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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2004)
i ^ " - 2004_____________ $) B lack H istory M onth ___________ P ag A i Black Soldiers in Defense of America Troops from the Revolution to Iraq serve bravely despite racism E d ito r's note: The Portland Observer celebrates Black History Month by honoring those who fought so bravely on the battle fields only to come home to the cruel realities o f racism. black b attalio n s co n tinued to square off face-to-face with the worst of enemies regardless of the odds. other general support labor. In Western Maryland, “Negro Moun tain” is named for a black man who died there fighting Indians. Crispus Attucks was the first African American to die in battle for the United States in what led up to the Revolutionary War, which freed this country from British rule. To understand the wide web of prejudice that still lurks about us, we only need to fast-forward to present day America when two young women were captured and injured as prisoners of war. Jessica Lynch, a young white woman be came the poster child for women in the armed forces, while Shoshana Johnson, a young African-Ameri can woman had little mention in the media coverage. Only when blacks and whites alike complained in mass Early Patriots Prior to the colonial times, an by R on W eber African by the name of Estevanico T he P ortland O bserv er landed in present day Florida with Whether on the front lines in a group of Spanish explorers who mortal combat, in fierce battles in had left Spain with 600 men. By the the air or behind thundering guns time they reached the eastern on the ocean, African Americans shores o f Texas, only Estevanico have bravely fought for our nation and three Spaniards were still alive fo r n early 300 due to battles with years. Native Americans. U n w an ted in D u rin g the A m erica’s early 1530s, the four ex m ilitary , blacks p lorers traveled volunteered and on foot, ending up d em a n d e d the in w hat is now righttofightforthe M e x ic o C ity. very country that Estevanico, also d is c rim in a te d known as “Little a g a in st them . S te v e n ,” is b e These brave sol lieved to have died diers were gener fighting Mexican ally only brought Indians in current in on an “as day so u th w e st needed” basis and Cathay Williams disguised America. He is still then let go imme herself as a man to fight in on record as the diately after each the U.S. Army as a Buffalo first black man to major battle or war, Soldier. travel across the leaving m ilitary southern United pensions and other benefits for States and also the first black man whites only. to die in combat in the Americas. Even thought they were forced Another black man, named Di into non-combat support services, ego, sailed the high seas in the they held out, hoping to be sent 1570s with Sir Francis Drake. Some to the battlefields of honor. - say he died in the Still, America treated the ¿Ok Caribbean fight descen d en ts o f A frica ing Indians, oth poorly. ers believe he sur Finally in the 20th Cen vived and stayed tury black fighters were with the ship until allo w ed to prove D rake d ro p p ed themselves. In all him off on an is phases of com land near his birth Sketch bat and in all place on their way o f black branches of the service back to Europe. Revolutionary African-American sol Prior to the trip War soldier diers showed for once hom e, D rake Salem Poor. and all that they could sto p p ed on the stand toe-to-toe with white men in West Coast of America to make war. Though scores paid the ulti much needed ship repairs. It is here mate price by giving up their lives. that Diego explored an area near Crispus Attucks (above and center left) was a run away slave from Framingham, Mass. He led the charges against British troops in the “Boston Massacre." San Francisco making him the first black man to walk in this part of the nation. Documentation dating to 1639 shows that white Americans were afraid to allow black men to carry guns or am m unition. V irginia passed a law outlawing the owner ship of guns by blacks. The colony o f Amsterdam only allowed black men to carry a tomahawk or a “half- pike” to help whites fight Indians. The first man of African descent known to legally have the right to bear arms was Abraham Pierce in 1643. By 1652, Massachusetts re quired "all Negroes and Indians between 16 and 60 to attend militia training. However, during non-war periods the law was revoked and blacks were not allowed to carry weapons. By 1770, the black population was 462,000. White Americans feared they might have an uprising and invoked new laws taking black soldiers out of peace time militias. Black women were also excluded from any type of military duty or support function, such as nurses, supply clerks, cooks and similar duties. Ironically however, when w hite soldiers fought m wars during this period, black women were often left in charge of their entire plantation back home. The white man would not trust a black woman anywhere in the military and yet they gave these women full control of their homes and lands until they re turned. Black men were also used for scouts, wagoners, cooks, and continued on page A6 CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH Shout, Sister, Shout! W Tribute t0 £ S is tc l R°setta T h a r p e ■fflw $1222 CD M L Records Offer Good Thru 2-29-04 EASTSIDE 3158 E. 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