Journal Entry African American
Journal Entry of a Subordinate Group Member
June 18th, 1963
Hello my precious unborn child. I am not really sure where to begin. The doctor is saying that I might not make it through this pregnancy but they will make sure you live to see this crazy world that we live in. I want to make sure that you understand your history and where you come from!
What a journey our family has been through. They just don’t make it easy for an African American Family. Here we are and we have struggled just to make it here to the Deep South. We settled here in Ole Miss just like lots of other black folks and you would think that after they freed us from slavery they could just leave us be. I guess I should tell you a little about who we are and what we have been through so you have a clearer understanding.
Well it started when we got here. Brought over on ships, our family was slaves to the white folk right here in Mississippi. There have always been stories told. Why, I remember when I was a little girl my grandma telling us the story of Nat Turner. (1998) He went on a rebellion right here in the South. He was on a mission fighting for what he believed in. He may not have gone about it the right way but he fought until his death on October 30, 1831. After that it seemed to be one person after the next until finally Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This was issued in 1863. (1998)This was a valiant attempt at freeing the slaves here in the United States but it technically only freed slaves in the states that were under the jurisdiction of the Confederacy. You would think that would make things better.
Nope! There was a 12 year period after that that they worked hard on trying to make things fair for us. Your great-great-grandma was around through the reconciliation period. She said that we were finally awarded citizenship and in 1870 an amendment went in that stated you could not deny us the right to vote
June 18th, 1963
Hello my precious unborn child. I am not really sure where to begin. The doctor is saying that I might not make it through this pregnancy but they will make sure you live to see this crazy world that we live in. I want to make sure that you understand your history and where you come from!
What a journey our family has been through. They just don’t make it easy for an African American Family. Here we are and we have struggled just to make it here to the Deep South. We settled here in Ole Miss just like lots of other black folks and you would think that after they freed us from slavery they could just leave us be. I guess I should tell you a little about who we are and what we have been through so you have a clearer understanding.
Well it started when we got here. Brought over on ships, our family was slaves to the white folk right here in Mississippi. There have always been stories told. Why, I remember when I was a little girl my grandma telling us the story of Nat Turner. (1998) He went on a rebellion right here in the South. He was on a mission fighting for what he believed in. He may not have gone about it the right way but he fought until his death on October 30, 1831. After that it seemed to be one person after the next until finally Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This was issued in 1863. (1998)This was a valiant attempt at freeing the slaves here in the United States but it technically only freed slaves in the states that were under the jurisdiction of the Confederacy. You would think that would make things better.
Nope! There was a 12 year period after that that they worked hard on trying to make things fair for us. Your great-great-grandma was around through the reconciliation period. She said that we were finally awarded citizenship and in 1870 an amendment went in that stated you could not deny us the right to vote