From The Ramparts

               

                                                 From  The Ramparts

                                              Junious Ricardo Stanton

                                         It's Time To Stand Up For Right

            "Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that held its ground." - Rosa Parks

            There was a time Afro-Americans were the moral compass of this country. Due to the insane system of slavery and oppression that ensnared our ancestors in a vicious  environment that attempted to break their spirits and sap their will to resist, numerous ancestors stood up to urge their peers to struggle, resist and hold on for a better day.

            In 1827 Freedom's Journal the first African American newspaper was started by Rev. Samuel E. Cornish the pastor of the African Presbyterian Church of New York and John Russwurm the first Black man in the US to receive a college degree. Their paper called for self-determination and freedom. The banner of their very first edition read, "We Wish to Plead Our Own Cause."  In the first editorial they said, "We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentations in things which concern us dearly ..."  While the paper didn't last long due to lack of financial support, it was a seminal effort in self-determination and self expression.

            David Walker was born in North Carolina around 1796 of an enslaved father and free mother; so he "enjoyed" free born status.  His status as a free Black allowed Walker to gain an education. He subsequently moved to Massachusetts in 1825. There he became active in the abolition movement and the proprietor of a successful second hand shop that sold mostly sailors clothing and uniforms. In 1829 he wrote and published a radical call for the abolition of slavery entitled Walker's Appeal To The Slaves of The United States of America a detailed account of the status of enslaved people. In it Walker was implacable in his hatred of slavery. He vigorously denounced the forced ignorance and white religion slavery imposed upon his enslaved brethren. Walker was equally contemptuous of the colonization movement organized by prominent whites whose goal was to get free Blacks to immigrate back to Africa.

            Walker urged enslaved Africans not to turn the other cheek but to use violence in their righteous quest for freedom. Walker's provocative pamphlet so unnerved white America a bounty of $500 dollars was placed on his head, $1,000 if he was captured alive. Walker was advised of this by friends who urged him to flee to Canada, but he refused. He was  mysteriously found dead in 1830. Many suspected he had been poisoned but "official records" say his death was due to tuberculosis.   

            Throughout our sojourn in the wilderness of North America there have been countless courageous souls known and unknown who stood up for freedom, dignity and self-determination in small and large ways from one on one resistance to leading large scale rebellions and social movements. As this nation devolves into an oppressive police state very reminiscent of the constant monitoring by the Pattyrollers and militia during slavery, it is time for us to stand up and stand for something. It is time to reinsert the words struggle and liberation into our vocabulary and lexicon.

            The voices of our ancestors, countless sheroes and heroes call out from the spirit realm to encourage us to stand for something meaningful and good. Mrs. Rosa Parks the courageous catalyst for the Montgomery Bus boycott once said, "Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that held its ground."

            We can not afford to rest on our laurels or boast about our victories during the Civil Rights movement because many of those same victories are being undermined as we speak. Sadly there is no mass movement to address these issues or right these wrongs. It's time we stand up for freedom, human rights, economic justice, PEACE and well being for all humanity.

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