The African-American: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom

INTRODUCTION The African-American: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom is an exhibit which shows America in crisis and how that point in time was resolved. Slavery as an issue in America was in constant conflict with the founding Democratic principles of this nation. Slavery therefore became the ultimate test of disunity within the union of states which were already at odds in a democracy espousing freedom for its people. At the center of this conflict were the Africans who were bought, sold, and used as workers on American soil. The use of slave labor was a well known practice for years in the world community. Documented accounts of slavery as a world-wide practice are covered in hundreds of books and articles on the subject reaching as far back to the ancient region of Mesopotamia around 3500 BC. For the Africans on American soil, that horrible journey started with the developing territorial colonies at a time when workers were needed to keep the economy of this new country solvent. Therefore, by 1619, the use of indentured servants brought the first Africans to America at Jamestown, Virginia. Poor whites also worked during this period as indentured servants. A "contract" said that this service would last from four to seven years - thereby the said would then become free. During this early period, some of the first enslaved Africans worked their way out of this system and became free tradesmen and property owners on American soil. The quest for more land and an economy based upon profit were two of the major points that escalated the demand for more slaves in America. Therefore, Black slave workers became highly prized commodities in a system dependent upon lots of manual labor. The entire southern American economy and the states in that warm region needed laborers to work on the plantations dealing with rice, indigo, tobacco, sugar cane, and cotton. Other slaves labored as dock workers, craft workers, and servants. Slaves in the northern American region labored on small farms and as skilled and unskilled workers in factories and along the coast as shipbuilders, fishermen, craftsmen, and helpers of tradesmen. Slavery on American soil grew at such a fast rate that, by 1750, over 200,000 African slaves were here. Fifty years later, that number grew to 700,000. In South Carolina alone, African slaves outnumbered the white population, and they made up more than one half of the populations in the states of Maryland and Virginia. The free Black American population did expand to about 40,000 throughout the colonies by 1770. The system of slavery was so entrenched in the daily routines on American soil that it had to be dealt with as a National issue. Lengthy debates, political compromises, moral dilemmas, slave rebellions, and a Nation divided against itself suddenly had to face the issue of enslaved Africans existing on American soil. America condoned the "peculiar institution" of slavery from 1619 up until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which abolished "slavery and involuntary servitude" on December 18, 1865. This period in American history left behind some of the most unbearable scars on the African-Americans as a people, but the free thinking decent people and countless allies envisioned a broader, more humane society - for they showed some of us the best of what America should be. This exhibit: The African-American: a Journey from Slavery to Freedom is about that struggle and the historical events which lead up to the Jubilee. Professor Melvin Sylvester Black History Month, February 1998 B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University

THE BEGINNING OF SLAVERY The first Africans in America arrived as Indentured Servants via Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. From 1619 to about 1640, Africans could earn their freedom working as laborers and artisans for the European settlers. Africans could become free people and enjoy some of the liberties like other new settlers. By 1640, Maryland became the first colony to institutionalize slavery. In 1641, Massachusetts, in its written legislative Body of Liberties, stated that "bondage was legal" servitude, at that moment changing the conditions of the African workers - they became chattel slaves who could be bought and solely owned by their masters.

SLAVE TRADE The Portuguese were the first to embark upon the slave trade starting around 1562. The practice of slavery grew to exponential proportions from 1646 up until 1790. A prime area for slaves was on the west coast of Africa called the Sudan. This area was ruled by three major empires Ghana (790-1240), Mali (1240-1600), and Songhai (670-1591). Other smaller nations were also canvassed by slavers along the west coast; they included among them: Benin, Dahomey, and Ashanti. The peoples inhabiting those African nations were known for their skills in agriculture, farming, and mining. The Africans of Ghana were well known for smelting iron ore, and the Benins were famous for their cast bronze art works. African tribal wars produced captives which became a bartering resource in the European slave market. Other slaves were kidnapped by white and black hunters. The main sources of barter used by the Europeans to secure African slaves were glass beads, whiskey, ivory, and guns. The rising demand for sugar, coffee, cotton, and tobacco created a greater demand for slaves by other slave trading countries. Spain, France, the Dutch, and English were in competition for the cheap labor needed to work their colonial plantation system producing those lucrative goods. The slave trade was so profitable that, by 1672, the Royal African Company chartered by Charles II of England superseded the other traders and became the richest shipper of human slaves to the mainland of the Americas. The slaves were so valuable to the open market - they were eventually called "Black Gold." For further reading

THE MIDDLE PASSAGE The Middle Passage has been defined in several ways. Some authors refer to these routes as the "triangle trade" or "circuit trade," "three cornered," "round about," and "transatlantic trade" routes. The typical voyage for slaves taken by the British went south down the coast of Africa into the area adjacent to the Gulf of Guinea. These English slavers brought cargoes of rum, brandy, glass, cloths, beads, guns, and other appealing goods from Europe. They bargained with African traders for their tribal captives. Some slavers entered the shores and kidnapped the unsuspecting natives and took them aboard their slave ships or kept them in waiting areas near the shore called "barracoons" or slave barracks. When the desired number of African slaves was met for shipping, the voyage of middle passage continued from Africa on the slave ships going across the Atlantic Ocean with a destination in one of several ports in the West Indies and Caribbean (including: Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Santo Domingo, and the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, and Barbados). In the West Indies and Caribbean, some slaves were off-loaded and sold to work at the sugar plantations, also called the "Sugar Islands." The raw molasses was taken aboard the ships; then they sailed up the coast northbound for Newport or Bristol, Rhode Island's distilleries, to make rum from the molasses. Other stops along the Atlantic coast where slaves were exchanged for goods or cash were Charleston, South Carolina and Boston, Massachusetts. The goods produced by cheap slave labor were loaded aboard the now empty slave ships along with sugar, tobacco, or cotton for the trip back to England. The rum from the rum distillers went directly back to Africa for more slaves, bartering on this, the Triangular Trade Routes. By 1768, the English slave trade had a figure of 53,000 slaves a year being shipped to the North American continent. Other slave traders included the French at 23,000, the Dutch at 11,000, and the Portuguese at 8,700 slaves being transported yearly from Africa. Estimates of up to 10 million slaves took the Middle Passage Voyage to reach the Americas. For further reading

SLAVERY AND RACE Many Europeans came to America to exercise their God fearing beliefs and to practice religious freedom. Slavery, on the other hand, was a form of persecution which, in the eyes of colonial America, had to be justified. Therefore, the black slave became an easily identifiable group targeted as being inferior, subhuman, and destined for servitude. The early Christian churches did not take up the cause of eliminating slavery until much later in the century. The famous Boston theologian, Cotton Mather, in 1693 included in his Rules for the Society of the Negroes the explanation that "Negroes were enslaved because they had sinned against God." He later included a heavenly plan that "God would prepare a mansion in Heaven," but little or no way for the end of forced slavery on earth was undertaken by most religious groups.

