The Bridge
For enslaved people, the holiday season was a time for revelry – and a brief window to fight back
Ana Lucia Araujo, Howard University
During the era of slavery in the Americas, enslaved men, women and children also enjoyed the holidays. Slave owners usually gave them bigger portions of food, gifted them alcohol and provided extra days of rest.
Those gestures, however, were not made out of generosity.
As abolitionist, orator and diplomat Frederick Douglass explained, slave owners were trying to keep enslaved people under control by plying them with better meals and more downtime, in the hopes of preventing escapes and rebellions.
Most of the time, it worked.
But as I discuss in my recent book, “Humans in Shackles: An Atlantic History of Slavery,” many enslaved people were onto their owners and used this brief period of respite to plan escapes and start revolts.
Feasting, frolicking and fiddling
Most enslaved people in the Americas adhered to the Christian calendar – and celebrated Christmas – since either Catholicism or Protestantism predominated, from Birmingham, Alabama, to Brazil.
Consider the example of Solomon Northup, whose tragic story became widely known in the film “12 Years A Slave.” Northup was born free in the state of New York but was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Louisiana in 1841.
In his narrative, Northup explained that his owner and their neighbors gave their slaves between three and six days off during the holidays. He described this period as “carnival season with the children of bondage,” a time for “feasting, frolicking, and fiddling.”
According to Northup, each year a slave owner in central Louisiana’s Bayou Boeuf offered a Christmas dinner attended by as many as 500 enslaved people from neighboring plantations. After spending the entire year consuming meager meals, this marked a rare opportunity to indulge in several kinds of meats, vegetables, fruits, pies and tarts.
There’s evidence of holiday celebrations since the early days of slavery in the Americas. In the British colony of Jamaica, a Christmas masquerade called Jonkonnu has taken place since the 17th century. One 19th-century artist depicted the celebration, painting four enslaved men playing musical instruments, including a container covered with animal skin, along with an instrument made from an animal’s jawbone.
In the 1861 narrative of her life in slavery, abolitionist Harriet Jacobs described a similar masquerade in North Carolina.
“Every child rises early on Christmas morning to see the Johnkannaus,” she wrote. “Without them, Christmas would be shorn of its greatest attraction.”
On Christmas Day, she continued, nearly 100 enslaved men paraded through the plantation wearing colorful costumes with cows’ tails fastened to their backs and horns decorating their heads. They went door to door, asking for donations to buy food, drinks and gifts. They sang, danced and played musical instruments they had fashioned themselves – drums made of sheepskin, metal triangles and an instrument fashioned from the jawbone of a horse, mule or donkey.
It’s the most wonderful time to escape
Yet beneath the revelry, there was an undercurrent of angst during the holidays for enslaved men, women and children.
In the American South, enslavers often sold or hired out their slaves in the first days of the year to pay their debts. During the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, many enslaved men, women and children were consumed with worry over the possibility of being separated from their loved ones.
At the same time, slave owners and their overseers were often distracted – if not drunk – during the holidays. It was a prime opportunity to plan an escape.
John Andrew Jackson was owned by a Quaker family of planters in South Carolina. After being separated from his wife and child, he planned to escape during the Christmas holiday of 1846. He managed to flee to Charleston. From there, he went north and eventually reached New Brunswick in Canada. Sadly, he was never able to reunite with his enslaved relatives.
Even Harriet Tubman took advantage of the holiday respite. Five years after she successfully escaped from the Maryland plantation where she was enslaved, she returned on Christmas Day in 1854 to save her three brothers from a life of bondage.
‘Tis the season for rebellion
Across the Americas, the holiday break also offered a good opportunity to plot rebellions.
In 1811, enslaved and free people of color planned a series of revolts in Cuba, in what became known as the Aponte Rebellion. The scheming and preparations took place between Christmas Day and the Day of Kings, a Jan. 6 Catholic holiday commemorating the three magi who visited the infant Jesus. Inspired by the Haitian Revolution, free people of color and enslaved people joined forces to try to end slavery on the island.
In April, the Cuban government eventually smashed the rebellion.
In Jamaica, enslaved people followed suit. Samuel Sharpe, an enslaved Baptist lay deacon, called a general strike on Christmas Day 1831 to demand wages and better working conditions for the enslaved population.
Two nights later, a group of enslaved people set fire to a trash house at an estate in Montego Bay. The fire spread, and what was supposed to be a strike instead snowballed into a violent insurrection. The Christmas Rebellion – or Baptist War, as it became known – was the largest slave revolt in Jamaica’s history. For nearly two months, thousands of slaves battled British forces until they were eventually subdued. Sharpe was hanged in Montego Bay on May 23, 1832.
After news of the Christmas Rebellion and its violent repression reached Britain, antislavery activists ramped up their calls to ban slavery. The following year, Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act, which prohibited slavery in the British Empire.
Yes, the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day offered a chance to feast or plot rebellions.
But more importantly, it served as a rare window of opportunity for enslaved men, women and children to reclaim their humanity.
