Most of us know the legend of Secretariat, the tall, handsome chestnut racehorse whose string of honors runs long and rich: the only two-year-old ever to win Horse of the Year, in 1972; winner in 1973 of the Triple Crown, his times in all three races still unsurpassed; featured on the cover of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated; the only horse listed on ESPN's top fifty athletes of the twentieth century (ahead of Mickey Mantle). Amazon Books
"Slaveholders depended on slaves to reproduce their labor force. While most masters were content to let nature take its course and allow slaves to choose their own partners, a few intervened to promote relationships they believed would be most remunerative to them, pairing men and women as they might pair breeding stock. Such meddling created powerful dilemmas for slaves, particularly for young women. Rose Williams was little more than a child at age sixteen when her owner forced her into a relationship with an unwanted partner. ("Remembering Slavery," 1998)
excerpt from book "The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925"
Herbert G. Gutman, 1976
Chapter 2: Because She Was My Cousin
Blind and over ninety when interviewed, Rose Williams still hated her former owner and the slave "husband" imposed upon her. She and her parents had been sold from one Texan to another. Her new owner, Hall Hawkins, had kept her family together and did not "force 'em to work too hard," but she never forgave him for forcing upon her a "husband":
Dere am one thing Masa Hawkins does to me what I can't shunt from my mind. I knows he don't do i for meanness, but I allus holds it 'gainst him. What he done am force me to live with dat nigger, Rufus, 'gainst my wants.
After I been at he place 'bout a year, de massa come to me and say, "You gwine live with Rufus in dat cabin over yonder. Go fix it for livin'." I's 'bout sixteen year old and has no larnin', and I's jus' igno'mus chile. I's thought dat him mean for me to tend de cabin for Rufus and some other niggers. Well, dat am start de pestigation for me.
I's took charge of de cabin after work am done and fixes supper. Now, I don't like dat Rufus, 'cause he a bully. He am big and 'cause he so, he think everybody do what him say. We'uns has supper, den I goes here and dere talkin', till I's ready for sleep and den I gits in de bunk. After I's in, dat niggeer come and crawl in de bunk with me 'fore I knows it. I says, "What you means, you fool nigger?" He says for me to hush de mouth. "Dis my bunk, too," he say.
"You's teched in de head. Git out," I's told him, and I puts de feet 'gainst him and give him a shove and out he go on de floor 'fore he knew what I's doin'. Dat nigger jump up and he mad. He look like de wild bear. Hetarts for de bunk and I jumps quick for de poker. It am 'bout three feet long and when he comes at me I lets him have it over de head. Did dat nigger stop in he tracks? I's say he did. He looks at me steady for a minute and you could tell he thinkin' hard. Den he go and set on de benchg and say, "Jus' wait. You thinks it am smart, but you's am foolish in de head. Dey's gwine larn you somethin'."
"Hush you big mouth and stay 'way from dis nigger, dat all I wants," I say, and jus' sets and hold dat poker in de hand. He jus' sets, lookin' like de bull. Dere we'uns sets and sets for 'bout an hour and den he go out and I bars de door.
De nex' day I goes to de missy and tells her what Rufus wants and missy say dat am de massa's wishes. She say, "Yous am de portly gal and Rufus am de portly man. De massa wants yu-uns fer to bring forth portly chillen.
I's thinkin' 'bout what de missy say, but say to myse'f, "I's not gwine live with dat Rufus." Dat night when he come in de cabin, I grabs de poker and sits on de bench and says, "Git 'way from me, nigger, 'fore I busts yous brains out and stomp on dem." He say nothing and git out.
De nex' day de massa call me and tell me, "Woman, I's pay big money for you and I's done dat for de cause I wants yous to raise me chillens. I's put yous to live with Rufus for dat purpose. Now, if you doesn't want whippin' at de stake, yous do what I wants.
I thinks 'bout massa buyin' me offen de block and savin' me from bein' sep'rated from my folks and 'bout being' whipped at de stake. Dere it am. What am I's to do? So I 'cides to do de massa wish and so I yields.
When we'uns am given freedom, Massa Hawkins tells us we can stay and work for wages or share crop de land. Some stays and some goes. My folks and me stays. We works de land on shares for three years, den moved to other land near by. I stays with my folks till they dies.
