"The negroes on 'Mr. Joe's' place are happy and carefree. There is a negro Baptist church on the island and one old negro said when services are held' members come out of the bushes like bees out of a honeysuckle vine'."
This is one of few articles that tell the story of black inhabitance of the island. Unfortunately, it is spiced with stereotypical description. Still, I was pleased to find the photograph of the church. I'm sure there's an interesting story behind its founding. The article also mentions the existence of a cemetery near the end of the island. My ancestors lived on the island for twenty years--roughly between 1863 and 1885--and another blogger, A. Walton, has written that he also had an ancestor who lived on the island. Key to resurrecting the history of black residence on the island is (1) finding others whose ancestors made it home, (2) absorbing the idea that the history of the island points determination, self-reliance, resiliency, and ingenuity on the part of our ancestors, and (3) seeing the relevance of this and other aspects of our history. Contrary to the stereotypical description of "happy and carefree" Negroes, African Americans who settled on the island moved quickly toward building institutions such as this one and building a financial base through farming.
Today of course this awesome and inspiring history has been covered over in the name of progress and forgetting. The island is dominated by industry. President's Island is essentially an industrial park. While Memphis' leaders have yet to discover and publicize the role that contraband camps played in the creation of black communities in Memphis, it is high time that someone begin this campaign of recognition.
Can I count you in?
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2 comments:
Alisea hello again.
This is AWalton (Angela Walton-Raji is my full name) I am glad that I found this site again after some time!
If there is an effort to put President's Island on its proper historical landscape, I will be most interested. Please keep me informed. I shall also link to your site from my blog.(www.africanrootspodcast.blogspot.com)
I have been trying to locate which island is President's Island on Google maps.
Ahhh! So you're AWalton. Yes, the journey toward recognition of the camps is just beginning. I have been following the work of activists working on recognition of Fortress Monroe. If they succeed, we should follow their lead. Glad to know your interested and willing.
I have a geat aerial photo of President's Island. I will post it this week. It's also known as Island #45. All of the islands in the Mississippi are numbered. Number 46, connected to P.I., is Vice President's Island!
I'm going to visit your blog and mark it as well.
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