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Then and Now: 2012 #5
Obamaesque “Courage” and “Leadership”
The Spirit of Freedom and Liberty and Defiance of Tyranny in the face of over powering deadly force are part of the foundation of what America stands for and are part of the American Character.
The following is a sketch of what the Americans of African Descent, as co-founders, contributed to the creation of America and the sacrifices they made to support the weak and defenseless around the world in their struggle for freedom and liberty. America was established in 1789 and the first census was taken in 1790. The people who became the co-founders of America came primarily from Two Regions of the world, namely the Regions of Great Britain (65.6%) & West Africa (19.4 %).
Some of the contributions made by Slaves, ex-Slaves and the Descendants of Slaves are:
- THEN -
1739 September 29, 1739-Stono, South Carolina. 20 Slaves from West Africa led by a literate Christian Slave named Jemmy, who was from the Kongo, forcefully took weapons and declared their freedom and also declared war on the system of Slavery. A number of other Slaves joined them. They made their stand in an open field against overpowering numbers of mounted South Carolina Militia. The original 20 Slaves led by Jemmy took a close defensive position the same way the African Warriors did in battles in Africa. All 20 of the original Slaves perished as did 20 of the charging mounted South Carolina Militia. The South Carolina Militia then hunted down those who had fled the battle.
“The original 20 slaves did not appear as slaves running in fear from their masters but rather as powerful individuals willing to risk their lives to overthrow the culture that had enslaved them. Understanding the slaves’ intent to rebel presents them as in control of their own fate… The slaves at Stono did succeed in gaining true autonomy for a short time as they made decisions based on their own desire to regain responsibility for their own lives.”
This all occurred in South Carolina 36 years prior to Patrick Henry declaring “Give me Liberty or give me death” and the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
1804-Richmond, Virginia. An Englishman, Robert Sutcliff, traveled in North America. He reported in his book, Travels in some parts of North America… about an incident in 1804 in Virginia. A Slave in a Richmond Courtroom was charged with rebellion punishable by death; when asked what he had to say to the court in his defense, he replied:
“I have nothing more to offer than what General Washington would have had to offer, had he been taken by the British and put to trial by them. I have adventured my life in endeavoring to obtain the liberty of my countrymen, and am a willing sacrifice in their cause”
Has any patriot or poet said it better and more clearly in the ensuing 200 plus years? This patriot remains nameless because court records were destroyed by a fire in 1865.
1849-Maryland. Harriet Ross Tubman escaped from Slavery. She returned a number of times and led over 300 Slaves to freedom. Not one was recaptured. When asked about her decision to escape from Slavery Ms. Tubman stated:
“I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one or two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted, and when the time came for me to go the Lord would let them take me.”
As an American of African Descent she stated her and her race’s contribution to the new Spirit and Character of America. Black Abolitionists and Freedom Fighters, by Kimberly Hayes Taylor.
By 1849 it was clearly established in America that: Defiance of Tyranny in the face of over powering deadly force is a Spirit that is part of the foundation of what America stands for and is a part of the American Character.
Americans of African Descent have as co-founders continued to make their contribution to this Character as shown in the following examples.
1865 to 1898 Small military units of Americans of African Descent had significant success in the Revolutionary War, Civil War and American Indian Wars.
1898 Spanish American War. The Spanish American War was the first time Americans of African Descent fought on the world scene for America. The Colors (battle flag) of the 3rd Cavalry, a White Regiment, was left on the ground where it had fallen and laid while other soldiers passed it by in the charge on San Juan Hill. It was picked up and rescued by Sgt. Berry, the Color Bearer of the 10th Cavalry, an all-Black unit which, with other Black units, was charging up San Juan Hill. It was as reported by an eye witness:
“Then, with two flags flying above him, and two heavy staves to bear, this powerful negro (he is literally a giant in strength and stature) charged the heights while white men and black men cheered him as they pressed behind… Who shall say what temporary demoralization there may have been in this troop of the Third at that critical moment, or what fresh courage may have been fired in them by that black man’s act! They say Berry yelled like a demon as he rushed against the Spaniards, and I, for one, am willing to believe that his battle-cry brought fighting energy to his own side as well as terror to the enemy.” History of Negro Soldiers in the Spanish-American War, by Edward A. Johnson.
