"Dred Scott" Today?

Recently in class, we discussed Dred Scott and his pursuit of freedom. Most people know the narrative...

Dred Scott was born into slavery in Virginia ca. 1799 and later his owner moved from Virginia, to Missouri, a slave state. He was then sold to Dr. John Emerson (who interestingly spent several years stationed at Ft. Snelling with Dred and Harriet Scott), a surgeon in the U.S. Army. Scott sued for his freedom based on the fact that he had been transported to and lived in free states/ territories and therefore should have been freed. 

The case then went to the U.S. Supreme Court...where they ruled that:

• African Americans (slave or free) could never be U.S. citizens based on the Constitution.
• White men were entitled to own property...which included chattel slavery.
• The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional and that states did not have the power to decide slave or free state status.
• All of the United States was open to the ownership of slaves in "free" or "slave" territories.

How is this any different in 2015? 

Four miles north of where Dred Scott is buried and over a century later Michael Brown was gunned down by police in Ferguson, Missouri...can you hear the echoes of the Dred Scott Case ringing in your ears?

We must ask...

Why has our society not come to regard or fully recognize African Americans, Native Americans,
other people of color, women, etc. as full citizens?

Why is there an irrational fear of African Americans, etc. in our society?

Why is it dangerous to shop...drive...laugh...while Black, Brown, etc.?

Why do we need to patrol our streets in full military gear, tanks?

Why racial profiling, police brutality?

Why the school to prison pipeline?

Why the so-called "Drug War" manufactured to incarcerate our youth?

WHY?

Enslaved Inventors

Recently in class, we have been studying the insidious effects of the Industrial Revolution (new inventions and technology...especially the cotton gin, the idea of interchangeable parts, mass production, etc.) of the early 1800's on the exponential growth of slavery.

"McCormick's" Reaper

In 1858, the U.S. Attorney General (defending the U.S. Patent Act of 1793 and 1836 which barred slaves from obtaining patents because they were not U.S. citizens) - Jeremiah S. Black - said that because slaves were considered property, their ideas and inventions were the property of their masters. In other words, many slaves invented new technologies that are not credited in the so-called history books...

"Famous" Slave Inventors:


Sam- Sam and his father invented a comb that removed cotton seeds from cotton fiber.  Eli Whitney took this invention and developed a mechanized cotton gin.

Jo Anderson- Jo helped his master Cyrus McCormick create and build the famous reaper...Jo has been acknowledged by the McCormick family for his many contributions to the reaper.

Ned- Ned invented the cotton "plow and scraper" which led to his master to argue (in favor of slavery), "the master is the owner of the fruits of labor of the slave, both manual and intellectual...when did a free Negro ever invent anything?"

Benjamin Montgomery- Benjamin (belonging to the Jefferson Davis family) invented a ship propeller (that cut into the water at different angles) that would help river boats to navigate quicker in order to deliver products more quickly from his master's store.  Sadly, this propeller helped the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Benjamin Bradley- Benjamin worked in a printing office and at the age of 16 began collecting junk scrap metal, modeling it into a small ship. Eventually, he built/ tinkered with a working steam engine for his "ship"...and so the steam engine was born. Bradley eventually worked at the Annapolis Naval Academy, where he became a classroom assistant in the science department. At the Naval Academy, he developed a steam engine large enough to drive the first steam-powered warships in the 1840's.


Our next invention?!?

Green-Wood Cemetery #3

June 2015...

This is my last post about my visit to Green-Wood Cemetery.

As I visited the highest point in Brooklyn and site of the first official battle of the Revolutionary War, I was surprised to find the beautiful statue "Minerva" apparently waving/ saluting "her sister" Liberty nearly 4 miles away!

Minerva...

Minerva was the Roman goddess of Wisdom...which included music, poetry, medicine, and the arts.

In 1920, Charles M. Higgins, decided to build an altar on Battle Hill to memorialize the first major battle after the Declaration of Independence. He chose to adorn the hill with a statue of Minerva. He made sure that Minerva faced Lady Liberty (erected in 1886) and her upraised torch.

Too me...a wonderful reminder that much liberty must be accompanied with much wisdom and much wisdom must be accompanied with much liberty.

Green-Wood Cemetery #2

June 2015...

This is my second post about my visit to Green-Wood Cemetery.

The highest point (~220 feet) in Brooklyn, NY is found at Battle Hill in modern day Green-Wood Cemetery.  This is the location of the first battle of the Revolutionary War after the United States declared independence on July 4, 1776. This (The Battle of Long Island...which we lost) was also the largest battle of the entire war in terms of troop deployment and fighting. The fighting on Battle Hill was especially brutal, with the Americans inflicting the highest number of casualties against British troops of the entire battle...if you stand and study long enough you can imagine the British attacking and the Americans valiantly attempting to defend the high ground.

As General George Washington watched the bloodshed that day he cried in despair, "“Good God... What brave fellows I must this day lose!”

Green-Wood Cemetery #1

Green - Wood Cemetery - Brooklyn, New York

June 2015...

I doubt that many people would find a cemetery to be an exciting place...but in my opinion, for a lover of history Green-Wood Cemetery is only surpassed by the likes of Arlington, Gettysburg, Andersonville, Pearl Harbor, and Normandy.

