Year four (or SS 1) in secondary school is an interesting one, as far as academic level/advancement is concern. For instance, it was, (I think till today) compulsory to take the entire courses offered in your school, including History. But I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to have anything to do with history, not minding the consequence on my academic records. By then I call myself young scientist, and planned to go in for medical or engineering courses. To be honest, I had no direction on what or which degree I wanted then. One thing led to another and I bolted out of the sciences and today, I am an economist.
Until this morning…. I was reminiscing over the level of economic crunch that unfolds the nature and difficulty of nation building that stares Africa in the face. Then I did a little brain work…….. Of course Africa’s economic history cannot be divorced from its political……. then I see what I’ve missed in my 1 – 2 years history class………
Then I wandered ………..why should my great grand parent sold their subject because of mirrors, garments, gun powders etc? At least so I heard. Okay, gun powder to capture rival clans…...
Then I wandered ………..why should my great grand parent sold their subject because of mirrors, garments, gun powders etc? At least so I heard. Okay, gun powder to capture rival clans…...
That is history. But history lives beyond its contemporaries……………….
What should we do to avoid the repeat of slavery? Can we salvage ourselves from modern slavery...?
………….that comes in the form of human displacement because of recurring repression on the continent? ………brain drain? Can we?.......can we? What should Africa do?
What should we do to avoid the repeat of slavery? Can we salvage ourselves from modern slavery...?
………….that comes in the form of human displacement because of recurring repression on the continent? ………brain drain? Can we?.......can we? What should Africa do?
What we call "history" is born from a collage of glimpses and images, insights and documents. And while this Gallery does not presume to tell the comprehensive story of early photography and African Americans, it does offer tantalizing glimpses into the past. During the half-century covered by these photographs, African Americans fought slavery, withstood brutal racial hatred, and struggled to escape from poverty. Sometimes the camera was their ally... sometimes it was an instrument of prejudice... but often it was an observer, recording the images that we recognize today as the raw material of history.
Thomas H. Lindsey (active Asheville, North Carolina):"Stripes but no Stars"
Silver, Silver-Platinum (Satista) or Platinum print, circa 1892
5 x 8 inches
E. & H. T. Anthony & Co. (publishers):
"Bombproof Quarters of Maj. Strong, at Dutch Gap, 16th N. Y. Artillery"
Stereoscopic Albumen Photograph, circa 1863
(detail shown)
Unidentified Photographer (Sold or Published by James W. Queen, Philadelphia):
"The Darkey's Vanity"
Tinted Stereoscopic Albumen Photograph, circa 1860 (left)
Unidentified Photographer:
Civil War Soldiers with a Young "Contraband"
Albumen print carte de visite, circa 1863 (right)
Unidentified Photographer:"Slave Boy Brought to Waterbury from Bucks Hill by Aunt Ella Johnson's Second Husband (Whelan)"
Ninth-Plate Ambrotype, circa 1855
(second up) During the Siege of Petersburg, troops under the command of General Butler attempted to build a canal across the James River at Dutch Gap in Virginia. Work began August 15, 1864 and finished unsuccessfully with the explosion of six tons of gunpowder on January 1, 1865. The goal was to shorten the navigation of the James River by seven miles, bypassing an area where Union ships came within range of Confederate gunners.
The Fourth and Sixth Regiments of U.S. Colored Troops (Third Brigade, Third Division, Army of the James) were ordered to Dutch Gap, August 16, 1864 and remained there on fatigue duty until September 28. Perhaps the officer and soldier shown here belonged to one of those regiments.About 180,000 African Americans enlisted in the Union Army, and others joined the Navy. Many units suffered heavy casualties: it's estimated that one-third of all African Americans in the Union military lost their lives in the Civil War. (For more information in a new browser window, click here .
The Fourth and Sixth Regiments of U.S. Colored Troops (Third Brigade, Third Division, Army of the James) were ordered to Dutch Gap, August 16, 1864 and remained there on fatigue duty until September 28. Perhaps the officer and soldier shown here belonged to one of those regiments.About 180,000 African Americans enlisted in the Union Army, and others joined the Navy. Many units suffered heavy casualties: it's estimated that one-third of all African Americans in the Union military lost their lives in the Civil War. (For more information in a new browser window, click here .
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