-year-old corporate attorney, McClellan has represented parts of the Richmond area in the General Assembly since 2006, when she joined the House of Delegates. In December, she handily secured the Democratic nomination for the 4th District race in a four-way firehouse primary. A native of central Virginia, McClellan said in an interview ahead of the election that the history she will make as the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress carries extra weight because of her family’s history in the Jim Crow South. Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In her new book Black Archives, Renata Cherlise makes the case for celebrating everyday Black joy. Renata Cherlise makes the case for celebrating everyday Black joy. VOX: Ordinary Black lives should be remembered, too ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Founded by Renata Cherlise in 2015, Black Archives is a “gathering place for Black memory and imaginations,” a multimedia platform that brings a spotlight to the Black experience, a mirror for Black folks to see themselves in, a visual study into the nuances of Black life, and so much more. Ahead of the release of Cherlise’s book, Black Archives: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life, I spoke with Cherlise about how family experiences sparked her interest in photographs and archives as a child, why Black Archives chooses to highlight ordinary Black life, how social media fits into the creative practices of Black women cultural workers, and why documenting one’s Black life even if just for oneself or one’s family is important. Drawing from Cherlise’s family archive and photos submitted from around the world by the Black Archives community, the book is laid out in three sections — The Foundation: Keeper of Stories, Interiors: Holding Space and Keeping Time, and Exteriors: To Be Witnessed. Each section moves us through different parts of the Black experience, from our homes with our immediate and extended families to moments with our wider communities to the ways Blackness experiences and interacts with the landscapes, cars, and other devices of the outside world. Ultimately, Cherlise hopes Black Archives: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life serves as a collective family photo album. One that reminds us of the similarities of the Black experience no matter where we’re from; leads us to reflect on what Black interiority looks, sounds, and feels like; and places care and reverence on these and other intimate photos that depict the beauty, style, and magic of ordinary, everyday Black life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A New Documentary Explores The Power of Black Twitter and Viral Hashtags. CBS: How these 3 hashtags from Black Twitter changed America ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Twitter is a pop culture juggernaut, a driver of social justice and a window into the future. In a sense, Black Twitter is a digital community that allows people to connect and bond over what it means to be Black — and what happens there often reverberates far beyond. Journalist and social commentator Jemele Hill said it best: "I think Black Twitter started as more of a feeling, a communal feeling, whenever it was an issue that Black people cared about, whether it be something that was lighthearted or something that was more serious. We just decided to have a conversation, and we were having a conversation in front of every manner of person in this world on social media. So it became its own thing." A feeling, a conversation, and sometimes a call to action. "One of the great things about Black Twitter is that it's a space of mobilization," said Marc Lamont Hill, a professor at Temple University and host of BET News. "You can find out information about something that the mainstream traditional media hasn't discussed." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She began her career in the early 1970s, visited more than 100 countries, interviewed world leaders, and celebrities. She was Brazil's first female journalist to cover a war while famously battled racism throughout her career. TRT World: Brazil's pioneering journalist Gloria Maria passes away ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gloria Maria, one of Brazil's pioneering TV journalists whose career took off in the early 1970s has passed away aged 73. Maria is remembered as Brazil's first prominent Black female journalist in Brazil's largely white-male media industry. Since the beginning of the year, Maria had reportedly been hospitalised in Rio de Janeiro, battling a brain tumour although the cause of her death was not revealed, according to news outlet Power360. Brazilian President Lula has paid tribute to her, describing her as "one of the greatest journalists" and noted how she covered "important moments" in Brazil and the world's history, interviewing prominent figures. Lula wrote on Twitter that "she left her mark in the memory of Brazilian men and women." Maria began her reporting career in the early 1970s, working for Brazil's TV Globo. During her career she visited more than 100 countries, interviewing different world leaders such as US President Jimmy Carter, celebrities such as Michael Jackson and was the first female journalist from Brazil to cover a war –– reporting on the Falklands War in the South Atlantic. AgenciaBrasil suggested many Black journalists regarded her as a role model while G1 said she was an inspiration to different generations of Black women in the country. RIP Gloria Maria ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WELCOME TO THE FRIDAY PORCH [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/24/2154547/-Black-Kos-Week-In-Review-The-Legend-of-the-Flying-Africans Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/