DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

African Americans in the Berkshires

 

The primary purpose of the African Americans in the Berkshires Project is to tell the story of the African American experience in Berkshire County  from 1750 to the present through short vignettes through nine chronological periods that document their courage and determination in the face of adverse circumstances to overcome immense odds to fully participate in all aspects of American society. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his famous “I Have a Dream Speech,” When the  architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” When Thomas Jefferson penned the words to the Declaration of Independence that, "All men are created equal," he could not possibly have envisioned how literally African Americans would take his words. In Berkshire County there is a long list of African Americans that have made significant contributions to defining the tenets of freedom and democracy and shaping and changing the definition of what it means to be an American. A few examples are Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman Mumbet made a huge impact in our society when she became the first African American woman to sue for her freedom in Massachusetts and win. For her triumph and spirit, Berkshire County, the state of Massachusetts, and the nation should honor her. Of course, the best-known citizen of African ancestry was W.E.B. DuBois who single-handedly  revised America’s understanding of reconstruction and the legal rights of African Americans. Others include the revolutionary war hero Agrippa Hull, the famous photographer of the Harlem Renaissance, James VanderZee, Frank Grant of the  Negro Baseball League, and Samuel Harrison, the Chaplain for the 54th Regiment in the Civil War.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.