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February 8, 2006
BLACK HISTORY MONTH and the American Experience
Remembering “Black Moses”
Riveting book celebrates Harriet Tubman
As Am ericans celebrate
Black History Month through­
out the month of February, much
attention is focused on the Af­
rican-American fight for free­
dom and equality. At the fore­
front of any discussion of Afri­
can-American freedom is Harriet
Tubman, the most famous con­
ductor of the Underground
Railroad. Known as “Black
Moses,” “Grandma Moses,”
and "Moses of Her People,"
Tubman stands tall as one of
American history ’s greatest and
most important figures.
Her contributions to recti­
fying so cial in ju stic e in
America are significant. Dur­
ing the Civil War, Tubman
served as both a cook and a nurse,
and even ended up spying for the
North. She helped lead hundreds
of slaves to freedom during the
Civil War and even led a military
raid at C om bahee Ferry in
Colleton County, South Carolina.
This event signified the first time
photo by I saiah
B oi
ik /T he P ortland
in U.S. history that a military op­
eration was planned and led by a
woman. In her later years, she
acted as an activist for both Afri­
can-Americans and women of all
races. She also founded a home
for the indigent aged in New York
and toured as a speaker.
O bserver
Honoring Coretta Scott King
P o b ix a n d .O«
Jaquayala Seamster (from left), Traeshell Williams and Shardea Booth o f the King Elementary School Choir perform in honor
of the late Coretta Scott King during a prayer service at the Vancouver Avenue Baptist Church. The wife of slain civil rights
leader Martin Luther King Jr. died last week at the age o f 78.
alerwnEiA)
Febiirarv 14th 20116
PBS Series on the Making of America
A scene from the
current PBS series
“Slavery and the Making
of America ” examines
one of the darkest
periods in the nation's
history, the forced
enslavement of millions
of men, women and
children that lasted
more than 200 years.
Dinner for 2 with
Champagne & Chocolates
enjoy our special Valentine s
Menu all for $30.00 per couple
By Reservations Only.
F o r Reservations C
Morgan Freeman
narrates view of
the enslaved
Coming to PBS, Channel 10
on Oregon Public Broadcast on
Thursday, Feb. 9th and Thurs­
day, Feb. 16 from 9 p.m. to 1 I
p.m. is the four part series Sla­
very And The M aking O f
America, produced by Dante
James and narrated by Morgan
Freeman.
Dante is an incredible film­
maker who has produced many
award wining films among them
biographies on Marian Ander­
son and A. Philip Randolph. He
worked with the late great film­
m aker H enry H am pton at
B lack sid e and was the
e x e cu tiv e p ro d u ce r
of
Hampton's last series This Far
By
F aith:
A frican
American Spiritual Journeys.
Slavery And The Making Of
America tells the story of sla­
very from the point of view of
the
e n sla v e d .
The
series recognizes the strength,
humanity and dignity of the en­
slaved and redefines them as
pro-active freedom fighters not
passive victims.
The four-part series docu­
ments the history of American
slavery from its beginnings in
the British colonies to its end in
the Southern states and the years
of post-Civil War Reconstruc­
tion.
Drawing on a wealth of re­
cent scholarship, it looks at sla­
very as an integral part of a
developing nation, challenging
the long held notion that slavery
was exclusively a Southern en­
terprise. At the same time, by
focusing on the remarkable sto­
ries of individual slaves, it offers
new perspectives on the slave
experience and testifies to the
active role that Africans and
African Americans took in sur­
viving their bondage and shap­
ing their own lives.
Episode one opens in the
1620s with the introduction of
11 men of African descent and
mixed ethnicity into slavery in
New Amsterdam. Working side
by side with white indentured
servants, these men labored to
lay the foundations of the Dutch
colony that would later become
New York.
Episode two profiles life from
the 1740s to the 1830s when the
institution of slavery continued
to support economic develop­
ment. As the slave population
reproduced. American planters
became less dependent on the
African slave trade.
Episode three, which starts
at the beginning of the 1800s,
exam ines slavery’s increas­
ing di visiveness in America as
the nation develops westward
and cotton replaces tobacco
as the country's most valu­
able crop.
Episode four looks at Civil
W ar and R eco n stru ctio n
through the experiences of South
Carolina slave Robert Smalls. It
chronicles Smalls’ daring es­
cape to freedom, his military
service, and his tenure as a con­
gressman after the war.
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Contact: Kathy Linder
Phone: 503 288 0033
Fax: 503 288 0015
email: classifieds@portlandobserver.com
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