SLAVE CODES AND RESISTANCE The slave codes robbed the Africans of their freedom and will power. Slaves did resist this treatment, therefore strict and cruel punishment was on hand for disobeying their masters. Slaves were forbidden from carrying guns, taking food, striking their masters, and running away. All slaves could be flogged or killed for resisting or breaking the slave codes. Some slave states required both slaves and free blacks to wear metal badges. Those badges were embossed with an ID number and occupation. Freedom was always on the minds of the enslaved Africans. How to gain that freedom was the big question. American historical records have identified some of those attempts and some of the people involved in the African's quest for freedom on American soil. Refusing to obey their masters' demands created a duel crisis on the part of the resisting slaves and their demanding owners. The most common form of resistance used by the slaves was to run away. To live as a runaway required perfect escape routes and exact timing. Where to hide, finding food, leaving the family and children behind became primary issues for the escaping slaves. Later, the severe punishment had to be faced whenever a hunted slave was caught and returned to bondage. Many slaves ran off and lived in the woods or vast wilderness in the undeveloped American countryside. This group of slaves were called "maroons," for they found remote areas in the thick forest and mainly lived off wild fruits and animals as food. Some of these maroons ran off, lived, and even married into segments of the Native American populations. They were later called Black Indians. For further reading

A NATION IN CRISIS: THE SLAVERY TIMELINE The issue of slavery evolved into a complex problem on American soil from 1800 up until the beginning of 1865. The conditions of servitude and the status of Africans were at stake. Defining the legal grounds of these people of African descent put America in a quandary. Would free Africans be welcomed into this developing Democracy? The next sixty-five years produced a host of mixed events in their quest for freedom. Racial differences and previous conditions of servitude became an issue before the Republic. 1800. Gabriel Prosser attempts a slave rebellion in Virginia. By 1807, the British Parliament had put a stop to shipping and trading African slaves. By 1808, the Congress of the United States made it illegal to bring more slaves into the country. Still, the smuggling of Africans as slaves into the United States continued well into the mid 1800's. Remember, the Amistad slave incident happened in 1839. Slave trading within the states continued up until the day of Emancipation in 1863. By 1812, the British, as a payback to the American colonists, offered the Africans a chance to own land and be free - if they fought on their side during the War of 1812. By 1819, the Canadian government refused to cooperate with the American government by not allowing them free access to pursue escaped slaves living in Canada. By 1820, the Missouri Compromise was adopted, allowing Missouri to enter the Union as a slaveholding state and Maine as a freebearing state. The Missouri Compromise kept the number of free states and slave states balanced. 1822. Denmark Vesey arrested for planning a slave rebellion in South Carolina. 1831. Nat Turner leads a slave rebellion in Southampton, Virginia. By 1833, the American Anti-Slavery Society was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The British Parliament abolished slavery in the entire British Empire during this year. 1839. The Amistad Insurrection By 1850, the Compromise of 1850 again brought up the issue of slavery. California entered the union as a free state, but the territories of New Mexico, Utah, and Texas were allowed to decide, as individual states, the choice of being a slave state or a free state. 1850 also saw the passage of another much stricter Fugitive Slave Law being put into effect. By 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published her novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, which became the best selling book and a major influence for the Anti-Slavery Movement. 1854. The Dred Scott Case. The year of 1857 saw slavery and freedom hanging in the balance. 1859. John Brown broke into the Federal Armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. 1860. Abraham Lincoln elected president. South Carolina secedes. 1861. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia secede. Formation of the Confederate States of America. Attack on Fort Sumter. 1861-1865. The Civil War. 1865. Freedom on the Horizon. February 1, 1865, Abraham Lincoln ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawing slavery throughout the whole United States. Lincoln was assassinated two months later by John Wilkes Booth on April 15, 1865.

OLAUDAH EQUIANO (1745-1801) ALSO KNOWN AS GUSTAVUS VASSA Olaudah Equiano's life as a slave would have never been known to the world, but he survived and learned the English language which helped him to record his horrific experiences under forced servitude. Those words in his biographical memoirs were later published after Equiano secured extra earnings and bought his way out of bondage in the year of 1766. His writings became one of the first of only a few written accounts of slavery written by a slave. That work was entitled, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African, published in 1789. Olaudah Equiano's account of slavery brought to the eyes of the world community the use of children taken and used as slaves in a practice which was heretofore thought of as only the world of adults living as captives. Equiano, at age eleven along with his sister, was kidnapped by slave catchers from their Igbo village compound while their parents were working at a distant farm near their home in Essaka, Benin. Equiano told of his attempt to yell out, his being bound, mouth gagged and separated from his sister on his way to the slave trading post. He told of his contact and fear of white Europeans and his anger at them as he was chained together with other Africans on the long voyage to America. He told of the packing of his people in the filth of the ship's hold, the deaths from diseases, the forced feedings, and cruel treatment. Equiano traced his journey to the slave market and his being sold in Barbados to a plantation owner in Virginia. Equiano talked about his luck at being eventually sold again to a British naval officer, who took him to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and to Falmouth, England in 1757. He told of his master naming him Gustavus Vassa (after a Swedish king). Equiano was eventually bought by a slave holding Quaker named Robert King. King taught Equiano certain skills including a way to the world of free people which he entered by 1766. Olaudah Equiano's dignity was captured in an exceptional portrait of him done in the British School around the late 18th century. It is housed in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, England.

SLAVE REVOLTS AND REBELLIONS Slave revolts and rebellions were numerous, but most accounts were kept quiet. Historians were able to document several of these violent outbreaks. Among them were: GABRIEL PROSSER Gabriel Prosser, in August of 1800, set out to free himself along with about 1,000 other slaves. His plot was to kill most of the white residents and take the town of Richmond, Virginia. It is said that a sudden bad thunderstorm caused the slave revolters to disband. Three other slaves also revealed the plot, and Gabriel Prosser and thirty-six of the slaves were identified, tried, and executed. DENMARK VESEY Denmark Vesey had obtained his freedom by the year of 1800. He was so disturbed by the whole system of slavery that he wanted to destroy all vestiges of its doing. He wanted a full-fledged war using armed slaves to kill white slave owners in the city of Charleston, South Carolina. By 1822, and after several years of planning, Vesey's idea to attack and "liberate" the city was revealed. One participant's forced confession led to Vesey's and several of his co-conspirators' arrest. All of them were tried and hung. South Carolina then passed laws to bar free Blacks from entering the state due to Denmark Vesey's alleged plot. For further reading NAT TURNER Nat Turner had a religious zeal and a belief that he was the "chosen one" to free himself and his slave brethren. This 31 year old preacher to the slaves devised a plan of "terror and devastation." His organized revolt became America's most famous and violent act involving slave resistance. On August 21, 1831, Nat Turner and six other slaves killed Turner's plantation master and his family in Southampton County, Virginia. Turner increased his supporting band of slaves as they went about killing a total of 60 white slave owners, including their wives and children. Federal and Virginia state troopers encountered the roving band of slaves and killed most of those in rebellion. Other slaves not connected to the rebellion were also killed. An estimate of over 100 slaves were killed, but Nat Turner escaped. He was hunted down as he hid out in the swamps for almost three months. He was finally captured and executed on October 30, 1831. For further reading

THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT Other slaves had often heard about the freedom in the north and Canada. Many of the northern states were developing strong coalitions of free Black and White groups in an organization called the American Anti-Slavery Society, established by 1833. Prominent black leaders began to join this organization. Among them: Frederick Douglass, Highland Garnet, David Walker, James Forten, Sarah Parker Remond, Charles Lenox Remond, Sojourner Truth, William Whipper, Harriet Tubman, David Ruggles, William C. Nell, Robert Purvis, and Martin R. Delany. Among those whites who joined in the cause of the abolitionist movement were: Theodore D. Weld, Lewis Tappan and Arthur Tappan, William Lloyd Garrison, Levi Coffin, Charles G. Finney, Wendell Phillips, Lucretia Mott, James Birney, and James Miller McKim. The stated goal of the American Anti-Slavery Society was to see the complete abolition of slavery everywhere in the United States. They used every conceivable method, including politics and moral persuasion to achieve their goal. For further reading

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD Many of the abolitionists endorsed a clandestine movement to help the African slave achieve freedom. Some significant clues of the Underground Railroad included well defined hidden routes and following the bright north star during the night, as well as certain "stations" - where a light in the window would be an indicator of a safe home used as a slave hideaway. Some slaves were hidden in barns or behind secret wall passages in these homes. The leader who knew the way was called the "conductor." The "station masters" were in most cases free people of color or wealthy white benefactors who provided food, shelter, or money along the way for the escaping runaways. The most profoundly skilled and successful "conductor" of the Underground Railroad was Harriet Tubman. She was credited with leading over 300 runaways to freedom with a total of 19 trips through the south. It was later stated that she never lost a "passenger" on these risky escape routes. The Underground Railroad, from 1800 up until the end of 1865, assisted more than 40,000 slaves to freedom up north and into Canada. Raymond Bial's book, The Underground Railroad, published in 1995, depicted the essence both in text and with superb pictures of those mystical hidden passageways which made up the Underground Railroad. For further reading

THE AMISTAD INSURRECTION This true to life mutiny took place in the year of 1839. The La Amistad, a slave bearing Spanish vessel, was carrying 53 captives (49 men, 1 young girl, and 3 children), all previously taken from the African country of Sierra Leone when the insurrection occurred. They belonged to the Mende village in West Africa. The insurrection started when the ship, La Amistad, was taking the slave captives from Cuba to a slave market in South America. La Amistad was sailing in the Caribbean when Singbe, a 25 year old African, later given the Spanish name Joseph Cinque, was able to free himself and the other captives from their chains. During the dark night, they went on deck and killed the captain and his cook. Two other crew members were saved and directed by Cinque to turn the ship back toward their homeland of Africa. Instead of going toward Africa, the ship was steered to the shores off Montauk, Long Island. Here the ship docked for food and water, but it was noticed by the American navel ship, U.S.S. Washington. The captain, named Richard Meade, ordered the ship to dock over at New London, Connecticut on August 27, 1839. New York was bypassed as a docking area due to slavery being illegal in the state. Connecticut still had not abolished slavery at that time period. The importance of the Amistad Insurrection brought the focus of slavery to the attention of many more free Americans. The abolitionists were looking for evidence of cruelty and the evil profiteering involved in slavery. The abolitionists wanted slavery abolished in America. An 18 month legal battle ensued, and the black Africans did not seem to have a chance of gaining their release from prison as the ones accused of murder and mutiny aboard the ship, La Amistad. They were going to be tried by a court of Law and sent back to slavery in Havana, Cuba. The Cubans and the Spanish government were diplomatically trying to force President Martin Van Buren to side step any conflicts between America and Spain, and send the "murderous Africans" back to the slave port in Cuba. The technicality was that Spanish law "had by 1817 prohibited the importation of slaves into any of its territory, including the colony of Cuba." This true to life drama escalated into one of America's most fascinating court cases. Attorney Roger Sherman Baldwin of New Haven, Connecticut was able to secure a translator of the Mende language to help with the actual documentation of Cinque's journey and the others being kidnapped in Africa where they were put into the hold of the Portuguese Slave ship, the Tecora, and sent via the middle passage to Cuba. The highest point of the Amistad incident came when the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, and the former U.S. President John Quincy Adams, at 73 and nearly blind, was cajoled into fighting the case. His 8 1/2 hours of astute testimony won the acquittal verdict! "They were illegally enslaved, their papers were forged and they were never Spanish speaking Cuban slaves." The verdict favored Cinque and the 35 surviving Mende Africans. Before leaving Connecticut, Cinque, with an interpreter, spoke at several abolitionists' town meetings. Money was raised, and the town's Congregational Church at Farmington Connecticut helped the Africans on their voyage back to Sierra Leone in the month of November 1841. The portrait shown here of Joseph Cinque was done by the New Haven Painter, Nathaniel Jocelyn, before the trial ended. The portrait is part of the New Haven Connecticut Historical Society. For further reading

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) did wonders for the Anti-Slavery Movement. Her serialized publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin first appeared in the National Era weekly newspaper, starting June 2, 1851. It became so popular in 1851, she decided to do a completed version as a published book by March, 1852. The entire printing of 5,000 copies was sold out the first week it appeared in Boston, Massachusetts. The demand suddenly took hold, and, before the summer of 1852 ended, Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel had earned her over $10,000 in royalties. The demand for her book required a production of over 300,000 copies within one year. Several translations were done, and suddenly the world community knew about the cruel and inhuman treatment of enslaved blacks in America. Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was based upon the life in narrative of Josiah Henson, a runaway slave. For further reading

THE DRED SCOTT CASE By 1854, the Dred Scott Case brought a setback to the Abolitionist Movement. Dred Scott, a slave, was taken by his master into the free states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Scott stayed out of Missouri, his slave state, for four years. His claim was that he was an established person on "free soil." The lower courts ruled against Scott. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court of the United States. Again the ruling was unfavorable. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, a resident of Maryland, and the other justices ruled that "Dred Scott could not bring suit in federal court because he was a Negro, not just a slave. No Negro whether slave or free, could ever be considered a citizen of the United States within the meaning of the Constitution." Thus, Scott's real problem was not his servitude but his race. This outspoken blow was a positive message for the south in that slavery in America was not going away but was a legal part involved with the American way of life.

