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Focus_________________—
June 16,1999
ffib fie ru e r
Was Lincoln Really the
"Great Emancipator ?
coln. A fter E lijah Lovejoy, an a n ti­
slavery e d ito r h ad b een killed by
pro-slavery forces, L in co ln m ade a
“D irty L ittle S ecrets ”
jo k e o u t o f his d e ath . In a speech in
W o rc h e s te r, M a s s a c h u s e tts , he
istorical facts suggest Presi
said, “I have h e a rd you have ab o li­
d e n t L in c o ln w as ev ery
tio
n ists h ere. W e have a few in
th in g b u t ‘th e g reat em an ci­
Illin
p ato r o f black slaves.” D u rin g the o is an d we sh o t o n e th e o th e r
earlier years of the C ivil W ar, P resi­ d ay .” T h e crow d ro ared w ith lau g h ­
ter. B ut on th e serio u s side, m any
dent L incoln publicly claim ed he
of L in c o ln ’s fo rm al sta te m e n ts re­
w ould not an d could n o t free black
vealed he h eld no love for b lacks,
slaves. H e even acknow ledged th at
B y D r . C laud A nderson
C ontributing W riter and author of
ily had collaborated with the enemy.
F our of L incoln’s brothers-in-law
wore C onfederate uniform s. O n e of
them . L ieutenant David P. T odd, was
charged with brutality against Union
soldiers held as prisoners of war in
R ichm ond, Virginia. Mary Lincoln’s
two sisters were m arried to C onfeder-
ate officers, while her brother. Dr.
G eorge T odd, was a volunteer con­
federate surgeon who called Lincoln
an “unhung scoundrel.”
H
the C ivil W ar was no t ab o u t black
people, b u t ab o u t n atio n al unity.
Lincoln was no t passive in his
support of slavery even w hen U nion
com m anders issued o rd ers freeing
slaves in cap tu red C o n fed erate terri­
tory. Lincoln blocked such o rd ers at
least twice. L incoln's position was
strengthened by th e U.S. C ongress
in 1861, w hen it passed and referred
to the states in an am en d m en t to the
C o n stitu tio n th at g u aran teed th at
congress could never abolish black
slavery in A m erica. Few n o rth ern
politicians had any in terest in free­
ing black slaves. T hey w ere con­
cerned about b reak in g the w ealth
and political pow er base of the South.
M o st p o li ti c ia n s k n e w t h a t
L incoln’s E m an cip atio n P ro clam a­
tion was a sham . L incoln was P resi­
d en t of the U nion only. H e could
not and did n o t free black slaves.
T h e E m a n c ip a tio n P ro c la m a tio n
spoke gloriously ab o u t freeing slaves
in the deep S o u th , over w hich th e
U nion h ad no au th o rity . Y et, it ig­
nored blacks in th e b o rd e r states
over w hich L incoln an d his a d m in ­
is tra tio n w as su c c in c tly p u t in
L incoln’s letter o f D ecem ber 22,
I860, to A lex an d er S tep h en , soon
to becom e V ice-P resid en t of th e
C onfederacy, “Do the peo p le o f th e
South really e n te rta in fears th at a
R epublican a d m in istra tio n w ould,
directly or in d irectly , in terfe re with
the slave, or w ith th em , ab o u t the
slaves? If they do, I wish to assure
you, as once a frien d , an d still, I
hope, not an enem y, th at th ere is no
m ore d an g er in th is respect th an it
was in th e day s o f W ash in g to n .”
free o r enslaved.
Reparations for
Slaveholders?
A b rah am L incoln was grow ing
increasingly sensitive to an d fearful
of, the divisive an d explosive issue
of slavery. E arly in th e first term of
his presidency, Lincoln offered repa­
ratio n s to so u th ern slaveholders.
L incoln devised a schem e to free
th e slaves grad u ally over a p erio d of
som e 30 years. H e w ould offer rep a­
ratio n s to th e so u th ern slaveholders
and pay them for th e ir “losses” out
o f the n atio n al treasu ry . T o carry
ou t his p lan , he need ed the approval
o f C o n g r e s s to p a y s o u t h e r n
slav eh o ld ers nearly a h alf billion
d o llars, only a p o rtio n of th eir total
$7 billio n in vestm ent. T h is was in
u n im ag in ab le am o u n t of m oney for
th a t p erio d in history.