Green-Wood Cemetery occupies the highest elevation in Brooklyn (~200 feet) on nearly 500 acres and holds 600,000 bodies in a beautiful setting of rolling hills, mature trees, serene ponds, world class sculptures/ works of art, and spectacular architecture.

I will spend the next several posts chronicling my most memorable moments in Green-Wood...

"The Drummer Boy"

Clarence MacKenzie (Brooklyn's first casualty of the Civil War) was 12 years old when he marched off to the Civil War as a drummer boy with Brooklyn’s 13th Regiment. While camped/ resting in Annapolis, Maryland. Unfortunately, he was accidentally killed by a stray bullet fired by soldiers drilling nearby. Clarence is buried in "The Soldiers’ Lot" which Green-Wood donated specifically for Civil War Veterans. His grave is marked with a 10 foot tall “white bronze” monument inscribed: OUR DRUMMER BOY. The proud figure of the boy and his drum in uniform brought me to tears...

The Dead Drummer Boy

Midst tangled roots that lined the wild ravine
Where the fierce fight raged hottest through the day,
And where the dead in scattered heaps were seen,
Amid the darkling forest’s shade and sheen
Speechless in death he lay.

The settling sun, which glanced athwart the place
In slanting lines, like amber-tinted rain,
Fell sidewise on the drummer’s upturned face,
Where death had left his gory finger’s trace
In one bright crimson stain.

The silken fringes of his once bright eye
Lay like a shadow on his cheek so fair;
His lips were parted by a long-drawn sigh,
That with his soul had mounted to the sky
On some wild martial air.

No more his hand the fierce tattoo shall beat,
The shrill reveille, or the long roll’s call,
Or sound the charges, when, in smoke and heat
Of fiery onset, foe with foe shall meet,
And gallant men shall fall.

Yet may be in some happy home, that one,
A mother, reading from the list of dead,
Shall chance to view the name of her dead son,
And move her lips to say, “God’s will be done!”
And bow in grief her head.

But more than this what tongue shall tell his story?
Perhaps his boyish longings were for fame.
He lived, he died; and so memento mori.
Enough if on the page of War and Glory
Some had has writ his name.

"Ha det bra!"

When my grandmother said "goodbye" to us she would often use a Norwegian phrase...

"Ha det bra!" 

Which technically is not a goodbye...it means "Have it good!"  I am especially reminded of this today...the last day of school (a sad & happy day) for the year 2014-15.

In many Native American languages there is no word for "goodbye"...only "see you" or "see you soon". Can a word ever separate the learning, dialogue, and memories we've shared with each other in school this year?

I say "no!"

So since I am not really good at goodbyes, let's just say "Ha det bra!" and "Kill the Jellyfish!"


A Poem written by Mary Tallmountain...

“There Is No Word for Goodbye”

Sokoya, I said, looking through the net of wrinkles into wise black pools of her eyes.

What do you say in Athabascan when you leave each other?

What is the word for goodbye?

A shade of feeling rippled the wind-tanned skin.

Ah, nothing, she said, watching the river flash.

She looked at me close. We just say, Tlaa. That means, “see you.”

We never leave each other.

When does your mouth say goodbye to your heart?

She touched me light as a bluebell.

You forget when you leave us; you're so small then.

We don't use that word.

We always think you're coming back, but if you don't,

we'll see you some place else.

You understand.

There is no word for goodbye.

Duc Nguyen:Killing Agent Orange

Viet and Duc Nguyen ca. 1988

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJxb7CY13uc (story at 12:42 - 16:20)

Viet and Duc Nguyen were born as conjoined twins (as a result of exposure to Agent Orange) in 1981 in the Central Higlands province of Kon Tum in Vietnam. Their family lived/ worked on a farm that had been sprayed with Dioxin, a "nuclear herbicide" often referred to as Agent Orange.

After, Viet and Duc were surgically separated in 1988, Duc's health thrived, he attended school, became a computer programmer, a teacher, and advocates for others who suffer from Agent Orange, disabilities, and other human tragedies. Unfortunately, Viet suffered from chronic and debilitating health issues and passed away in 2007.  Duc shares...

"When I lost my brother I was extremely sad, but now I feel like my brother

 is always beside me, and I know I must think positively."

The United States sprayed 12 million gallons of Dioxin on Vietnam in order to "help fight Communism" in the 1960's and 70's. It has been estimated that Agent Orange has caused millions of Vietnamese (and our own Vietnam Veterans) to suffer/ die from cancer, miscarriages, physical disabilities, birth defects, and myriads of other health issues.

Yet, we do not take responsibility for our "weapon of mass destruction".  Duc opines...

"I find it ironic that on one hand you put Saddam Hussein on trial for using biological warfare, 

but in another country where you sprayed chemicals for warfare, you neglect your responsibility.  

The United States must admit its responsibility and compensate the Agent Orange victims in Vietnam. It is your moral obligation...sooner or later, it has to be done!"

In spite of my anger, I find inspiration and hope in Viet and Duc's lives. 

sự bền chí

Making the most out of life, persevering, helping others, strengthening communities, fighting for accessibility, demanding justice, and loving peace...unfortunately, I pale in comparison to Duc. Let's not give up hope and become mired in our anger and bitterness...let's keep "killing jellyfish" and make this world a better place. I only wish our government and the multinational corporations would have the same motivation!

Duc Nguyen and Family

 "We have all had to let go of sad events and try to move forward positively...

I have to help these less fortunate than I and advocate for peace."