A Statement that the Negro Cavalry saved the “Rough Riders.” A corporal stated to the Associated Press.
“They were with the Rough Riders and ran into an ambuscade, though they had been warned of the danger. If it had not been for the Negro Calvary the Rough Riders would have been exterminated. I am not a Negro lover. My father fought with Mosby’s Rangers, and I was born in the South, but the Negroes saved that fight,..”—Asso. Press
Private Smith of the Seventy-first Volunteers, stated what he had seen at Santiago:
“I am a southerner by birth, and I never thought much of the colored man. But, somewhat, now I feel very differently toward them, for I met them in camp, on the battle field and that’s where a man gets to know a man. I never saw such fighting as those Tenth Cavalry men did. They didn’t seem to know what fear was, and their battle hymn was, ‘There’ll be a hot time in the old town to-night.’ That’s not a thrilling hymn to hear on the concert stage, but when you are lying in a trench with the smell of powder in your nose and the crack of rifles almost deafening … and you see before you a blockhouse from which there belches fourth the machine gun, pouring a torrent of leaden missiles, while from holes in the ground you see the leveled rifles of thousands of enemies that crack out death in ever-increasing succession and then you see a body of men go up that hill as if it were in drill, so solid do they keep their formation, and those men are yelling, ‘There’ll be a hot time in the old town to-night,’ singing as if they liked their work, why, there’s an appropriateness in the tune that kind of makes your blood creep and your nerves to thrill and you want to get up and go ahead if you lose a limb in the attempt and that’s what they...did.
You just heard the Lieutenant say, ‘Men, will you follow me?’ and you hear a tremendous shout answer him, ‘You bet we will,’ and right up through that death-dealing storm you see men charge…” The Daily Afternoon Journal of Beaumont, Texas.
The History of Negro Soldiers in the Spanish-American War, by Edward A. Johnson. This book includes a poem written by George E. Powell. The all Black 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry were all involved in the charge on San Juan Hill. The poem is written in tribute to the 9th Cavalry’s charge to rescue Col. Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders.” It is (13) stanzas, (2) of which are cited herein.
7). “Charge!” “Charge!” The bugle peals again;
“Tis life or death for Roosevelt’s men!—
Mausers make reply!...
Aye! Speechless are those swarthy sons,
Save for the clamor of the guns--
Their only battle—cry!
The lowly stain upon each face,
The taunt still fresh prouder race,
But speeds the step that springs a pace,
To succor or to die!...
11). And where the black and brawny
Gave up its all—life’s richest, best,
To find the tomb’s eternal rest
A dream of freedom still!
A groundless creed was swept away,
With brand of “coward”—a time—worn say—
And he blazed the path a better way
Up the side of San Juan Hill!
For black or white, on the scroll of fame,
The blood of the hero dyes the same;
And ever, ever will!
1917- WW I. Within one week of Wilson’s “Declaration of War”, the War Department had to stop accepting black volunteers because the quotas for African Americans were filled.
1941- WWII. Some of the White Bomber Pilots and Crews in 1944, who were preparing to leave on bombing runs over Germany, requested the pilots of the Tuskegee Squadron (all Black Unit) to protect them. Col. B. Davis, Jr., Commander of the unit, stated in part:
“…They appreciated our practice of sticking with them through the roughest spots over the target, where the danger of attack was greatest, and covering them through the flack and fighters until they were able to regroup. They particularly liked our practice of detaching fighters to escort crippled bombers that were straggling because of battle damage.” In early 1949, the Air Force held its first Air Force Fighter Gunnery Meet to recognize the top performing fighter group and individual pilots who had fought in the war.
The 332nd Fighter Group (Tuskegee Airman) won first place. Captain Alva N. Temple, of the Tuskegee Airman earning second place in the individual competition.
1950 Korean War. U.S. Army units were still mostly segregated. Based on the continued performance of Black soldiers’ the U.S. Army announced on 7-26-51 its plan to desegregate.
1964 to 1973 Vietnam War. The authors of Stolen Valor tell how the Americans of African Descent in the Viet Nam War were robbed of its Heroes and its History.
