Transcripts For CSPAN3 Second Baptist Church The Underground Railroad 20240714

That and on the opposite side, in windsor there is one facing our statue pointing back on this side. Gateway to freedom means that this was the passageway or the route to get to canada to freedom. Was aderground railroad loose mechanism for the freedom seekers to escape to freedom. So, throughout the north especially, their work safe havens. The idea was to get across the ohio river from the slave states to the free states and so there were a lot of safe havens throughout illinois, indiana, forthpittsburgh, and so as well as michigan. The founders future founders of second baptist got involved in the underground railroad before they were even a church. Before they were even a place of worship back in 1831 when thornton and Lucy Blackburn escaped from a plantation in kentucky. The colored community was involved in helping them escape to toronto, in canada. To numbers, mr. And mrs. Lightfoot and mr. And mrs. French were prominent in that escape and they were future members of the second baptist. Act in 1831, we were involved. Did not become a place of worship until 1836. The second baptist is the oldest congregation for people of color in michigan. One of the oldest in the midwest. We became a congregation because we got tired of worshiping in our homes. We were members of First Baptist for several years, but because we were segregated at First Baptist, not permitted to participate fully as numbers of the congregation, we petitioned the territory of michigan for our own place of worship. Baptist, since its inception, has been active within the community and concerned about the wellbeing of the community. It was only natural, i believe, that we would be involved with the underground railroad in helping freedom seekers on their journey to canada. Was a destination. Second baptist was the destination because of the Vigilant Committee. They would go down to the plantations down south, in the middle of the night, and instruct those slaves on how to escape. They did not help them to escape, but they gave him instructions on how to escape and what to do once they got across the masondixon. Second baptist was well known down there on those plantations because of the Vigilant Committee here in detroit. The Vigilant Committee was a group of abolitionist started on the east coast. He migrated to detroit, joined a baptist. He along with reverend william helped formulate the Vigilant Committee. They would go down to the thetations to instruct slaves who wanted to escape. When the freedom seekers arrived, in detroit at second baptist they were taken into the afe haven we now refer to station that didnt have a name and that day. They were housed in a room in the basement. They slept in bunk beds and could house up to 15. They did have an overflow section. They were food, shelter, a chance to rest and when it was safe for them to go on, they and thento finney barn on down to the river. They would cross the river in a boat purchased i george petits. I know second baptist was the first nation here in the detroit area the way to canada. There was a station at st. Matthews episcopal that was after reverend William Monroe left second baptist and started st. Matthews. Also had a site first congregation had a site. Sited baptist is the only still in existed. Sites have not moved on to another location. The sanctuary that we are taping in this morning was not the original sanctuary. The original sanctuary is downstairs. That is the room where Frederick Douglass came to visit on numerous occasions. In 1865 when the 13th amendment was ratified freeing the rest of it is extremely important that we commemorate, remember and never forget how important detroit was because it was one of the most prominent ways and most prominent that was put in use going to canada because of our close proximity to canada. The underground railroad was an underlying foundation for the history of detroit because it was an instrumental part of the growth of the community. A large part of the community was made up of the freedom seekers and helped detroit grow to be what it is today. Continuing our to tour of detroit next we had to greektown 48 stop at detroit Public Libraries Skillman Branch which was the sight of the old city jail, the location of the cities first race riot. Here at this location is where thornton and result. Lackburn were in jail the uprising occurs here to freedom. Iny had been enslaved louisville, kentucky. Ruthascaped because blackburn had been sold down to new orleans and barton did not want to lose the woman he loved so they escaped together and came to detroit in 1831. They came to detroit to get far away from kentucky. Because of the 1793 fugitive slave law, going to ohio was still risky because bounty hunters can come and take you even from free states act down to where you escape from ohio, where they were for a little while was too close to kentucky. Bounty hunters were in and out of ohio bringing people back into slavery. When they arrived here, norton is a wreck mason. ,e works for a couple years making a living for himself. Rutha is a seamstress. They are both making livings doing the work in the skills they already have even when they were enslaved or choose a seamstress and he is a brick mason. To bounty hunters come to the city of detroit. In 1833, a have word that thornton and rutha blackburn are here and have been seen by a Family Member related to conscience slaveowners and they come right where we are to the office of the sheriff and deputy which is also the jail and they hire them for 50 a piece and four of these armed men go and apprehend the blackburns. Theyre are going to bring them here and hold them in the jail over the weekend. They are held here from friday until monday. They are going to hold them here because they want to wait for a steamboat to come up the river to take them to ohio and wagon them