Dear Family, Valuable Friends, Clients, and Colleagues:
From my home to yours, I wish you rich blessings into the New Year. Here is a special article I created about the history of Watch Night Service in the African American community. The tradition predated the importance of the famous 1862 Watch Night Services and originated with the Moravians in Germany many years earlier. The first Methodist church in America to celebrate Watch Night in the 1700s was St. George United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, the home church of Bishop Richard Allen, co-founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. However, it has become particularly important in the Black Church, with its evolution in the early to mid-1800s. The word evolved from “Freedom’s Eve” to “Watch Night” as the freed and enslaved blacks “watched” the clock strike 12 midnight, turning the course of the Civil War and freeing three million slaves in the states of the rebellion. Wishing You The Best in 2018! Carole Copeland Thomas, MBA CDMP, CITM --------------------------- The History Of Watch Night Services In The Black Church by Carole Copeland Thomas With the festivities of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa now on full display, there is still time to reflect on the ritual of my ancestors and many other African Americans, whose forefathers sat around campfires and wood stoves in the twilight of December 31, 1862. There they sang spirituals acapella, prayed, and thanked the Good Lord for what was about to happen the next day. In the North, Abolitionists were jubilant that the “peculiar institution” was finally about to get dismantled one plantation at a time. The booklet, Walking Tours of Civil War Boston sites this about this historic event: “On January 1, 1863, large anti-slavery crowds gathered at Boston’s Music Hall and Tremont Temple to await word that President Abraham Lincoln had issued the much-anticipated Emancipation Proclamation (EP). Those present at the Music Hall included Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe, poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Greenleaf Whittier and essayist, poet and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Also present was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who composed his Boston Hymn to mark the occasion.” Now… Let’s Look Back...154 Years Ago Tonight... It was on January 1, 1863, amidst the cannon fire, gun shots, and burnings at the height of the Civil War that President Abraham Lincoln sealed his own fate and signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It begins with the following decree: Whereas on the 22nd day of September, A.D. 1862, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, towit: "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.” That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States." CAROLE' S TRANSLATION: Effective January 1, 1863 all slaves in the states in rebellion against the Union are free. Technically that is all that President Lincoln could do at the time. He used his wartime powers as Commander in Chief to liberate the "property" of the states in rebellion of the Union. The act did not free the slaves of the Union or border states (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, or West Virginia) or any southern state under Union control (like parts of Virginia). It would take the 13th Amendment (that freed all slaves in 1865), the Union Army winning the Civil War (April 9, 1865), and the assassination of President Lincoln (shot on April 14th and died on April 15, 1865) for all of the slaves to be freed. That included the liberation of the slaves in rebellious Texas on June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth Day) and finally the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 18, 1865, giving all black people freedom and permanently abolishing slavery in the US. So in 1862 on the eve of this great era, the slaves "watched", prayed, and waited. My ancestors, including Bishop Wesley John Gaines of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) (a slave in Georgia freed by the EP) and the other three million slaves prayed for divine guidance and an empowered Abraham Lincoln to do the right thing. It is as important today as the tradition of black people eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck. Following the Emancipation Proclamation slaves were freed in stages, based on where they lived, the willingness of the plantation owner to release them and when Union troops began to control their area. Black educator and community activist Booker T. Washington as a boy of 9 in Virginia, remembered the day in early 1865: “As the great day drew nearer, there was more singing in the slave quarters than usual. It was bolder, had more ring, and lasted later into the night. Most of the verses of the plantation songs had some reference to freedom. ... Some man who seemed to be a stranger (a United States officer, I presume) made a little speech and then read a rather long paper—the Emancipation Proclamation, I think. After the reading, we were told that we were all free, and could go when and where we pleased. My mother, who was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children, while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this was the day for which she had been so long praying, but fearing that she would never live to see.” The longest holdouts were the slaves in Texas, who were not freed until June 19, 1865, two months after the Civil War ended. That day is now celebrated as Juneteenth Day around the United States. That is the history of Watch Night in the African American culture. May you and your family enjoy a spirit-filled New Year throughout 2018. Thank you for ALL of your support you have given to me and my business throughout 2017. -Carole
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Carole having fun mocking a statue at the Muraleando Community Center in a vibrant Havana neighborhood.
The Woman Riding The Rooster
That's the name that I give this famous 2012 statue by Roberto Fabelo. You'll find it at Plaza Vieja in old Havana, Cuba. The interpretation of this statue is left up to your imagination. I see it as a nude woman, during lean times in Cuba, having to resort to prostitution in order to put food on her family's dinner table each day.
