Invisible in plain sight : self-determination strategies of free Blacks in the old Northwest / Jill E. Rowe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rowe, Jill E., 1960- author.

Series:

Interdisciplinary studies in diasporas ; v. 3.

Interdisciplinary studies in diasporas ; vol. 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans--Northwest, Old.

African Americans.

Free African Americans--Northwest, Old.

Free African Americans.

Northwest, Old--Race relations.

Northwest, Old.

Free Black people.

Race relations.

United States--Old Northwest.

Physical Description:

x, 119 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., [2017]

Summary:

The Land Act of 1820 made it possible for settlers to begin to populate the West and added to the confiscation of land from Native Americans. Former landowners-a mix of Native American, African and European ancestry-migrated to the northern iron tier and founded at least thirty well-defined free black communities between 1820 and 1850 in the Old Northwest, becoming an important safe haven and beacon of freedom. Its notoriety and size grew as slaves often migrated to these locations after they were granted emancipation in the wills of slave owners who purchased land in the area for them to settle on. The newly free people found sanctuary as these communities were also rumored to shelter runaway slaves in their role as active participants in the Underground Railroad Movement. However, the prosperity of blacks living in these villages angered some of the local whites- many of whom were migrating at the same time and were connected to local law officials and politicians. Archival documents reveal continued acts of terrorism perpetuated against blacks which heightened the importance of the strength of the communities they founded -specifically schools, churches, businesses, and intergenerational family structures-in providing a unified front that allowed them to bond and thrive in an environment that was not always conducive to their survival. Invisible in Plain Sight: Self-Determination Strategies of Free Blacks in the Old Northwest provides a rare detailed examination of an often overlooked piece of the American tapestry. It is perfect reading for history classes in high school and college, as well as for history enthusiasts looking for something new. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction

The Virginia confederacy of Indians

Immigration of European indentured servants

Immigration of African indentured servants

Alliances between indigenous people and African indentured servants

Alliances between European indentured servants and African indentured servants

From African indentured servants to enslaved people

Race as a social construct: structural constraints on race mixing

African American legal status and the American Revolution

Registers of free Blacks

Western expansion

The relationship between western expansion and free Blacks

Migrations to Ohio

The goings clan: the genealogy

The migration of the goings clan to northwestern Ohio

The village of Rumley

The village of Carthagena

The village of Wren

The village of Middle Creek

Education in the Black settlements

The importance of the church in the Black settlements

Life in the Black settlements after the Civil War

Benevolence societies in the Black settlements

Social life in the Black settlements

Living conditions in the Black settlements

Health and wellness in the Black settlements

Health-seeking traditions in the Black settlements

Conclusions: invisible in plain sight: self-determination strategies.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781433134906

143313490X

OCLC:

960641849

Publisher Number:

99970340782