Although she had two children by him, Rose Williams quit her "husband." "I never marries," she explained, " 'cause one 'sperience am 'nough for this nigger. After what I done for de massa, I's never wants no truck with any man. De lawd forgive dis cullud woman, but he have to 'scuse me and look for some others for to 'plenish de earth." Another ex-slave, her daughter, then pregnant, had made a different decision. "I used to have one [baby] every Christmas," she explained to the Yankee schoolteacher Lucy Chase, "but when I had six, I put a stop to it, and had only one every other year." "I think they have too many children here," she said of the refugee Virginia slave women in 1863, adding wryly that "the business better kind uh dry up till things is more settled."
Such evidence shows that slaves made limited but highly significant choices affecting their social and sexual being.
AI Overview
The oral history of a formerly enslaved woman named Rose Williams was recorded in 1937 as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP)
. She was a Texas native who, as an elderly woman, reflected on her experience of being separated from her parents as a child and her life in bondage. Her narrative is part of the extensive "Born in Slavery" collection at the Library of Congress.
Overview of Rose Williams's narrative
Early separation from family: Williams was born in Chatfield, Texas, around 1847. In her interview, she recalls being stripped naked and sold on an auction block while she was still nursing. The sale separated her from her mother, whom she never saw again. Her mother's new owner reportedly sold her "way south," while her father was whipped to death.
Enslavement in Bell County, Texas: At about 12 years old, Williams and her parents were purchased by Hall Hawkins of Bell County in 1860. The narrative includes her account of being forced to have children with a man named Rufus when she was 16.
Emancipation: In her interview, Williams recalled the moment of emancipation. "Some stays, and some goes," she noted, referencing how some formerly enslaved people remained with their old owners while others scattered. She married Ike Williams after the war, though their initial marriage was not legally recognized. After their legal marriage, Ike died, and their only child passed away in infancy.
A difficult freedom: Williams's freedom was difficult, and she faced poverty and hardship. After the war, she and her husband spent a winter hungry because they didn't know how to save money. She concluded her narrative by saying she had no living relatives that she knew of.
The WPA Slave Narratives project
Rose Williams's narrative is part of the larger Slave Narrative Collection recorded by the FWP and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1936 and 1938.
This New Deal program employed writers to interview over 2,300 formerly enslaved people in 17 states.
The narratives provide a crucial first-person perspective on the lives of those who experienced slavery, describing the brutality of the system and the challenges of freedom.
The collection, now digitized by the Library of Congress, includes the transcripts of these interviews and was groundbreaking for providing an invaluable "history from the bottom up".
Yesterday I was given a copy of this speech given in Berkeley, California atop an automobile on December 2, 1964. The old, Grey Revolutionary/activist who gave it to me was there when Mario Savio delivered this historic call to action.
Greys around the country have been re-activated and reanimated thanks to the Trump administration. He hopes young people today are as inspired by this speech as he continues to be. He strongly encourages everyone, young and old, to take part in protesting to prevent injustice by those in power.
I dedicate this post to all those Greys who are still coming out to lead and fight the good fight against injustice everywhere. We Salute You!
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."2 Timothy 4:7
the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
"the remarkable resilience of so many institutions"
2.
the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
"nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience"
Last night's overtime win over the Denver Nuggets saw the Warriors overcome a 50-pt outburst by Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, who I believe set some type of record in going 11 for 13 on three-point shooting.
The Warriors coming off a takedown of the L.A. Lakers Tuesday night, started the game on a 10-0 run. But Denver seemed to easily and quickly come back to tie then commandingly take the lead. It looked to me throughout almost three quarters that the Nuggets were just a step ahead of the Warriors in shooting and defense. They held Steph Curry to something like 7-pts in the first half which ended with the Warriors trailing 71-59.
The second half saw Warriors defense and an overall synchronicity take hold of the team as they battled and were defensively able to compete with the Nuggets. Then with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Steph makes the first two of his fifteen points in the quarter to get the game to overtime. And it was at this moment, the end of the fourth quarter, every Warriors fan in Chase Arena as well as us watching at home knew our team has recaptured the fire and passion that has seen them become a championship dynasty.
It took an all-around cast playing clutch, championship style basketball down the stretch to put this surging Denver Nuggets team to bed. Steph Curry (42pts) makes ridiculous clutch shots, always has. But when you see the likes of other Warriors stepping up their games in crunch time, it sends a huge message to the league as well as fans watching.