RAID ON HARPER'S FERRY By 1859, an unsettling event happened - John Brown, the dogmatic white abolitionist from Kansas attacked slavery as an issue which he felt could only be resolved using acts of violence. He sought out justice to the slavery issue using biblical scriptures in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible. "Without blood there is no remission of sins." The Federal Armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia was the chosen place. The plot was to take the ammunition and weapons and kill all, and free the slaves. October 17, 1859 twenty-two men on foot cut the telegraph wires and broke into the armory. Colonel Robert E. Lee (who later became Confederate General Lee) was summoned to the armory with his troops. The raiders held out for a day and a half. Lee's troops stormed the armory, and ten raiders were immediately killed. Two of John Brown's sons died in this action along with four out of the five black volunteers who took part in the raid (Shields Green, Lewis Leary, John Copeland, Dangerfield Newby). By some fluke, the last black volunteer, Osborne Anderson, escaped and later joined the Union Army during the Civil War (1861-1865). Four other raiders also escaped. John Brown and six others were captured and hung on December 2, 1859. The John Brown Hanging elevated him as a martyr for the Abolitionist's cause. During the time of the raid he had grown a long beard; thus he was called the "Moses" of the Abolitionist Movement.

THE ELECTION OF 1860 1860 was a crucial year in the history of this Republic. Slavery had weakened America's position as a country established on principles of freedom. This was an election year. Abraham Lincoln (b. Feb. 12, 1809 - d. April 15, 1865) won the nomination for the presidency of the United States representing the Republican Party. The Democratic Party split up into a Northern Wing with Stephen A. Douglas as its candidate and a Southern Wing with John C. Breckinridge as the other candidate for the presidency of the United States. The Whig Party was so weak with deserting members that it split up into a conservative Whig Wing, and they aligned with the Know-Nothing Party to form a new party called the Constitutional Union Party with John Bell as their candidate for the presidency of the United States. Abraham Lincoln won the election easily on November 6, 1860 due to the unity on party issues within the Republican Party. Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States mainly from the votes coming from the north. Lincoln had built a reputation as an opponent of slavery. The south made it known that this was going to split the United States if Lincoln were elected. Therefore, on December 20, 1860, secession took place with South Carolina taking the lead, followed in January 1861, by the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. They formed a separate Union within the United States called the Confederate States of America. Before the end of February, five other states joined the Confederacy. They were Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. When Abraham Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861 - the United States was a divided country with slavery as the major issue before the Republic. The South moved fast and decided to seize U.S. Federal forts within their jurisdiction. Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor was considered a Union stronghold. Lincoln provided stronger protection for Fort Sumter, therefore it had to be taken by force by the Confederates. The firing on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 was the start of the American Civil War. Abraham Lincoln had been in office only one month. For further reading

THE CIVIL WAR (1861-1865) It was therefore inevitable that something had to be done in America in order to preserve the Union. The disunity of the states escalated into one of America's most dreadful and bloody wars. President Abraham Lincoln stated, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Earlier, in 1858, Lincoln had stated that, "I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free." At the outset of the Civil War, both northern Whites and free Blacks came forth to join the Union Army. From the beginning, both black slaves and freeman saw this opportunity to serve in the military as a method for relinquishing their chains and proving their inclusive worthiness to this nation. Some black slaves, for some unknown reasons, remained with their masters and assisted them on the side of the Confederacy during the entire period of the Civil War. On the whole, there was widespread resistance by whites on both the Union blue and Confederate gray sides in accepting Blacks as part of the military. Lincoln rejected the participation of Blacks at first in the Union Army. He did not want to alienate those border states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri who still owned slaves but were loyal to the Union. West Virginia became a state in 1863 and stayed in the Union. There were also many anti-abolitionist groups in the North who felt this war should not involve Blacks. The Union Secretary of War issued a statement: "This Department has no intention at the present to call into service of the government any colored soldiers." As the bloody war progressed, many slaves "flocked to the Union lines seeking freedom." These slaves, by the hundreds, were crossing into Union territory, and they were placed in "contraband camps." The need for able-bodied fighting men soon led individual states to swear into the military separate regiments of all black troops. Other Blacks found acceptance as volunteers in semi-military or military support positions. Not until August of 1862 did Blacks receive the endorsement of Congress to serve in the Civil War. "Congress revoked the militia laws banning Blacks" from serving in the Union Army. Confusion was all around, but it was not until Abraham Lincoln issued on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation, "freeing all slaves in areas still in rebellion" that ex-slaves were given the formal right to be received in the U.S. Union Armed Forces. The casualties on both sides of the war were climbing, therefore more soldiers were needed. Lincoln needed a victory, therefore the Emancipation was aimed at getting more recruits. The Emancipation Proclamation only freed those slaves in the states under the jurisdiction of the Confederacy. The Emancipation Proclamation opened the door full-fledged for Blacks to participate in the Civil War. Among the newly freed slaves out of the Confederate states came thousands of volunteers. On May 1, 1863, the War Department created the Bureau of Colored Troops in order to handle the recruitment and organization of all black regiments. These units were known as the United States Colored Troops, and doubts about their competency, loyalty, and bravery were under close scrutiny. White officers were their commanders, and acceptance of ex-slaves by these commanders was not always willing. It was with the valor displayed by the 54th All Black Infantry Regiment out of Boston, Massachusetts who charged Fort Wagner did some notable recognition come to these troops. The widespread knowledge about these all black units of the Civil War came about with the popularity of the movie, Glory, starring Denzel Washington. Based upon the triumphs and defeats of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, a historical moment was captured in the lives of some unknown American freedom fighters. The first African-American medal of Honor was awarded to William Carney of this 54th Infantry Regiment. More than 300 African-Americans died at the Fort Wagner assault. By the end of the Civil War, over 186,000 men of African decent had served in the U. S. Armed Forces, and over 38,000 died in an effort to be part of America's inclusive freedom. Twenty-four black soldiers were awarded the meritorious Congressional Medals of Honor. All together, on the Union side about 360,000 troops died in the war. On the Confederate side about 260,000 troops died. The Civil War ended April 9, 1865. For further reading

