I'm in Lexington, Virginia for a few days as my 4th Class cadet is finishing up the year at VMI. That's been a very interesting experience and I could do a whole thread on that.
But, the reason for this post is that I made a wrong turn today in Lexington and stumbled on to a historical marker for the "Original African American Cemetery" in Lexington. The sign includes this text
How many free blacks were there in the South prior to the Civil War? Was this a significant population? Did they have to carry papers on them all the time to prove that they weren't escapees?
This site shows a picture of the historical marker.
Original African American Cemetery Marker, I-22-a
But, the reason for this post is that I made a wrong turn today in Lexington and stumbled on to a historical marker for the "Original African American Cemetery" in Lexington. The sign includes this text
Since I grew up mostly in Alaska and Saudi Arabia, my Civil War education was not the best. And obviously, nobody is going to do a movie about this without adding in loads of slave beating and racism. I've read that there were Black slave owners but this isn't something that gets too much airplay. So, my questions are:Quote:
Near the intersection of Washington and Lewis Streets stood the original burial ground for Lexington's substantial free-black community and slaves dating to the early 1800s.
How many free blacks were there in the South prior to the Civil War? Was this a significant population? Did they have to carry papers on them all the time to prove that they weren't escapees?
This site shows a picture of the historical marker.
Original African American Cemetery Marker, I-22-a