Jimmy Butler
Al Horford
Jonathan Kuminga
Draymond Green
Buddy Hield
Will Richard *(upcoming rookie)
The message says they're hungry and will battle until the final game buzzer goes off. It says they are never out of a game regardless of the opponent, as long as they band together as a team, knowing that their biggest nemesis is a breakdown in trust, communication and commitment toward one another. It says their back to being Warriors and have their eyes on the 2025-26 prize.
At the break of dawn every morning, a truly captivating phenomenon takes place all across the streets of Luang Prabang. Clad in saffron-tinged robes and with collection bowls strapped around the shoulder, hundreds of monks line up to collect morning alms from local Buddhists. This enlightening ceremony, known as Tak Bat (or Sai Bat), is conducted in total silence as a form of meditation.
Just as significant to Tak Bat as the monks are the local almsgivers. It should be noted that offering daily sustenance is not the same as charity, as a westerner would view it – but rather religious dedication. And to the faithful, giving alms is a form of cleansing the soul through spiritual redemption.
What had happened to him and the others who faced the judge and said: You can't make me go in the army because I'm not an American or you wouldn't have plucked me and mine from a life that was good and real and meaningful and fenced me in the desert like they do the Jews in Germany and it is a puzzle why you haven't started to liquidate us though you might as well since everything else has been destroyed.
And some said: You, Mr. Judge, who supposedly represent justice, was it a just thing to ruin a hundred thousand lives and homes and farms and businesses and dreams and hopes because the hundred thousand were a hundred thousand Japanese and you couldn't have loyal Japanese when Japan is the country you're fighting and, if so, how about the Germans and Italians that must be just as questionable as the Japanese or we wouldn't be fighting Germany and Italy? Round them up. Take away their homes and cars and beer and spaghetti and throw them in a camp and what do you think they'll say when you try to draft them into your army of the country that is for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
If you think we're the same kind of rotten Japanese that dropped the bombs on Pearl Harbor, and it's plain that you do or I wouldn't be here having to explain to you why it is that I won't go and protect sons-of-bitches like you, I say you're right and banzai three times and we'll sit the war out in a nice cell, thank you.
pgs. 31-32 (excerpt from No-No Boy by John Okada)
I must say, after a somewhat depressing start, the 1957 novel "No-No Boy" by John Okada drew me into the peoples, places, and recovering/reconstruction era that was post-WWII Seattle. It took time to allow this story about the different effects detention center internment had on two separate generations of Japanese (Issei and Nisei) to unfold. The author did a wonderful job in putting together the main character, Ichiro, and all that he sees, feels and experiences throughout the book.
Ichiro is a young American-born Japanese (Nisei), who after being released from serving a two-year prison term for refusing to fight for America against Japan during WWII, has matured to question everything about culture, war, nationalism, and society as a whole. He was interned at an American internment camp for Japanese two years prior to his conviction as a "traitor." But we see him after his release struggling with the shame and ostracism of returning home as a "No-No Boy." To be shunned not just by white Americans but also Japanese-Americans he grew up around in Seattle.
The complexity of what he did and why, leaves him broken, trying to put together a reasonable understanding of it all. He tries but is unable to relate to or get answers from his parents who are Japanese Immigrants (Issei), struggling with their own misconceptions and challenges. Ichiro is a young man on the verge of losing all hope in life, a dangerous place for any young, angry and confused individual to find oneself.
As with any good fictional character in a novel, it is the impact and influence of change that brings about their thoughts and actions moving forward. To follow Ichiro through this story as it develops, plays out and concludes is to witness a post-WWII Japanese-American citizen returning to find his place in society, four years after being stripped of all freedoms and rights as a citizen.
Ichiro is no different from anyone, fictional or real. He must decide who he wants to be, where he wants to be and how he wants to live his life moving forward. His dilemma is in what his country will or won't allow him to be based on his race and being branded a "No-No Boy;" a good for nothing traitor jap. Can he make the adjustment within himself to live free.
I was surprised at not only how much I learned about the mental and emotional effects internment had on Japanese Americans, but also the divisiveness it had on Japanese-American communities. I come away from this book with great admiration and appreciation for all that author John Okada put into making this story come alive. It truly ranks as an American historical document in my eyes. It's a shame Mr. Okada, God bless his soul, died believing that Asian America had rejected his work.
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