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The Original Black Lives Matter

The Abolitionist Movement

By Johann HollarPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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In honor of Martin Luther King Day (January 15, 2018) and the upcoming Black History Month, I thought I would write a piece about what I consider to be an original version of Black Lives Matter. The issue with African-Americans being treated like second class citizens is a touchy subject and yes, I agree with you on it being despicable that African-Americans are being killed and no one is held accountable for it or even willing to talk about it. That is why I am posting this article. For I am willing to address the issue and I fear not the outcome.

I understand that this is a rather shocking image, but this image is from another moment in American history that was never great and that moment is when slavery was legal. The Abolitionist idea had existed as far back as the 17th century in what was then the New England colonies with the Quakers who simply could not see the idea of slavery compatible with their vision of Christianity. After the American revolution, people like Ben Franklin took an interest in the cause of anti-slavery but it would not be until the 1830s that the Anti-Slavery Society would be founded.

William Lloyd Garrison

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Born into a poor immigrant family, William Lloyd Garrison became a successful writer and founder of the Boston Liberator. His fierce opposition to slavery lead to the creation of the Garrisoners on account of the fact that his ideas were becoming too radical. Under this particular anti-slavery movement, gender equality was also promoted. Women like Lydia Marie Child and Lucy Stone braved threats and insults of all forms to lecture and promote the abolitionist cause.

Gerrit Smith

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Born to a wealthy land owner, he denied himself the family inheritance to help those who were less than fortunate. He would send agents that represented him to financially negotiate the freedom of slaves in the south. He believed that the Constitution should abolish slavery and that the Union should be preserve. He was also friends with runaway slave and famous statesmen Frederick Douglass. He opened his home in Peterboro, New York for escaped slaves that had nowhere else to go.

John Brown

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For those of you who know this man, it's obvious that his actions at Harper's Ferry further ignited the need for abolishment of slavery through militant means. Most people were shocked by his raid on Harper's Ferry, but also many Northerners became sympathetic to the concept of militant abolishment. After he had been tried for treason for breaking the unjust law concerning slavery, he was hanged December 2, 1859 and would become a martyr for the anti-slavery cause.

Frederick Douglass

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I know that many of you are aware of this man. Friend to Abraham Lincoln and hero to both freedmen and slaves, Frederick Douglass served as a prime example that African-Americans could live a better life. He traveled overseas many times to avoid being recaptured and put back into slavery, where he gave speeches and sold copies of his narratives in England, Ireland and Scotland. During the Civil War, he worked himself hard to make emancipation the point of the outcome of the conflict and that freed slaves should have the same rights as white folk.

Harriet Tubman

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Yet again another familiar face you should know. Born into slavery with the name Araminta “Minty” Ross, she had her name changed to Tubman, which had been the name of her husband. She had become the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad and had guided three-hundred slaves to freedom. After the Civil War she had devoted her life to charitable causes such as opening up schools to African Americans and proved to be a prominent figure on the issue of women's rights. Near the end of her life, she dreamed of having a place for the elderly.

Slavery still exists (unfortunately).

According a 2014 blog from the ACLU, slavery still exists. It's not the slavery that was similar to the 19th century, but it's in the form of sex trafficking and cheap labor. There also people of color who are five times more likely to be incarcerated and have been less likely to find a job regardless of whether or not their criminal record. To say that race is not an issue in this country, really means that the issues about race are being ignored.

Why Americans today don't have the courage to prevent the unlawful treatment and incarceration of African Americans is a mystery to me. If Americans spent more time punishing White Supremacy and promoting Zero Tolerance towards racism and attacking the laws that allow this, there would be no need for Colin Kapernick to kneel for the National Anthem and for me to want to join him in it.

American Anti-Slavery Society

A Brief History of the American Abolitionist Movement

Abolitionism and Political Mobilization

About the abolition

National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum

William Lloyd Garrison

John Brown

Frederick Douglass

Harriet Tubman

US Admits Modern-Day Slavery Exists at Home

A Brief History of America’s Private Prison Industry

CRIMINAL JUSTICE FACT SHEET

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About the Creator

Johann Hollar

I had attended Minnesota State University Mankato where I received my Bachelors in History with a Minor in Philosophy. I currently work at the Woodbury Village Target as a Stocker when I am not writing you all such interesting stories.

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