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Focus On Empowerment can be heard every Thursday at 1pm Eastern. Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime At This Blog Post. Each broadcast can be replayed immediately following the show. ======================== There’s so much to tell about the trip I led from St. Augustine To Cuba. Today's program concludes our wonderful journey into our historical past. The food, dance, music, and culture provides a window into the resilience and creativity of people, their passions, and their persistence. Today we’ll focus on Cuba, its people and its multi-ethnic communities. Make sure you listen to the July 6th broadcast to learn more about Fort Mose, St. Augustine, Florida and the courageous slaves who fled South to find freedom. Buckle up and travel with me to Cuba…a short 90 miles off the coast of Florida.
Our 2017 Florida Cuba Travel Group
There’s so much to tell about the trip I led from St. Augustine To Cuba that today is just the beginning of a wonderful journey into our historical past. The food, dance, music, and culture provides a window into the resilience and creativity of people, their passions, and their persistence. We’ll start the journey today and continue it in the weeks to come. It’s multiculturalism at its best from Fort Mose to The Woolworth Lunch Counter To Old Havana.
Buckle up and travel with me back in time to an era gone by, but still in our hearts and mind. Carole's Commentary on Watch Night...Watch It Below...Dear Family, Valuable Friends, Clients, and Colleagues:
From my home to yours, I wish you rich blessings into the New Year. Here is a special article I created about the history of Watch Night Service in the African American community. The tradition predates the importance of the famous 1862 Watch Night Services and originated with the Moravians in Germany many years earlier. The first Methodist church in America to celebrate Watch Night in the 1700s was St. George United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, the home church of Bishop Richard Allen, co-founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. However, it has become particularly important in the Black Church, with its evolution in the early to mid-1800s. The word evolved from “Freedom’s Eve” to “Watch Night” as the freed and enslaved blacks “watched” the clock strike 12 midnight, turning the course of the Civil War and freeing 3 million slaves in the states of the rebellion. Wishing You The Best in 2017 ! Carole Copeland Thomas, MBA CDMP, CITM --------------------------- The History Of Watch Night Services In The Black Church by Carole Copeland Thomas With the festivities of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa now on full display, there is still time to reflect on the ritual of my ancestors and many other African Americans, whose forefathers sat around campfires and wood stoves in the twilight of December 31, 1862. There they sang spirituals acapella, prayed, and thanked the Good Lord for what was about to happen the next day. In the North Abolitionists were jubilant that the “peculiar institution” was finally about to get dismantled one plantation at a time. The booklet, Walking Tours of Civil War Boston sites this about this historic event: “On January 1, 1863, large anti-slavery crowds gathered at Boston’s Music Hall and Tremont Temple to await word that President Abraham Lincoln had issued the much-anticipated Emancipation Proclamation (EP). Those present at the Music Hall included Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe, poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Greenleaf Whittier and essayist, poet and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Also present was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who composed his Boston Hymn to mark the occasion.” Now… Let’s Look Back...154 Years Ago Tonight... It was on January 1, 1863 amidst the cannon fire, gun shots, and burnings at the height of the Civil War that President Abraham Lincoln sealed his own fate and signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It begins with the following decree: Whereas on the 22nd day of September, A.D. 1862, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, towit: "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.” That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States." CAROLE' S TRANSLATION: Effective January 1, 1863 all slaves in the states in rebellion against the Union are free. Technically that is all that President Lincoln could do at the time. He used his wartime powers as Commander in Chief to liberate the "property" of the states in rebellion of the Union. The act did not free the slaves of the Union or border states (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, or West Virginia) or any southern state under Union control (like parts of Virginia). It would take the 13th Amendment (that freed all slaves in 1865), the Union Army winning the Civil War (April 9, 1865), and the assassination of President Lincoln (shot on April 14th and died on April 15, 1865) for all of the slaves to be freed. That included the liberation of the slaves in rebellious Texas on June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth Day) and finally the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 18, 1865, giving all black people freedom and permanently abolishing slavery in the US. So in 1862 on the eve of this great era, the slaves "watched", prayed, and