DC slaveowners were paid approximately $300 per slave, about $1 million in total, as compensation for releasing their slaves, making the slaves in the District of Columbia the first African-Americans to be freed.
It is certainly fitting that the nation's capital led the way in dismantling the abhorrent institution that continues to scar our nation today. I was thankful to learn that in recent years, DC reinstituted a celebration of the historic Proclamation, complete with a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue just as it was done in the 1860s.
I was also honored to participate in a prayer breakfast where I had an opportunity to hear from Civil Rights legends such as Dick Gregory and the Rev. Al Sharpton reflect on the impact of the Proclamation. If you think you know Rev. Sharpton based on the sound bites you hear from him in the media, you simply must hear him preach an entire message. When you hear his messages in their full context, you will hear the voice of a proud, intelligent, well-informed, insightful, witty, courageous clarion for justice, which is a far different picture than what you may conclude if you only hear his comments in bits and pieces. His messages don't translate well in sound bites and must be taken in their entirety to be fully understood and appreciated.
During his keynote address, he reminded us not to be ashamed and not to hold back in sharing the story of the strength and triumphs of African-Americans with younger generations to give them a healthy sense of pride and to spur them on to continue our legacy of excellence. We were also cautioned not to let Hollywood movies become our history teacher, leaving young people with the impression that the advancements African-Americans have achieved have come only through the benevolence of benefactors instead of through the blood sweat and tears of a lot of people--black and white--who stood up to injustice, even to the point of death.
Rev. Sharpton shared a story about a man who emphatically told him that civil rights didn't open any doors for him because the man's own intellect and ivy league degrees built his success. Rev. Sharpton explained that the man's intellect and degrees may have, indeed, built his wonderful resume, but Civil Rights made sure that someone actually read his wonderful resume. No one's success is built exclusively on their own merits--someone else has to value that success whether it's a potential customer or prospective employer or others. That gentleman certainly wasn't the first qualified black man, there were many who came long before him and many may have been far more qualified than him. Being qualified only gets you to the door, justice and the grace of God get you through the door.
We don't want to dwell in the past, for we have made tremendous strides since the days of slavery, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement--strides that simply would not have occurred without individual, collective, and even governmental efforts. But, we also don't want to gloss over our nation's history as we move forward. Moving forward is the only way we will live and thrive, but doing so in fast-forward mode, skipping past the heroic contributions of those who paved the way for us to move forward is reckless at best, and dangerous at worst.
Successive generations must always be made aware that freedom comes with a price. In other words, freedom ain't free--bad grammar, but solid truth. People risked their lives, reputations and all that they owned in order that I might be free to express my opinions through this blog and other mediums. How tragic it would be for me to waste their generous gifts by using my gift of writing to compose things that get people off track spiritually, emotionally, sexually, financially or otherwise.
Whatever I do, I must keep freedom first--freedom for those bound by the spiritual and emotional shackles that continue to enslave us I must keep freedom first by encouraging people to use their religious, social and economic freedoms to fully pursue a relationship with God through Jesus Christ....for whom the Son sets free is free, indeed....
The various Proclamations helped to free the slaves physically and economically, but long before their shackles had been loosed, the slaves understood that they were people of dignity and worth because the blood of Jesus Christ freed 'em first!
Rev. Karen
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