“Seventy five percent of the Americans of African Descent who served in Vietnam volunteered to go …blacks tended to volunteer for combat at a higher rate than whites.”
“By the time Vietnam rolled around, blacks were a major force in elite units composed of volunteers, such as the Airborne and the Marines. In Vietnam, African-Americans constituted up to a fourth of some elite units. That resulted in the outcry early in the war that the brunt of the combat effort fell disproportionately on blacks.”
The antiwar movement and their supporters falsely claimed Americans of African Descent were victims and thus tried to take away their “dignity”. Why were they depicted as “victims” and not “heroes”?
- NOW -
6/04/09 Pres. Obama in Speech in Cairo tells the World: “all people yearn for ...freedom …Those are not just American ideals, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.”
6/20/09 The Iranian people protest a fraudulent election, Nada Agha Soltan is one of many killed and arrested. The Iranian people by e-mail and twitter plead to Pres. Obama for help. “President Obama are you with us or against us.”
Pres. Obama responded after a period of time. “…we…want to avoid the U.S. being the issue inside Iran”.
10/ 9/09 Pres. Obama is awarded Nobel Peace Prize; he accepted the award saying it’s not simply about “the efforts of my admin; it’s about the courageous efforts of people around the world.” He then describes the woman killed in Iran but does not name her or her killers. He selected that woman and others to share the Nobel Peace Prize with him. He stated: “… and for all those men and women across the world who sacrifice their safety and their freedom and sometimes their lives for the cause of peace. That has always been the cause of America. That’s why the world has always looked to America and that’s why I believe America will continue to lead.”
Pres. Obama has taken the acts of courage of others and joined them with his Administration to create an event where everyone including Pres. Obama will be honored for their “efforts”. Since all the others are there because of their “Courageous efforts” it is understood Pres. Obamas is also honored for his “Courageous efforts” in leading his Administration. No one identifies what “efforts” and “courageous” acts were performed by President Obama and his Administration. He did not have the courage to say the name of the courageous “young woman” he asked to share the Nobel Peace Prize with him, nor to name the Country that killed her.
History will record that Pres. Obama’s “courageous…efforts” were taken from people like Nada Agha Solta and others whose courage Pres. Obama then claimed partially for his Administration. This type of action creates a new phrase, “Obamaesque Courage”.
5-2-11 Libya. Ryan Lizza in the May Edition of the New Yorker wrote that an advisor of Pres. Obama described the President’s actions in Libya as “leading from behind”. Pres. Nelson Mandela stated on the process of “leading from behind”:
“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”
When it was dangerous the French and British lead and Pres. Obama followed. When Col. Gaddafi was executed Pres. Obama took credit for having led from behind.
The President’s advisors may want to check with President Nelson Mandela and see if President Obama, in standing behind the French and British when there was danger, and taking numerous victory laps when Col. Gaddafi was captured and executed while begging for his life is what Nelson Mandela meant when he said “leading from behind.”
March 2011 Syrian citizens demonstrate against Syrian rulers and demand change. America and the World do nothing. There is no “Leadership”
May 27, 2012 The U. N. Security Council Condemns the Syrian Government for killing 49 children and 34 women in Houla.
May 28, 2012. After the Massacre at Houla, Sen. McCain called for greater international involvement. He stated: “This is a shameful episode in American history…Horrible things are happening in Syria. This administration…abandons American Leadership.”
This type of action creates a new phrase, “Obamaesque Leadership”.
Would Jemmy or any of the other 20 African Warriors in Stono, South Carolina,“the unnamed Slave in Richmond, Va. in 1804”, “Harriett Ross Tubman”, “Sgt. Berry” and all the other Americans of African Descent who by their actions have stood, fought and died for the Spirit of America, Support Pres. Obama’s policies of “Obamaesque Courage and Leadership”.
Do you believe their descendants would support Pres. Obama’s policies if they were aware of the sacrifices their ancestors had made?
If you are Israel, can you rely on “Obamesque Courage and Leadership” for your survival? Can you take that chance?
If you are Iran, are you currently relying on “Obamaesque Courage and Leadership”?
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These concepts are developed more fully in the Do It as Americans paper,
“Do It As Americans” (110 page PDF).