By MOHAMED HAMALUDIN
The number of free African Americans increased from around 60,000 in 1790 following the Revolutionary War to about 300,000 in 1830 and European Americans feared they would help the still enslaved to escape or revolt and believed anyhow that they were an inferior race who would be better off elsewhere. The American Colonization Society and others came up with this solution: send them to Africa.
African Americans, in general, objected strongly, with some pointing out that they had lived in the United States for generations and were “no more African than white Americans were European,” as Wikipedia puts it. “Shame upon the guilty wretches that dare propose and all that countenance such a proposition,” abolitionist and scholar Frederick Douglass declared. “We live here—have lived here—have a right to live here and mean to live here,”
Still, 4,571 African Americans were relocated between 1820 and 1843 to West Africa, in a collection of settlements with names such as Mississippi in Africa, Kentucky in Africa and Republic of Maryland that formed the nation of Liberia by 1857. Because of diseases, only 1,819 survived. Continue reading →
Like this:
Like Loading...
SPORTS: FOOTBALL: Pelé: Why black Brazilians like me mourn the King
By Malu Cursino – BBC News – Sports
Pele won the World Cup three times with his country – in 1958, 1962 and 1970
Pelé, o Rei, has died.
Brazil and the world are grieving, and many of us mourn an idol we never saw on the pitch.
Being 23 years old, I was not around during the start, middle, or even the end of his glowing football career. But that does not matter. Pelé was and always will be a household name.
Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, a city of exuberance and vibrancy, football played a crucial role in our life.
Maracanã, where Pelé scored his thousandth goal, was emblematic of my day-to-day routine until I moved to the UK, aged 11.
We were always nearby. The buzz and frenzy during match days could be felt across the city. Traffic would be slower, restaurants busier, and the streets much louder.
Continue reading →
Share this:
Like this: