Between Slavery and Freedom (27 page)

An African-American Shipowner Visits Charleston (ca. 1830)

One of the people white abolitionist Samuel J. May met on a visit to New Bedford, Massachusetts, was black merchant and shipowner Richard Johnson (
1776–1853
). In a long career at sea, Johnson had risen “from cabin boy to
captain
.” When the episode he recounted to May took place, he was sailing on one of his own
vessels
. He and the white captain did not anticipate any trouble when they put into Charleston for a few days, but almost immediately Johnson found himself
facing
arrest. South Carolina's infamous Negro Seamen's Act required that all black crew members entering the port be jailed until their ship departed. However, the law assumed that the only black men on board a vessel would be sailors, cooks, or stewards. The authorities did not know how to deal with a black man who actually owned the vessel.

Mr. Johnson, a few years ago, freighted a small vessel for the West Indies, and went with her as supercargo. On his return, he found occasion to put into the port of Charleston, S.C. The cook of the vessel, and one of the sailors, being colored, were immediately thrown into prison. And the “officers of Justice” were proceeding to deal likewise with Mr. Johnson, when several gentlemen who were acquainted with him . . . interfered. They insisted, that according to the language of the law, the magistrates had no authority to commit Mr. Johnson, he being neither cook, sailor, nor stevedore. The Mayor demurred some time, because as he said, such a man might do more harm among the slaves, than if he had not risen from the menial situation, to which the free blacks are normally condemned. Nevertheless, as Mr. J. and his counselors appealed to the law, and also gave bonds for his good behavior, the honorable Mayor was
obliged to leave him at liberty; but admonished him that if he ever came to Charleston again, he should not be protected by the letter of the law.

Source:
Liberator
(Boston), April 24, 1835

Maria W. Stewart's Speeches (1832–1833)

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Maria Miller (1803–1879) was orphaned at age five and bound out as a servant. After her term of indenture ended, she continued working as a domestic. Eventually she moved to Boston, and in 1826 she married James W. Stewart, a much older black businessman. As the wife of one of Boston's wealthiest men of color, Maria Miller Stewart enjoyed a comfortable existence, but in 1829 her husband died and his white executors cheated her out of her inheritance. The following year she lost her friend and mentor, David Walker. Deeply spiritual, with a tremendous love of learning and a growing commitment to abolition and social reform, Stewart began writing and lecturing. Her willingness to defy the conventions of gender as well as race, to speak to “promiscuous” audiences (i.e., men as well as women) and to criticize black men for what she regarded as their failings aroused opposition within the black community. In 1833, Stewart left Boston for New York City, where she became a teacher. As the first excerpt shows, Stewart believed young black women should have better access to education and more job opportunities. The second excerpt is from a speech Stewart gave at Boston's African Masonic Hall that no doubt irked many of the men in attendance.

I have asked several individuals of my own sex, who transact business for themselves, if, providing our girls were to give them the most satisfactory references, they would not be willing to grant them an equal opportunity with others? Their reply has been—for their own part, they had no objection; but as it was not the custom, were they to take them into their employ, they would be in danger of losing the public patronage. And such is the powerful force of prejudice—Let our girls possess what amiable qualities of soul they may—let their characters be fair and spotless as innocence itself—let their natural taste and ingenuity be what they may—it is impossible for scarce an individual of them to rise above the condition of servants. . . . As servants, we are respected; but let us presume to aspire any higher [and] our employer regards us no longer. I do not consider it derogatory, my friends, for persons to live out to service . . . and I would highly commend the performance of almost any thing for an honest livelihood . . . [but most] of our color have dragged out a miserable existence of servitude from the cradle to the
grave . . . O, ye fairer sisters, whose hands are never soiled . . . Had we the opportunity that you have had, to improve our moral and mental faculties, what would have hindered our intellects from being as bright, and our manners from being as dignified as yours?

Source:
Liberator
(Boston), November 17, 1832

I would ask, is it blindness of mind, or stupidity of soul, or the want of education, that has caused our men who are 60 or 70 years of age never to let their voices be heard nor their hands be raised in behalf of their color? Or has it been for the fear of offending the whites? If it has, O ye fearful ones, throw off your fearfulness and come forth in the name of the Lord . . . If you are men, convince them that you possess the spirit of men . . . Have the sons of Africa no souls? Shall the chains of ignorance forever confine them? Shall the insipid appellation of “clever negroes” or “good creatures” any longer content them? . . . It is true, our fathers bled and died in the revolutionary war, and others fought bravely under the command of Jackson, in defence
[sic]
of liberty. But where is the man that has distinguished himself in these modern days by acting wholly in the defence of African rights and liberty? . . . Talk, without effort, is nothing; you are abundantly capable, gentlemen, of making yourselves men of distinction; and this gross neglect, on your part, causes my blood to boil within me . . . Cast your eyes about—look as far as you can see—all, all is owned by the lordly white, except here and there a lowly dwelling which the man of color, midst deprivations, fraud and opposition, has been scarce able to procure . . . We have pursued the shadow, they [whites] have obtained the substance; we have performed the labor, they have received the profits.