from ohio to kentucky. That was the plan. They will be held in jail from friday until monday. Of course, number of black people in the city of detroit who were determined to free thornton and rutha blackburn. Two of the people part of this are young women but caroline french and Tabitha Lightfoot. Those two women, along with another group of African Americans who meet at the home of Benjamin Willoughby come up with a plan to free thornton and rutha blackburn. As they are working on the planet developing over the weekend, on sunday after church, they come here to the jail. When they come here to the jail to visit thornton and rutha blackburn, visitors are all turned away. The sheriff and deputy do not allow thornton to have any visitor spirit he is kept inside of a jail cell behind bars in shackles. He is behind bars and still in chains. They are that worried about him. Believing he is a mastermind behind the escape that they have been living for two years. Is allowed visitors because they are not as worried about the woman because that will end up being a big problem on their part because caroline french and Tabitha Lightfoot are going to go into the jail cell the rutha blackburn and in cell they are praying with her because they believe prayer changes things. They also bring her food because they know the jail food is horrible. While they are feeding and praying with her, caroline french switches clothes with inside the cell while the deputies are not pay attention. When the sheriff and deputy remove them from the jail, they say visiting time is over, Tabitha Lightfoot walks out with rutha blackburn wearing caroline frenchs they walk right by the sheriff that does not know this is woman he should be holding and not the woman that should be walking out. They walk right by him. They had already arranged to put and she crosses to canada and she is free. She is on free soil in another country, where the fugitive slave law does not apply. The next morning, caroline knowh lets the jailers hey, i am caroline french. I can hear yesterday to visit rutha blackburn. While you werent paying so, nown, she changed she is in canada and is free and i am free to you have to let me go. Of course, the bounty hunters want to use her, caroline french and sell her to make the money they have lost. They dont make money for not bringing people back. They want to sell her, but a crowd has grown outside to hundreds of people outside of this jail and they are there to free caroline french. There are only four people. The sheriff, deputy into slave catchers but there are hundreds of people out here. So they let caroline french go, crowd that will quell the and get them to go away, but the crowd is also therefore thornton. In the course of them trying to thornton, the sheriff is mortally wounded. He is not killed right then and there but he will die later from his injuries. He is attacked by members of the crowd. The deputy has to run for his life in the two slave catchers have to try to keep the crowd at bay with their guns so they are not killed. In the course of all of that, the crowd has taken thornton and put him on a wagon and whisked him away. Put him on a boat where he crosses over the river to canada , reunites with his wife and they are both free. Blackburnnd rutha start the first taxi company in the city of toronto. They become wealthy. The people who freed them will be the founders of second baptist church, the Oldest Black Church in the state of michigan and the foundation for the underground railroad in the state of michigan, particularly in the city of detroit. Can American Community in detroit is built on a foundation of freedom and using that as part of their faith. During our time in detroit we met up with historian and tour guide jaman jordan. Field,n outside of ford home of the Detroit Lions cannot which is located in the heart of downtown detroit. Jordan in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s this was the center of the africanamerican Business District known as Paradise Valley. African americans were migrating from the south to the north. The migration. Theyre leaving conditions of jim crow and the south. Leaving conditions of sharecropping and tenant farming and looking for job at ford ofor company the city detroit. They are coming and making a decent wage. That they cannot own property everywhere in the city of detroit, so there are certain sections they can to one is black bottoms, the africanamerican Residential District and the other is Paradise Valley. This will be the entertainment district. From the 1920s to the 1950s, 350 black owned businesses in this area or close to this area. This is the center of africanamerican business activity. Hotels, restaurants, jazz clubs, all the things part of africanamerican needs and culture will take place right here in Paradise Valley. It will end up being destroyed after the 1956 interstate highway act. The federal government passes the highway act where they will fund the building of freeways throughout the country. The cities get to pick where the freeways go. The city of detroit Political Leadership chose to put it right down the main street of the africanAmerican Community, hastings street. They take the land by eminent domain, which includes shops, we losents, hotels and Paradise Valley after the interstate highway act in 1956. By the mid1960s, most of Paradise Valley is destroyed. Bottoms,ence in black many of the first wave when they lose their land will have to find places because not a lot of places for them. They end up in an area where jewish residents are beginning to leave away from. Africanamerican migration follows jewish migration because jewish migrants are more likely to rent and sell places to africanamericans than any other ethnic group. They move into the area of dexter, lynnwood, grand river come out West Side Neighborhood which will be the neighborhood where the 1967 uprising occurs. There