THE RECONSTRUCTION (1865-1877) America, including the South, had to be rebuilt, and, despite the South's hostile resistance, African-Americans were slowly becoming part of this nation's inclusion. By 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution confirmed the long awaited citizenship for Blacks in America. By 1870, the 15th Amendment was added to the Constitution which made it illegal to deny the right the vote based on race. The Reconstruction, although short-lived, showed the first real attempts of inclusive freedom for African-Americans. Gains were taking place: Citizenship, Voting, Education, and Politics. Later that freedom was restricted by Jim Crow Laws, discrimination, and the denial of equal protection by law. The Journey from Slavery to Freedom only opened the door halfway. 1877 was the beginning of a long journey. That journey was one hundred and twenty-one years ago, and it still goes on.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Creative talents have always helped in the final hours of a finished product. Thanks to Lee-Wen Cheng, an academic assistant in the IMC, for highlighting the top of this exhibit with an engaging banner. My special appreciation again goes out to Robert Delaney who kept my work current with his handling of the print design for the written words of this exhibit. Thanks, Melvin Sylvester

HTML by Robert Delaney robert.delaney@liu.edu

RACE IN AMERICA Part 1

RACE IN AMERICA

Race may be factor in police shooting of unarmed elderly man

First part written By Howard Witt |Tribune correspondent

March 13, 2009

HOMER, La.—On the last afternoon of his life, Bernard Monroe was hosting a cookout for family and friends in front of his dilapidated home on Adams Street in this small northern Louisiana town.

Throat cancer had robbed the 73-year-old retired electric utility worker of his voice years ago, but family members said Monroe was clearly enjoying the commotion of a dozen of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren cavorting around him in the dusty, grassless yard.

Then the Homer police showed up, two white officers whose arrival caused the participants at the black family gathering to quickly fall silent.

Within moments, Monroe lay dead, shot by one of the officers as his family looked on.
Now the Louisiana State Police, the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department are swarming over this impoverished lumber town of 3,800, drawn by the allegations of numerous witnesses that police killed an unarmed, elderly black man without justification—and then moved a gun to make it look like the man had been holding it.

"We are closely monitoring the events in Homer," said Donald Washington, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. "I understand that a number of allegations are being made that, if true, would be serious enough for us to follow up on very quickly."

Yet the Feb. 20 Homer incident was not an isolated case. Across the nation, in four cases in recent months, white police officers have been accused of unprovoked shootings of African Americans in what civil rights leaders say are illustrations of the potentially deadly consequences of racial profiling by police.

In the mostly white Houston suburb of Bellaire, a 23-year-old black man sitting in his own SUV in the driveway of his parents' home was shot and wounded on New Year's Eve by police who mistakenly believed he had stolen the vehicle. The case is under investigation.

In Oakland, a transit police officer has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting an unarmed black man in the back while he was restrained and lying face down on a train platform on New Year's Day.

In New Orleans, nine police officers are under investigation in the New Year's Day death of a 22-year-old black man who was struck by 14 bullets after an undercover team stopped his car. The police say the man raised a gun and fired at them, but the man's family disputes that.

"All the anecdotal information demonstrates that African Americans are the most frequent victims of zealous, inappropriate police activity that often winds up in a shooting," said Reggie Shuford, a senior attorney with the racial justice program at the American Civil Liberties Union. "It's a shoot first, ask questions later approach to policing."

The evidence is not merely anecdotal. The most recent national analysis from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that blacks and Hispanics were nearly three times as likely as whites to be searched by police—and blacks were almost four times as likely as whites to be subjected to the use of force.

Psychologists are stepping up research into the implicit, unconscious racial biases that may be driving such statistics and affecting police behavior.

"If in fact police have implicit biases—if they automatically associate blacks with crime—then that would be relevant to an officer in a split-second, shoot-or-don't-shoot situation," said Lorie Fridell, a criminology professor at the University of South Florida who is creating a new anti-bias police training program with funding from the Justice Department. "Is the officer more inclined to believe he sees a gun in the hand of a black person, rather than a cell phone? I think that is possible."

In Monroe's case, friends and family members say they still don't understand why the beloved neighborhood patriarch ended up dead.

Four witnesses told the Tribune that Monroe was sitting outside his home in the late afternoon of Feb. 20, clutching a large sports-drink bottle, when two police officers pulled up and summoned Monroe's son, Shawn, for a conversation.

Shawn Monroe has a long record of arrests and convictions for assault and battery, and even though he was not wanted on any current warrants, he took off running into the house. One of the officers, a new hire named Tim Cox who had been on Homer's police force for only a few weeks, chased after him, reappearing moments later in the doorway.

Meanwhile, the witnesses said, the elder Monroe had started walking toward the front door, carrying only his drink bottle, to try to intervene. When Monroe got to the first step on the front porch, the witnesses said, Cox opened fire, striking him several times as adults and children stood nearby.

"He just shot him through the screen door," said Denise Nicholson, a family friend who said she was standing a few feet from Monroe. "After [Monroe] was on the ground, we kept asking the officer to call an ambulance, but all he did was get on his radio and say, 'Officer in distress.' "

As Monroe lay dying, the witnesses said, the second police officer, who has not been publicly identified, picked up a handgun that Monroe, an avid hunter, always kept in plain sight on the porch for protection. Using a police-issue blue latex glove, the officer grasped the gun by its handle, the witnesses said, and then ordered everyone to back away from the scene. The next thing they said they saw was the gun on the ground next to Monroe's body.

"I saw him pick up the gun off the porch," said Marcus Frazier, another witness. "I said, 'What are you doing?' The cop told me, 'Shut the hell up, you don't know what you're talking about.' "

The Homer police maintain that Monroe was holding a loaded gun when he was shot, but they are not commenting further on the case.

At least one fact surrounding the shooting is not in dispute: It took place amid long-standing tensions between Homer police and the residents of Monroe's crime-plagued black neighborhood.

"People here are afraid of the police," said Terry Willis, vice president of the Homer NAACP branch. "They harass black people, they stop people for no reason and rough them up without charging them with anything."

That is how it should be, responded Russell Mills, Homer's police chief, who noted the high rates of gun and drug arrests in the neighborhood.