Source:
Liberator
(Boston), April 27, 1833

John Remond, a Salem, Massachusetts caterer, used the sighting of a sea serpent off the New England coast to appeal to potential customers. Philadelphia's
Serena
Gardiner emphasized her respectability and that of her establishment. While
Gardiner
offered accommodation to genteel African Americans, in South
Carolina
tailor turned hotelier Jehu Jones boasted of the splendors of his establishment to white planters and their families eager to escape the summer heat. In Boston,
William
and Thomas Jinnings understood the need to be as versatile as
possible when it came to the inventory in their store and the skills they mastered. Black people in communities large and small looked for economic opportunities wherever they could find them and appreciated the importance of a good newspaper
advertisement
.

Free Blacks in Business in Antebellum America

Nothing Like The Serpent

The public are hereby informed, that a more palatable fish than a Sea-Serpent will make his appearance on Monday next, at the new establishment in Front Street, and will not come alone, but in such quantities as may best suit purchasers. The supposition is that few of my customers can swallow a
serpent
, and but few that are not fond of swallowing an
oyster
.
Now know ye
,

Gentlemen of Salem and vicinity, that an
oyster establishment
will be opened on Monday next . . . where the best of Oysters and good attendance will be provided.

Let them be roasted, stew'd or fried,

Or any other way beside,

You'll well be serv'd, or ill betide

john remond

Source:
Salem Gazette
, September 2, 1817

Sullivan's Island Establishment

For the accommodation of visitors the Proprietor has purchased a Carriage and a pair of very gentle Horses, to take Ladies and Gentlemen up to the east end of the Island; and a Horse and Gig, also for the use of his friends.

Having spared no expense to make the Establishment as comfortable as possible, and to make the charges as low as the very high expense of the Establishment will admit, [he] has placed the different charges as follows:

ice cream
every day

jehu jones

Source:
City Gazette and Daily Advertiser
(Charleston, South Carolina), July 19, 1817

Genteel Private Boarding House

mrs. serena gardiner,
who formerly kept a private boarding-house at No. 19, Powell-street, has removed to No. 13,
elizabeth-street
; where respectable persons of color can be accommodated with Boarding, and also with separate apartments if required. A share of patronage is respectfully solicited.

Source:
Liberator
(Boston), May 9, 1835

removal—w. s. & t. jinnings
respectfully announce to their friends and the public that they have removed to the spacious store, No. 100 Court Street, adjoining Blaney's Grate Factory, where they now carry on the regular business of a clothing and variety store on an entirely new plan.

Their stock will consist of every variety of curious and fancy articles—also Watches and Jewelry, Guns, Swords, Pistols, &c. Surgical, Mathematical, Nautical and Musical Instruments, Carpenter's tools—also a large number of rare and interesting Prints, an assortment of military equipment, such as Caps, Belts, Silk Sashes, Coats, &c., together with a first rate assortment of new and second [hand] fashionable Clothing, Stocks, Collars, Bosoms, Suspenders, Handkerchiefs, Gloves and Hosiery, constantly on hand at low prices.

Source:
Liberator
(Boston), May 12, 1837

Thomas Jinnings, Practical Surgeon Dentist

All dental operations, from cleansing teeth to inserting them on gold plate, skillfully executed. Teeth plugged in a manner superior to any plan ever before practiced in this country, by which the original shape of the tooth can be perfectly restored. All operations warranted. At Dr. Mann's office, No. 16 Summer Street, Boston.

Source:
Colored American
(New York), August 22, 1840

On the Impact of Prejudice (1837)

In 1837, in an effort to understand the impact of racial prejudice in the North, white abolitionist Angelina Grimké contacted several well-educated and articulate African-American women whom she knew through various antislavery organizations and asked them to share with her what prejudice meant in their everyday lives. Sarah Louisa Forten, one of the daughters of wealthy Philadelphia businessman James Forten, responded, describing her own experiences and her awareness that even among white abolitionists there were subtle undercurrents of racism. Forten
was an accomplished writer. Using the pen-name “Ada,” she composed poetry for antislavery newspapers like William Lloyd Garrison's
Liberator
. She was a founding member of the interracial Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society and she had a deep admiration for many of the white people she encountered through her antislavery work. Even so, she realized that a commitment to ending slavery did not always translate into a rejection of racial prejudice.