will never be a center of africanamerican Business Ownership in detroit. We lose that after we lose Paradise Valley. It was called urban renewal come up but africanamericans called it negro removal. If they were renters, they only got a two week notice to be kicked out. They got and eviction notice. There was already a wealth inequality. It will even that wealth inequality because now, you have lost everything and have to start all over again. In downtown detroit, there is a lot of Development Going on. Had lacked bottom and Paradise Valley not been destroyed, much of the Downtown Development would be done by an africanamerican Business Owners who would have been growing since Paradise Valley. You have three and 50 black on businesses in the 1930s per what would that look like in 2019 had they not been forced to relocate . Our cities tour staff recently traveled to detroit, michigan to learn about its rich history. Visitch more, cspan. Org citiestour. Youre watching American History tv, a weekend, every weekend on cspan3. American history tv, genealogist talks about a cemetery for africanamericans opened in 1864 , whichxandria, virginia was established as Union Territory at the beginning of the civil war. Of mccargo bah is the author a legacy of freedom. This four minute interview was luckded at the annual history luncheon in washington, d. C. What is the alexandria friedman cemetery . Washingtoncated at and Church History in alexandria. It was a cemetery that was under a gas station until it was rediscovered. Woodrowe widening wilson bridge and what happened was they noticed some remains. Archaeologists came in and found in around 1990 and they start to investigate that there were 17 to 1800 people buried there. Tell me about the origins of the cemetery. When was it created and how was it used . It was created in 1864, during the civil war, a lot of africanamericans were running away from slavery and free blacks in alexandria and they were dying in large numbers. What happened was they started burying people there. Until 1868. 1864 1718 people died there. You mentioned it was in disrepair for quite a number of years. Half a century. How was it rediscovered . The city purchased a gas station and started to date and confirmed there was a cemetery there. They look at maps. At first, they did not find a cemetery on the map. Once a gas station was built, they changed the map. They had to go back to earlier maps and they found out it was called the freedmen cemetery. What artifacts existed at the cemetery . Exhume anybody. Once they identified it as a cemetery, they left it the way it was. [no audio] how did you get involved with the cemetery . I was reading the Washington Post and they were talking about it and they said a new group of friends of the cemetery was forming it i contacted them and i joined them. I was part of the friends of the freedmen cemetery. Their work was to bring awareness to the cemetery and raise money to get a Historical Marker. We got the Historical Marker and then we started advocating for it to be a memo oriole cemetery a memorial cemetery. They were able to put aside 2 Million Dollars for a to be eight memorial cemetery. Search to finda the descendents of those buried at the cemetery. Tell me about that search . After we accomplished what we wanted to with the friends of the freedmen cemetery, the city approach me and asked if it was possible to find the defendant spirit im a professional genealogist. Project it i was able to locate 171 people varied their, and i was able to find their descendents into the thousands. Can you tell me any of the stories of people who discovered there . Pair there in their late 80s and early 90s. They knew it was a cemetery. The rest of the Family Members did not. Awayimmediately were blown that people were in alexandria during the civil war and can be documented. So, emotions were off the charts. Thank you for speaking with us. Thank you very much. This weekend, on the presidency, the editor of the papers of white David Eisenhower talks about the evolution of the leadership style. Here is a preview. Where is ike on civil rights . Military career come up until 1945, he seemed to not be bothered, at least he didnt write anything that suggested to me that he was bothered by segregation in the military and segregation in american society. In 1945, hesay changed his mind. Why . We were running out of men too. First the germans ran out of men, then the british ran out of running now america was out of combat soldiers. He decided to give africanamericans the first opportunity to engage in combat equally and that was a turning point in his life. When he returned to washington, he was much more vigorous about social and civil rights. As chief of staff come he worked with Lyndon Johnson to get a rights. Form of civil learn more about dwight the eisenhowers leadership skills sunday at 8 p. M. And midnight eastern on the presidency. You are watching American History tv on cspan3. Sunday, on American History tv, World War Ii Army nurse corps veteran describes how she provided medical care to american soldiers wounded on dday. Here is a preview. Grapes we had to keep our emotions under control. Extremely upsetting at first. To see so many wounded at one see patientsid with faces half shot off, or limbs shot off. Had to keep your emotions under control. I dont get really emotional now hangoverhis is just a from that time. You can watch the complete interview with opel grapes about meaners onan are oral histories sunday at 6 30 p. M. And 10 30 p. M. Eastern here on American History tv. Thee are back live at Gettysburg College in pennsylvania for the civil war institutes annual summer conference. Talking abouthess the 1864 Atlanta Campaign or do you are watching American History tv on cspan3. [crowd noises] good afternoon everyone. It is my pleasure this afternoon to introduce earl hess. Earl is the stuart w mccall and at lincolnstory