This is the account of an ex-slave by the name of William Barker who now resides in Bethany, AL. He is approximately 95 years old and lives in a little shack with a plot of land. He has worked for some local townsfolk doing some grounds keeping and gardening since he was freed when he was 20. But for the most part, Barker keeps to himself. He has no wife and no children. He is only 5 foot 4 and may weigh about 145 lbs. As a slave he worked as a gardner, and later learned to cook, but soon thereafter was freed. Gardening is all he seems to know. However, he seems very proficient at hunting. He says that is the only way he keep alive, living off what God gives him from the land and water. He was son to Frances William and Eliza William. His father died in the war. Because of his size and ability to cook, William Barker did not go to war. His mammy died within weeks of being free due to starvation. Here is his account What is your name: My name is William Barker. That's not my name when I was a slave. It then was Scott William. Why did it change? Well my Messas name was Nole William, and we were named for him. But when we was freed, we were told to take freed names. How old are you? Well I spose I am 95. But I am not so sure. Most days I feel olders, others I feels a bit younger. Why don't you know your age? My Messa told me whens I was freed I was 20. He wasn't so sure though. Some days I count my birthday as the day I was freed. Were you born a slave? Oh yessa, I was. An my mammy and daddy was too. Did you know your parents? I knew my mammys real well. My daddy went to fight in the war. He never did come back. Before that, he was working in the fields. He was a big man, not like me. I was too little, too small to do dem fields work. So I nevers did see him. Sometimes I would see him by the moonlight. He worked from the time the sun came up till just before it came up again. They sho did work him to the ground. And your mother? Well, yes, I knew her.
What is freedom? This question is easy enough to answer today. To many, the concept of freedom we have now is a quality of life free from the constraints of a person or a government. In America today, the thought of living a life in which one was “owned” by another person, seems incomprehensible. Until 1865 however, freedom was a concept that many African Americans only dreamed of. Throughout early American Literature freedom and the desire to be free has been written and spoken about by many. Insight into how an African-American slave views freedom and what sparks their desire to receive it can be found in any of the “Slave Narratives” of early American literature, from Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustav Vassa, the African published in 1789, to Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself which was published in 1845. Phillis Wheatley’s poetry and letters and Martin R. Delany’s speech Political Destiny of the Colored Race in the American Continent also contain examples of the African-American slaves’ concepts of freedom; all the similarities and differences among them.
Although Shakespeare may disagree, there’s a lot to be said about names, especially those of Pharaohs. Ramesses III had a very common birth name, as most Pharaohs of the 20th dynasty named their children after Ramses II. Ramesses literally means “Re has created him.” The second part of his birth name (hardly ever used), Heqainunu, means “Ruler of Heliopolis” (an ancient city just north of modern day Cairo). The throne name of Ramesses III was Usermaatre Meryamun, or "Powerful is the Justice of Re, Beloved of Amun.
African American slavery was used to grow economies in the North and South before the Civil War. Although the North and South had different styles of slavery, they still had an owner/slave relationship that remained demeaning when a person owns a person. Narratives of interviews with Charlie Smith and Fountain Hughes are discussed as the slaves share their memories of their life as a slave.
Hinks, Pete P. To Awaken My Afflicted Brethren: David Walker and the Problem of Antebellum Slave Resistance. 1997
Following the success of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas in the early16th century, the Spaniards, French and Europeans alike made it their number one priority to sail the open seas of the Atlantic with hopes of catching a glimpse of the new territory. Once there, they immediately fell in love the land, the Americas would be the one place in the world where a poor man would be able to come and create a wealthy living for himself despite his upbringing. Its rich grounds were perfect for farming popular crops such as tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton. However, there was only one problem; it would require an abundant amount of manpower to work these vast lands but the funding for these farming projects was very scarce in fact it was just about nonexistent. In order to combat this issue commoners back in Europe developed a system of trade, the Triangle Trade, a trade route that began in Europe and ended in the Americas. Ships leaving Europe first stopped in West Africa where they traded weapons, metal, liquor, and cloth in exchange for captives that were imprisoned as a result of war. The ships then traveled to America, where the slaves themselves were exchanged for goods such as, sugar, rum and salt. The ships returned home loaded with products popular with the European people, and ready to begin their journey again.
Everybody always has two names: one from their parents and one from their friends. The name that is given by
Slavery was created in pre-revolutionary America at the start of the seventeenth century. By the time of the Revolution, slavery had undergone drastic changes and was nothing at all what it was like when it was started. In fact the beginning of slavery did not even start with the enslavement of African Americans. Not only did the people who were enslaved change, but the treatment of slaves and the culture that each generation lived in, changed as well.
Research Paper Slave Resistance Through Culture When slaves were brought from Africa to the United States, they were stripped of their human rights and forced into a life of oppression. The conditions of harsh labor led them to resort to different forms of resistance to help them cope with the reality of the situation. One of the ways the slaves found resistance was through their culture. Culture helped the slaves stay resilient because it was all they managed to hold on to after they had been removed from their home in Africa and were forced to develop in their new home.
In my opinion I don’t think of 75 as old. In fact, I don’t think any age is “old” In fact I don’t think there should be average age limit in today’s society. So instead of age what do you use to determine if someone is old? I think that people’s health should reflect their “age” or how old they are. For example, to figure out someone’s health, you can ask question such as, are they still active, eating healthy, and are the cognitive skills still on point? Only when people start to stray from those requirements, and start to have deteriorated health, or the call themselves old, do I think that we then can say they are old. If they don’t meet that criteria however, then they are not old.
In “An Introduction to the Slave Narrative”, an essay by William L. Andrews, it is stated that a slave narrative is “ designed to enlighten white readers about both the realities of slavery as an institution and the humanity of black people as individuals deserving of full human rights.” Slave narratives were used to educate white men and women on the realities of slavery. Frederick Douglass was successful in proving these points in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
“Can you imagine what a mess a world would be without names? (website)Names are very important to a person and their individuality. Ayn Rand’s novel “Anthem” is a book in which the people written about do not have names. The importance of having your own individual names is huge. A name can have meaning given to it, like how the name Sue means lily. Most parents when giving you your name have a meaning behind it and put much thought into what their future child should be named. Names can give you a part of your identity.
She worked as a slave for the family for seven years, from 1993-1999, and was then sent to London, England to work for the family’s relatives. She was a slave in London from 1999-2000.
Once Northup was freed and returned to his family as a free man, he filed kidnapping charges against the men who had sold him as a slave and defrauded him. What followed was a long trial that was eventually dismissed based on technical details. Additionally, Northup did not receive any compensation for the 12 years of his life that they h...
When I was finally behind him, I watched his big feet somewhat stomp as he walked closer to the door with my siblings behind me. He opened the door without a knock and said hello along with his name. I turned the corner to see a small old man with glasses and white hair sitting on the couch. His son was next to him. Big man, much like my father.
On July 11, 1761, a slave ship from Fula, West Africa docked in Boston, Massachusetts (Weidt 7). John Wheatley, a wealthy merchant and a tailor, and his wife, Susanna, were at the auction searching for younger, more capable slaves (Weidt 9). Among those chosen, they picked a cheaply priced girl, estimated by her missing front teeth to be about seven or eight years old (Weidt 7). She was also chosen because Susanna felt sorry for her, probably because she was so emaciated (Weidt 9). Because the little girl had no identity, as it was left behind in West Africa, the Wheatleys needed to name her. Like all slave owners, they gave the young girl their last name (Weidt 10). Her first name came from the ship she was on, Phillis, which was owned by Timothy Fitch (Mason 3).