"If I see three or four young black men walking down the street, I have to stop them and check their names," said Mills, who is white. "I want them to be afraid every time they see the police that they might get arrested. We're not out there trying to abuse and harass people—we're trying to protect the law-abiding citizens locked behind their doors in fear." ~By Howard Witt |Tribune correspondent
The reality of this case many more are indicators of a reality that people of color have had to live and die with in North America since our ancestors were dragged here.
When slavery began race was not an issue. The bottom line was money. There were many so called blacks who were free. Because slavery was not permanent a so called black person could and some did buy their freedom. There were many Irish who were servants and so was the case with the Chinese.
When certain white people felt that the slavery of blacks should become permanent they began to push the racial inequality card. To justify slavery they had to make it appear that the African's were sub human. What they did was set into motion was systematic racism. This would turn into such a complex process that it's effects are still felt to this very day.
Since the days of the slave catchers on down to emancipation and even until today there has always been the use of systematic racism, torture, brutal slayings, and racial profiling used against the African Americans (the so called Black people) here in North America.
We as a people have been subject to so many methods of instilling fear in us at the hands of whites that many of our own people have refused to feel accepted in the country. Many of us feel as if we are by design inferior, not as smart, less than, and not equal to whites and all of the other groups.
Despite the fact that President Obama is a black man many of us still feel this is some sick joke being played upon blacks. Some say that whites only allowed him to become President to place the blame of our problem on him. There are others who believe that he was placed in office to some how trick us for all sorts of silly reasons. While some of us are even believing that he is the anti-Christ. These and many more are proof of the fear that has been forced into our minds since slavery.
There is no way that any group of people can be witness to and feel the systematic injustice that we have experienced here in North America at the hands of whites, the clan, the Police Departments & Criminal Justice System of the U.S.A. and not be affected by it. It's effects are realized in the way we veiw ourselves in relation to others, in the way we have felt about voting and the election process, in our lack of trust towards whites and our own kind, and in the dispair and apathy of many of us.
Yes they have taken from many of us our will to fight back, to fight for, and strive for unlimited heights. So many of us that it is a losing battle to fight police corruption, to vote, and/or run for elected office. Those among who feel this way, look upon those of us who do these things as sell outs, so call house negroes, and 'uncle Toms'.
Former General & Secretary of Stae Colin Powell says that he teaches his grandchildren about slavery and the injustice we have experienced here in the USA. To those who ask him why when those days are over and say that there are blacks who are successful and have reach heights like himself, Colin Powell replies 'So what if some of us have become successful. It is not over until every last one of us is allowed the same equal opportunities.
Even this great black man who happens to be a Republican understands to real plight of Black people.
So in this time of change on a grand scale we must see police officers who think it is still the era where you shoot black people and plant guns on them get prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law. Those who would help to cover crimes of these type should be prosecuted as well. Examples must be made of those who violate our rights to make these criminal police officers think before they shoot.
Former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice said that slavery was the United States of America's birth defect. We must understand that a birth defect usually last throughout the entire life of the entity born with the defect. Yes, it is not over until this country has be reborn without this defect.

The Empire Strikes Out?

The rise and fall of an empire? Is the United States headed for its end as economic leader of the world? Are we truly in the midst of history in the making? Did 9/11 really help push the USA and ultimately the white mans over the edge towards the bottom of the food chain, or will it only level the playing field?
With the current global economical situation has the stage been set for countries who lie at the bottom of the economic food chain to rise so the could now equal or pass the USA and other economically powerful nations? With companies in Africa and the Diaspora like Pamoja Media, Ushahidi, Frontline SMS, Afrigator Internet (Pty) Ltd and others on the rise will we see a change in the balance of power?
Will the many small countries planet wide, including the West Indies & Virgin Isles do better because they can survive by living off of the land and what they grow & produce at home? They would fair better trading with each other. Thier economies could grow under the current conditions if thier governments took full advantage and stayed away from corruption.
Could we soon see the end of money as we know it? Could our very own survival depend on us eliminating monetary value and switching to a Utopian Socialist system whereby we all work in order to benefit humankind as a collective?
These are just some thoughts of mine as I ponder the current global events. Has the Empire Struck Out? What do you think?

One survivor found, while 2 NFL players, Corey Smith & Marquis Cooper, still lost at sea

One survivor found, while 2 NFL players, Corey Smith & Marquis Cooper are still lost at sea

Two NFL players, Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper (below), are still missing at sea.

A rescued ex-football player said Monday he managed to survive more than 36 harrowing hours lost at sea by thinking about his mother.

"Mom, you're not going to go to my funeral," Nick Schuyler, 24, told his mom moments after being plucked from the capsized fishing boat.

"That's what I kept thinking," he told her, relating his long-odds struggle to survive after 15-foot waves flipped the small boat.

Nick Schuyler was plucked from the crippled boat 35 miles off Florida's Gulf Coast.

There was still no sign of two NFL players and another buddy who set out on the fishing trip Saturday morning.

Schuyler, a former gridder at the University of South Florida, was found clinging to the overturned 21-foot boat and rushed to a Tampa hospital.

Poignant TV footage showed the boat bobbing upside down in open water.

Still missing were National Football League players Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper and Will Bleakley, another former USF gridder, officials said. Sources said Schuyler told family members the others clung to the overturned boat for 12 to 16 hours into Sunday morning before slipping away.

Schuyler told rescuers the other men were swept away from the boat after it capsized Saturday night in 62-degree water.

"He said they were overturned by a wave and all four men were clinging to the boat," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Robert Simpson.

A cousin of Cooper told the St. Petersburg Times that all four men initially managed to cling to the capsized boat, but only Schuyler was able to hold on.

Stu Schuyler, the rescued man's father, said he was holding out hope for the still-missing boaters.

"My heart still goes out to the other guys," he said. "We're praying for them."

Relatives reported the men missing when they failed to return as scheduled Saturday night and weather conditions worsened.

The Coast Guard searched for the boat in a 16,000-square-mile swath of the Gulf of Mexico west of Clearwater Pass.

By Monday, harsh sea and weather conditions were starting to subside. Waves were 6 to 8 feet, still enough for a small craft advisory, but considerably smaller than Sunday's 15-footers, said National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Barron.

Nick Schuyler, a fitness trainer, briefly played football for USF in the fall of 2006.

His dad said his son went fishing with the same group last weekend.

Cooper owns the boat. He and Smith, who were teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004, have been on fishing trips before, said Ron Del Duca, Smith's agent.

Bruce Cooper, a sportscaster in Phoenix, said his son Marquis goes deep-sea fishing "any opportunity he gets. ... Needless to say, I am very concerned. I am praying and hoping for the best."

Rush Limbaugh's Hate

With President Obama being the first African-American in the office of President of these United States of America many of us black and white are aware of and on the look out for hate groups, racist, and those who cannot accept a person of color as their leader. There are those who use the banner of Republican to cloak their hate while spewing venomous hate towards President Obama. One of them is a man well known in the media as Rush Limbaugh. This man who has used the Repulican platform to launch his attacks on the democrats does not have the good of this country in mind. His only agenda is to hate on anything he deems as not Repulican and un-American. He makes it seem as if the democrats are enemies of the U.S. with his rhetoric.