Slavery Divided Families
and the Nation
T h e C ivil W ar is often referred
to as th e G reat D ividing W ar. A l­
th o u g h sym bolically it was fought
to preserv e the U nion, in reality it
was fo u g h t to p reserv e slavery.
It was P resident Lincoln who said
th a t a h o u se d ivided against itself
w ould no t stand. He could have been
sp eak in g ab o u t his own household.
T h e C ivil W ar reach ed inside the
W hite H ouse and tou ch ed L incoln’s
fam ily, th e F irst Fam ily of th is na
tio n , an d d iv id ed it as it d iv id ed the
n atio n itself, along lines o f U nion
versus C onfederacy.
T h e division w ithin the Lincoln
household becam e so great that the
U nited States Senate C om m ittee on
the C onduct of the W ar felt it had to
The Great Emancipators
deal with it was a national issue. The
Sick Joke
T h e re is an o ld adage th a t w h at­ com m ittee m et to consider charges of
treason against the P resident's wife,
ever a m an jo k e s ab o u t is w hat he
Mary Lincoln. Lincoln cam e to her
tru ly feels in h is h eart. If th e re is
rescue
and read a brief statem ent
any tr u th in th is saying, it speaks
denying that any m em ber of his fam-
p o orly for P re sid e n t A b rah am Lin-
JUNETEENTH • JUNE 19
January I, 1863, the date of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, is solemnly com m em orated in
m any A m erican Black com m unities. It is however, only one of a num ber of “freedom day” celebrations held on
various dates, for the end of slavery was a gradual process and often a local one which evoked local observances. 1 hus
the date on which G eneral G ordon G ranger arrived in Texas - Ju n e 19,1863 with the avowed intention of enforcing
Lincoln’s proclam ation, is com m em orated a “Ju n eteen th ” in eastern Texas and beyond, and a considerable body
of tradition and lore has grown up about it. W hy is it called “Juneteenth?” Mrs. E.B. Tollettte, who lives in a rural
black com m unity of Tollette, Arkansas, has this to say. “I was talking with a friend about it today and he said,
jokingly, ‘You know how we nam e things,’ and said ‘was the nineteenth and says, ‘we nicknam e these things.
JUNETEENTH EVENTS
Basketball Tournament
T he First A nnual Juneteenth Basketball T ournam ent will be held at S.E.I. on Ju n e 17,18, and 19. All are invited
to play!! T here are four age groups (10-14, 15-18, 18-30 and over 30) playing. A small registration fee is requested.
T his tournam ent consists of a double elim ination to Semi-Finals match. Register now. Lim ited num ber of teams
can participate/ first come first serve. Call 503/286-9172.
Juneteenth Carnival
Celebrate the remembrance of Juneteenth at a carnival, ih e event will be held in NE. Portland (on ML.R Blvd. And
Portland Blvd.) on June 17 - 20. Cost is $2 or $ 1 with a canned food donation. Children under 10 years old attend for free.
Passage Over Celebration
On Saturday, June 19, a Passage Over ceremony will be held at Bethel AME Church (at 8 h & Jarrett). This year s
celebration includes agatheringof speakers, vendors, dignitaries, and entertainers; free horse and buggy rides for thechildren;
a Yorubapriestess overseeing thePassage Over ceremony, and lively parade. The parade will start at Bethel AME to Skidmore
and MLK Blvd. Abraham Lincoln will mad the Emancipation Proclamation at that point Come dressed as the most
important people in all history...your own grandparents! Call 503/3200495,284-6152, '283-2724, and '287-7532.
Coronation & Dance
T h eju n eteen th Association in cooperation with various alternative schools in the community will choose the first
Juneteenth Q ueen for this annual local event being held on Ju n e 18. A dance follows. Volunteers and cash donations
requested. Call C hairm an Woody Broadnax at 503/422-3477 o rja m e s D. Scurry at 503/286-9172 for more details.
Ralph Ellison
T o com m em orate the release oljunrteentk, a new book by Ralph Ellison, the O regon Council for the H umanities
is joining forces with Portland A rts & Lectures to host a comm unity celebration of this major literary event at the
First Congregational C hurch in Portland on Tuesday, Ju n e 22 at 7:30 PM. Featuring readings by the book by John
C allahan, the evening will also include music by renowned jazz pianist Darrell Grant. Tickets available at O C H or
from Portland A rts & Lectures 503/227-2583.