waited. My ancestors, including Bishop Wesley John Gaines of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) (a slave in Georgia freed by the EP) and the other three million slaves prayed for divine guidance and an empowered Abraham Lincoln to do the right thing. It is as important today as the tradition of black people eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck. Following the Emancipation Proclamation slaves were freed in stages, based on where they lived, the willingness of the plantation owner to release them and when Union troops began to control their area. Black educator and community activist Booker T. Washington as a boy of 9 in Virginia, remembered the day in early 1865: “As the great day drew nearer, there was more singing in the slave quarters than usual. It was bolder, had more ring, and lasted later into the night. Most of the verses of the plantation songs had some reference to freedom. ... Some man who seemed to be a stranger (a United States officer, I presume) made a little speech and then read a rather long paper—the Emancipation Proclamation, I think. After the reading we were told that we were all free, and could go when and where we pleased. My mother, who was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children, while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this was the day for which she had been so long praying, but fearing that she would never live to see.” The longest holdouts were the slaves in Texas, who were not freed until June 19, 1865, two months after the Civil War ended. That day is not celebrated as Juneteenth Day around the United States. That is the history of Watch Night in the African American culture. May you and your family enjoy a spirit filled New Year throughout 2017. Thank you for ALL of your support you have given to me and my business throughout 2016. -Carole 7/1/2016 Unpacking The Emotions of Race and Slavery of The American Past with Dr. Lynda ParhamRead Now
It’s powerful, gripping and moving. It will bring tears to your eyes, while driving you to celebrate through the pain. That sums up my thoughts about the television miniseries “Roots” that aired on the History Channel in May/June 2016. For some it’s an unnecessary reminder of our past. For others it’s a troubling account of the strength and resilience of Black people who endured and survived the brutality of American slavery.
On today’s Blab show we’ll unpack the wide range of emotions with my special guest, clinical psychologist Dr. Lynda Morris Parham. She’ll help us examine why this miniseries is impossible for some to watch…while helping others to understand why race is still a thorny issue in this country. I vividly remember getting my young family squared away at bedtime before watching every installment of Roots back in 1977. Now some 40 years later I rearranged my own personal schedule to watch this newer version that’s equally as powerful and painful at the same time. Join our conversation of our past, our present and our future through the Roots of our ancestor’s legacy. 2/11/2016 Black History Salute Past and Present Tribute To Ellen Craft, First Sergeant Michael Wiltz and Rev. Karla CooperRead Now
Left to Right: Ellen Craft, First Sargeant Michael Wiltz and Rev. Karla Cooper
Focus On Empowerment can be heard every Thursday at 1pm Eastern.
Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime At This Blog Post. Each broadcast can be replayed immediately following the show. ======================== Today’s program pays tribute to African Americans who have blazed trails for freedom, in military service and through global ministry outreach. Their selflessness and vision prove once again that Black History IS American History both now and in our past. Ellen Craft launch one of the most outrageous and courageous escapes in history. Very fair skinned, she dressed up like a White man with her slave husband, who acted as her darker skinned valet and traveling companion, to achieve one of the most daring slavery escapes of the 1800s. As First Sergeant for a Intelligence Unit, Michael Wiltz serves as the personal adviser to the Commander on all enlisted-related matters, particularly in areas affecting Soldier training. He travels the world as an Army officer protecting our country from terrorism. And an international field study trip to Chennai, India turned into a God-inspired opportunity for Rev. Karla Cooper during her 2003 graduate years in seminary. That fateful trip has yielded more than 125 Indian churches, now fully a part of the connectional African Methodist Episcopal Church. Craft, Wiltz and Cooper, three role models who have helped make America become the multicultural mosaic that makes us so unique. ==================== READ MORE ABOUT THESE GREAT AMERICANS Online Business Radio at Blog Talk Radio with CaroleCopelandThomas on BlogTalkRadio Focus On Empowerment can be heard every Thursday at 1pm Eastern. Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime ======================== Who said Black people can’t trace their roots? Dr. Wayne Davidson dispelled that myth with a remarkable journey that took him through Europe, Africa and the shores of Virginia. Using DNA testing, genealogical resources and painstaking research Davidson details the journey of his last name and how it became one of the cornerstones of America, one generation at a time. Come along on this journey and use this book as a guide to explore the inner passages of your own family tree. Davidson’s new book, When Clans Collide, can certainly serve as a template for your own family historical research no matter what your ethnicity happens to be. This is the program for anyone curious about your historical past. About The Book And The Author Wayne Davidson is the author of When Clans Collide: The Germination of Adam’s Family Tree through Surname, Life Experience, and DNA. This book traces the ancestry of his name Davidson in America, Europe and Africa. During his research he has found that his family tree is connected to George Washington by marriage and other notable historical figures. Wayne Rudolph Davidson, a research analyst, earned a doctoral degree in management and organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix. He is also the author of Manufacturing African American Self-Employment in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. He and his wife, Bertha, have four girls with four-year college degrees and one granddaughter. They currently live in Michigan. ======================== YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME! How To Download Today's Show •Can't listen live??? No problem. •After The Broadcast...Go To www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole •On My Homepage Next To My Picture Click On The RSS Feed (It's orange and has RSS on it) •Select Today's Show •Download As A MPEG File For Macs or Windows Files Fro PCs •The Broadcast will play on your computer, Laptop, iPad, Android device, iPod, iPhone, or any other MP3 Listening Device 6/19/2014 Color Blind or Color Brave on Juneteenth 2014: On The Road To Real Racial Equality with Bill Wells, Jr.Read Now Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with CaroleCopelandThomas on BlogTalkRadio Focus On Empowerment can be heard every Thursday at 1pm Eastern. Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime ======================== On this day June 19, 1865, emancipation was finally granted to the remaining slaves in the rebellious state of Texas. Two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in the confederate states, the hold out White plantation owners grudgingly and reluctantly gave in to the pressures of the US government, but held onto the racial hatred embedded in their hearts. Fast forward to 2006, a short eight years ago, when Black financial tycoon, Mellody Hobson, was mistaken for kitchen help while in New York City on a campaign fundraising trip for Harold Ford. The manager who made that awful blunder needed to clean out the cobwebs and realize that Black people have significantly advanced since the rough-shod days of our Civil War past. Mellody recently created a TED Talk about her experience, urging her audience to move from being color blind to becoming color brave. We’ll talk about this lingering issue with veteran consultant and former Chair of the National Black MBA Association Bill Wells, Jr. It’s an American issue that simply won’t go away. ======================= About Juneteenth Day Source: www.juneteenth.com Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance. ========================== About Mellody Hobson Source: http://www.arielinvestments.com Mellody Hobson is responsible for firm-wide management and strategic planning, overseeing all operations outside of research and portfolio management. Additionally, she serves as chairman of the board of trustees for Ariel Investment Trust. Beyond her work at Ariel, Mellody has become a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy and investor education. She is a regular contributor and analyst on finance, the markets and economic trends for CBS News. She also contributes weekly money tips on the Tom Joyner Morning Show and pens a column for Black Enterprise magazine. As a passionate advocate for investor education, she is a spokesperson for the Ariel/Hewitt Study: 401(k) Plans in Living Color and the Ariel Black Investor Survey, both of which examine investing patterns among minorities. Mellody is chairman of the board for DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. as well as a director of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and Starbucks Corporation. Her community outreach includes serving as chairman of After School Matters, a non-profit that provides Chicago teens with high quality, out-of-school time programs. Furthermore, she is a board member of the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum, The Chicago Public Education Fund, Sundance Institute and is on the executive committee of the Investment Company Institute’s board of governors. Mellody earned her AB degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Relations and Public Policy. She also received honorary doctorate degrees in humanities from both Howard University and St. Mary’s College. In 2013 Hobson married her longtime boyfriend filmmaker George Lucas and is the mother of one child. ======================== YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME! How To Download Today's Show •Can't listen live??? No problem. •After The Broadcast...Go To www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole •On My Homepage Next To My Picture Click On The RSS Feed (It's orange and has RSS on it) •Select Today's Show •Download As A MPEG File For Macs or Windows Files Fro PCs •The Broadcast will play on your computer, Laptop, iPad, Android device, iPod, iPhone, or any other MP3 Listening Device Focus On Empowerment can be heard every Thursday at 1pm Eastern.
Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime ======================== The code of racism was disrupted on Tuesday April 29th when a rookie commissioner brought down a titan sports owner in a single press conference. Adam Silver, barely on the job for two months, announced that veteran owner of the LA Clippers and billionaire Donald Tokowitz Sterling was banned for life from the NBA and ordered to pay a $2.5 million dollar fine for his private comments that spoke volumes about his contempt and hatred of Black people. Today’s show will not argue the pros and cons of private conversations caught on tape. It will analyze the deeply embedded Code of Segregation so damaging to the fabric of the American infrastructure. We will listen to two audio recordings of Donald Sterling and his mixed race girlfriend V. Stiviano in an attempt to assess why a man who makes millions off of Black people hates them so deeply. In the eyes of a racist, this is “just the culture.” It’s the way it is, the way is always has been, the way it should remain. However, if we, as nation are to move this country forward, this racism mentality must be crushed, defeated and permanently not allowed to see the light of day. And as an African American thought leader, just dismissing Sterling’s comments as simply fool hearty is just not good enough. It must be called racist, rejected and abolished. Tough talk for a very tough topic. =================== Timeline of Events: Source: http://dayandadream.com/2014/04/26/donald-sterling-racist-timeline 1983: Then Villanova head coach Rollie Massimino had enjoyed success in the Big East but the Clippers came courting him to be their head coach. Sterling, who had purchased the team in 1982, met Massimino in 1983 after Massimino had already met with Clipper management who loved him. Sterling’s meeting with Massimino pretty much ends the moment he shows up with a mistress (he’s been married since 1957 and his wife is suing girlfriend for sleeping with him), champagne and asks Massimino, “I wanna know why you think you can coach these niggers.” Needless to say Massimino went back to Villanova and wound up winning the 1985 national championship. 2003: In sworn testimony Sterling is on record in regards to Koreans, blacks, children and more about living in his properties. Among the lowlights – “That’s because of all the blacks in this building, they smell, they’re not clean.” [...] “Is she one of those black people that stink? [...] Just evict the bitch.” Sterling settled. 2003: In another case, this time regarding an old mistress, Sterling testified that he paid her every time they had sex. “When you pay a woman for sex, you are not together with her. You’re paying her for a few moments to use her body for sex. Is it clear? Is it clear?” See? Not just a racist but a sexist womanizer as well. The list goes on and on, including Baylor saying Sterling likened the job to “a vision of a Southern plantation” type structure. Yeah, let’s just say “The Donald” is a rather deplorable human being. ======================== YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME! How To Download Today's Show •Can't listen live??? No problem. •After The Broadcast...Go To www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole •On My Homepage Next To My Picture Click On The RSS Feed (It's orange and has RSS on it) •Select Today's Show •Download As A MPEG File For Macs or Windows Files Fro PCs •The Broadcast will play on your computer, Laptop, iPad, Android device, iPod, iPhone, or any other MP3 Listening Device Dear Family, Valuable Friends, MSS Members, Clients, and Colleagues:
From my home to yours, I wish you rich blessings into the New Year. Here is a special article I created about the history of Watch Night Service in the African American community. Several of my friends on Facebook had added their own brand of how they honor this familiar tradition in their households. Happy New Year! Carole Copeland Thomas --------------------------- The History Of Watch Night Services In The United States by Carole Copeland Thomas With the festivities of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa now on full display, there is still time to reflect on the ritual of my ancestors and many other African Americans, whose forefathers sat around campfires and wood stoves in the twilight of December 31, 1862. There they sang spirituals acapella, prayed, and thanked the Good Lord for what was about to happen the next day. It was on January 1, 1863 amidst the cannon fire, gun shots, and burnings at the height of the Civil War that President Abraham Lincoln sealed his own fate and signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It begins with the following decree: Whereas on the 22nd day of September, A.D. 1862, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, towit: "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. "That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States." CAROLE' S TRANSLATION: Effective January 1, 1963 all slaves in the states in rebellion against the Union are free. Technically that is all that President Lincoln could do at the time. He used his wartime powers as Commander in Chief to liberate the "property" of the states in rebellion of the Union. The act did not free the slaves of the Union or border states (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, or West Virginia) or any southern state under Union control (like parts of Virginia). It would take the Union Army winning the Civil War (April 9, 1965), the assassination of President Lincoln (shot on April 14th and died on April 15, 1865) for all of the slaves to be freed. That included the liberation of the slaves in rebellious Texas on June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth Day) and finally the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 18, 1865, giving all black people freedom and permanently abolishing slavery in the US. So in 1862 on the eve of this great era, the slaves "watched", prayed, and waited. My ancestors, including Bishop Wesley John Gaines of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) and the other four million slaves prayed for divine guidance and an empowered Abraham Lincoln to do the right thing. It is as important today as the tradition of black people eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck. That is the history of Watch Night in the African American culture. May you and your family enjoy a spirit filled New Year throughout 2012. Thank you for ALL of your support you have given to me and my business throughout 2011. -Carole |
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The Multicultural Symposium Series Webinar Series features current topics designed to enhance personal development both on and off the job. All you need is a computer and a phone to join each webinar. Open to Members of the Multicultural Symposium Series.
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