The followings are some of Rush Limbaugh's Controversies

Michael J. Fox incident

On the October 23, 2006 edition of his radio show, Limbaugh imitated on the "DittoCam" (the webcam for website subscribers to see him on the air) the physical symptoms of actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease and has appeared in political campaign ads for candidates who support a form of embryonic stem-cell research, and has stated that he sometimes doesn't take his medicine explicitly to show the effects of the disease. Limbaugh imitated Fox's Parkinson's symptoms as displayed on the commercial, stating that "(Fox) is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act.... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting."

Fox was offended, as were people on both sides of the political spectrum who felt Limbaugh's parody of Fox was unfair or in poor taste. The possibility of a reasoned and civil discussion of stem-cell research was quickly overshadowed by dueling website and blog attacks. Proponents of stem-cell research immediately used this incident to raise funds for several Democratic candidates running for Congress, while detractors accused Fox of being just another partisan of Democratic candidates. Fox himself appeared on numerous news programs to explain his condition and to defend his advocacy for stem-cell research.

Michael J. Fox later appeared on CBS with Katie Couric and stated that he was actually dyskinesic, at the time, a condition that results from overmedication. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders states that dyskinesia results from overmedication and the first step to reduce those effects is to stop or reduce medication

Phony soldiers controversy

Another controversy occurred during the September 26, 2007 broadcast of Limbaugh's radio show, when he used the term "phony soldiers", allegedly referencing a September 21 Associated Press story about individuals falsely claiming to be veterans in order to receive benefits. A caller, after saying he was currently serving in the Army and has been in 14 years, said, "They never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and spout to the media." Limbaugh interrupted, "The phony soldiers." The caller continued, "The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country." Several minutes later, after the caller had hung-up, Limbaugh read from the AP story describing the story of Jesse Macbeth. Macbeth joined the Army but did not complete basic training, yet claimed in alternative media interviews that he and his unit routinely committed war crimes in Iraq. On June 7, 2007, Macbeth pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and was sentenced to five months in jail and three years probation. Media Matters noted Limbaugh's use of the term "phony soldiers" in an article on their website. The article suggested that Limbaugh was saying that all soldiers who disagree with the Iraq War were "phony soldiers", and their article received substantial press coverage after it was discussed in speeches by Presidential candidates John Edwards and Chris Dodd. Limbaugh argued that, when he had made the comment about "phony soldiers", he had been speaking only of Macbeth and others like him who claim to be soldiers and are not, and that "Media Matters takes things out of context all the time". Media Matters disputed the accuracy of Limbaugh's claim and defended its story.

Among Limbaugh's detractors were members of VoteVets.org who produced a series of ads that ran on their website and on YouTube taking Limbaugh to task for insulting veterans who opposed the war.Several of these ads can be seen here: and here: The members of VoteVets, a number of whom asserted they were conservative politically, told reporters that protesting the current war policy should not be a partisan issue, but most of the support they received after the Limbaugh controversy came from congressional Democrats.

On October 19, 2007, Limbaugh announced the winning bid in an eBay auction of a letter sent to Clear Channel Communications Chief Executive Officer Mark Mays by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "We call on you to publicly repudiate these [phony soldier] comments," the letter said, ". . . and to ask Mr. Limbaugh to apologize for his comments." The auction's high bid of $2,100,100 by Betty Casey of the Eugene B. Casey Foundation set a new eBay record for largest charity bid. Shortly before the auction closed, Senator Reid addressed the Senate, saying, "I don't know what we could do more important than helping to ensure that children of our fallen soldiers and police officers who have fallen in the line of duty have the opportunity for their children to have a good education." In his radio broadcast later in the day, Limbaugh was critical of Reid's speech, saying Reid had tried "to horn in and act like he's part of this whole thing, folks." Limbaugh also said, "Senator Reid, you did not mention that I am matching whatever the final total is." Matching funds from Limbaugh would increase the total donation to the charity benefiting children of Marines and law enforcement personnel killed in the line of duty to $4,200,200.

Operation Chaos

Limbaugh has stated that there is nothing wrong with Republicans voting in the Democratic primary, as Democrats voted for John McCain in Vermont, New Hampshire, Florida, and other states. "This is getting absurd. If it weren't for independents and Democrats crossing over, Senator McCain would not be our nominee!"

Dubbing the effort "Operation Chaos," Limbaugh says he intends to continue to encourage his listeners to vote for whoever is behind in the Democratic primary, to sow chaos and disunity among Democrats during a divisive primary battle. Limbaugh then began to advocate that his Republican listeners vote for Clinton, something the rules of the Texas primary permitted. According to a county volunteer, one voter declared "Rush Limbaugh sent me", another "I am voting for Hillary Clinton but I want to see the Democrats implode," and a great many others mentioning Limbaugh.

In Ohio, Limbaugh similarly encouraged his listeners to re-register as Democrats and vote for Clinton. Although Ohio does not use an open primary, voters who change their registration must attest that they support the principles of the party to which they switch. About sixteen thousand Ohio Republicans switched parties for the election. The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections announced that, at the urging of Democrat Sandy McNair, the cross-overs would be investigated. Later, the Ohio Attorney General's office stated that it would be hard to prosecute anyone for falsifying a change of registration, because of the difficulty of proving a voter's fraudulent intent.

Limbaugh has said that "The dream end of this [of Operation Chaos] is that this keeps up to the Convention, and that we have a recreation of Chicago 1968 with burning cars, protests, fire, and literal riots and all of that, that is the objective here."

"Magic Negro" Comments
Barack the Magic Negro

On March 19, 2007 Limbaugh referred to Barack Obama as a "magic negro," citing an L.A. Times editorial by David Ehrenstein which claimed that Obama was filling the role of the magic negro, and that this explained his appeal to voters. Limbaugh then later played a song by Paul Shanklin, "Barack the Magic Negro," sung to the tune of Puff the Magic Dragon. Limbaugh had previously referred to Obama as "Halfrican American", a term which he also applied to actress Halle Berry. Limbaugh cited the Ehrenstein editorial, and said that the point of the comment was to highlight "race-obsessed Democrats", who had questioned whether Obama was black enough.

"I hope Obama fails"

On January 16, 2009 Limbaugh read a letter on his radio show that he had received a request from a national print outlet:... "If you could send us 400 words on your hope for the Obama presidency, we need it by Monday night, that would be ideal." He responded, "I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails." He explained that he didn't want "absorption of as much of the private sector by the US government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want this to work." He continued, "what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what's gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here."

He also remarked that Obama's status as the first black U.S. President was part of the reason why there was pressure to accept his policies.

Limbaugh later stated that it is President Obama's policies that he wants to see fail, not the man himself. Speaking of Obama, Limbaugh said, "He's my president, he's a human being, and his ideas and policies are what count for me."

On January 27, 2009, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) created an online petition to express outrage at Rush Limbaugh for his comment, "he wanted President Obama to fail".

On January 29, 2009, he followed-up his commentary with an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal expressing concern about the Obama Administration's government intervention, proposing the "Obama-Limbaugh Stimulus Plan of 2009".

On March 1, 2009 Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told CBS's "Face the Nation" that Limbaugh "called for President Obama to fail. That’s his view. And that’s what he has enunciated. And whenever a Republican criticize him, they have to run back and apologize to him, and say they were misunderstood. He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party. And he has been upfront about what he views, and hasn’t stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure. He said it. And I compliment him for his honesty, but that’s their philosophy that is enunciated by Rush Limbaugh.

In remarks aired by CNN on March 1, 2009, Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele said he, rather than Limbaugh, is "the de facto leader of the Republican Party. Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh's whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly." On March 2, 2009 Limbaugh said on his radio show that Steele is not fit to lead the Republican Party. "Why do you claim to lead the Republican Party when you seem obsessed with seeing to it President Obama succeeds?" Limbaugh said to Steele. Steele then called Limbaugh to apologize, saying "I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh. I was maybe a little bit inarticulate. There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership. I went back at that tape and I realized words that I said weren’t what I was thinking. It was one of those things where I thinking I was saying one thing, and it came out differently. What I was trying to say was a lot of people want to make Rush the scapegoat, the bogeyman, and he’s not."
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is an American conservative political commentator and radio host. His talk show, The Rush Limbaugh Show,is nationally syndicated and airs on Premiere Radio Networks throughout the United States. During the Clinton administration the National Review magazine, in a 1993 cover story, called him "The Leader of Conservative Principles".
Limbaugh was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, the son of Mildred Carolyn "Millie" (née Armstrong), originally from Searcy, Arkansas, and Rush Hudson Limbaugh, Jr. His father is of German descent and his mother is of Scottish descent.
His family has a number of lawyers including his grandfather, father and his brother David. His uncle, Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr. is a Ronald Reagan appointed federal judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and his cousin, Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., is Judge on the Supreme Court of Missouri. Rush Limbaugh, Sr., Limbaugh's grandfather, was a Missouri prosecutor, judge, special commissioner and served on Missouri's state House of Representatives from 1930 to 1932. Limbaugh's grandfather was very well respected as one of the "patriarchs" of the Cape Girardeau community. Rush, Sr., died at age 104, and was still a practicing attorney at the time of his death. The Federal Courthouse in Cape Girardeau is named for Limbaugh's grandfather. In 1967 Limbaugh began his career in radio as a teenager in 1967 in his hometown of Cape Girardeau, using the name Rusty Sharpe.
Limbaugh's date of birth was ranked as 175 in the Vietnam War draft lottery. No one was drafted above 125. He was classified as "1-Y" (later reclassified "4-F") due to either a football knee injury or a diagnosis of Pilonidal disease.
Since 1991, Limbaugh has had the most-listened-to radio show in the United States, with over 14 million listeners a week as of December 2008. In 2003, he peaked with an audience of nearly 20 million a week.. However, public polls have shown that a majority of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Limbaugh. For example, in a March 2007 Rasmussen Reports poll, 62% of those surveyed had an unfavorable opinion of Limbaugh, while only 33% had a favorable opinion, a nearly 2 to 1 ratio that was, by far, the worst among the 18 journalists and media personalities included in the poll.
Rush as well as Sarah Palin (we all remember her) are people who use the ignorance and fear of some of our fellow Americans to create a divide that is hate filled but dangerous.
In his first bestseller, Limbaugh explicitly describes himself as conservative, and is sharply critical of broadcasters in many media outlets for claiming to be objective. He has loudly criticized political centrists, independents, and even moderate conservatives, claiming they are responsible for Democrat Barack Obama's victory over Republican John McCain in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election and inviting them to leave the Republican party altogether, while calling for the adoption of hard-line far-right philosophies in order to ensure the survival of the Republican party.
Limbaugh is highly critical of environmentalism and climate science. He has disputed anthropogenic global warming, and the relationship between CFCs and depletion of the ozone layer, claiming the scientific evidence does not support them. Limbaugh has argued against the scientific opinion on climate change by stating that the alleged scientific consensus "is just a bunch of scientists organized around a political proposition. You can't have consensus in science... they think consensus is the way to sell it because, 'Oh, but all these wonderful people agree.'" Limbaugh has often used the term "environmentalist wacko" as a reference to left-leaning environmental advocates. As a rhetorical device, he has also used the term to refer to more mainstream climate scientists and other environmental scientists and advocates with whom he disagrees.

Limbaugh is sharply critical of feminism, saying that "Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society." He also popularized the term "feminazi", referring to radical feminists "to whom the most important thing in life is ensuring that as many abortions as possible occur." He credited his friend Tom Hazlett, a professor of law and economics at George Mason University, with coining the term.

Limbaugh has always taken a hard-line stance on illegal immigration.

Limbaugh supports capital punishment, having said "the only thing cruel about the death penalty is last-minute stays."

On the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal, Limbaugh said, "This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation... And we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day [referring to the U.S. Military service members]. I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release?"

Limbaugh has asserted that African-Americans, in contrast with other minority groups, are "left behind" socially because they have been systematically trained from a young age to hate America through a widespread movement headed by figures such as Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, and Barack Obama.

Some groups and individuals have criticized Limbaugh's accuracy. The July/August 1994 issue of Extra!, a publication of the progressive group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), alleges 50 different inaccuracies and distortions in Limbaugh's commentary. Others have since joined FAIR in questioning Limbaugh's facts. Al Franken, a liberal comedian-turned-politician, wrote a satirical book (Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations) in which he criticized Limbaugh's accuracy. Media Matters for America, a not-for-profit progressive media watchdog group, has also been critical.

Limbaugh has also been criticized for inaccuracies by the Environmental Defense Fund. A defense fund report authored by Princeton University endowed geosciences professor Michael Oppenheimer and Princeton University professor of biology David Wilcove lists 14 significant scientific facts which, the authors allege, Limbaugh misrepresented in his book "The Way Things Ought to Be". The authors conclude that "Rush Limbaugh ... allows his political bias to distort the truth about a whole range of important scientific issues."

James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times quoted Limbaugh as saying after the 2008 election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States that the Democrats will "take your 401(k), put it in the Social Security trust fund." MSNBC claimed there is no Democratic plan to do so.

There are those who would in mistake Rush Limbaugh for a real expert with a legitimate agenda backed by facts and accurate data. Please realize that he is a liar and an unfair drug abuser who would say anything to advance his agender.