Ana Lucia Araujo, Professor of History, Howard University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The Bridge is a section of the STM Daily News Blog meant for diversity, offering real news stories about bona fide community efforts to perpetuate a greater good. The purpose of The Bridge is to connect the divides that separate us, fostering understanding and empathy among different groups. By highlighting positive initiatives and inspirational actions, The Bridge aims to create a sense of unity and shared purpose. This section brings to light stories of individuals and organizations working tirelessly to promote inclusivity, equality, and mutual respect. Through these narratives, readers are encouraged to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives and to participate actively in building stronger, more cohesive communities.
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The 16th Street Train Station in West Oakland, a historic landmark that has stood as a silent witness to over a century of cultural and industrial evolution, is now one step closer to restoration. Recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the station’s new status has ignited hope and momentum for its revival. This milestone, celebrated by preservationists and community members alike, could be the key to unlocking the funding and support needed to breathe new life into this iconic structure.
A Moment of Celebration and Reflection
“I am ecstatic,” said Feleciai Favroth, treasurer of the Oakland Heritage Alliance, which spearheaded the station’s nomination for historic designation. “This could be the key to make the station a viable rehab project.” Favroth’s enthusiasm is shared by many who have long advocated for the station’s preservation, recognizing its profound historical and cultural significance.
The listing on the National Register of Historic Places not only honors the station’s legacy but also makes it eligible for a 20% federal income tax credit for restoration costs. Similar incentives have played a crucial role in reviving other Bay Area landmarks, such as Oakland’s Fox Theater and Richmond’s Ford Assembly Plant. “The bottom line of the tax credit is it just makes things much more financially feasible and attractive for developers,” said Kara Brunzell, an architectural historian who worked on the nomination.
A Daunting Financial Challenge
Despite this significant achievement, the road to restoration remains steep. The station requires an estimated $50 million for seismic retrofitting and restoration—a daunting sum that has stymied previous efforts to save the building. “Just because we’re on the registry doesn’t mean the station is saved,” Favroth cautioned. Over the decades, multiple owners have attempted to restore the station, but none have secured the necessary funding.
The current owner, City Ventures, has proposed a 77-unit townhome-style development called “Signal House” around the station site. However, the plan, under review since May 2023, does not include the station’s rehabilitation. City Ventures has hired OE Consulting to explore fundraising options for the station’s repairs. According to OE Consulting, the search is on for an “anchor funder”—a major donor willing to provide the initial funds to kickstart the restoration and allow the community to decide the station’s future use.
A Vision for the Future
The Oakland Heritage Alliance is now focused on securing funding for a feasibility study to explore the station’s potential. “You have to do something that’s financially viable because that’s the big thing nowadays with historical preservation. ‘Can the asset financially sustain itself?’” Favroth explained. Proposed ideas for the station’s reuse include an event venue, offices, a technology hub, or a business incubator.
Brunzell emphasized the station’s architectural and historical significance, comparing it to Grand Central Station in its grandeur and solidity. Designed in the Beaux Arts style by renowned architect Jarvis Hunt and opened in 1912, the station was a key hub for both local and long-distance trains during the heyday of rail travel. “You could come into the station from distant parts on the Southern Pacific, get off on the ground floor, walk upstairs, and get on a local streetcar to take you to your hotel. That was really important and unusual for the time,” Brunzell said.
Honoring African American History
The 16th Street Train Station is also one of the first to be designated under a new category that recognizes the history of African Americans in California. For Favroth, the station holds deep personal significance. Like many African Americans, her family has a direct connection to the station. Her aunts passed through it when they migrated to Oakland from Louisiana in the 1940s during the Great Migration. “I wanted to be able to honor their history and their memory,” Favroth said. “And this station has a strong tie to our history.”
The station served as a gateway for thousands of Black families seeking new opportunities in the West, and its surrounding neighborhood became a vibrant center of African American culture, commerce, and activism. Restoring the station is not just about preserving a building—it’s about reclaiming a piece of history that reflects the resilience and contributions of the Black community.
A Community Effort
The push to restore the 16th Street Train Station is a testament to the power of community advocacy and collaboration. From preservationists and historians to local officials and developers, a diverse coalition is working to ensure the station’s future. While challenges remain, the historic designation has provided a critical boost, offering both recognition and financial incentives to support the restoration effort.
As the project moves forward, the focus will be on balancing historical preservation with modern needs, ensuring that the station becomes a sustainable and inclusive space for the community. For West Oakland, the restoration of the 16th Street Train Station represents more than just the revival of a building—it’s a chance to honor the past, inspire the present, and build a brighter future.
The Bridge is a section of the STM Daily News Blog meant for diversity, offering real news stories about bona fide community efforts to perpetuate a greater good. The purpose of The Bridge is to connect the divides that separate us, fostering understanding and empathy among different groups. By highlighting positive initiatives and inspirational actions, The Bridge aims to create a sense of unity and shared purpose. This section brings to light stories of individuals and organizations working tirelessly to promote inclusivity, equality, and mutual respect. Through these narratives, readers are encouraged to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives and to participate actively in building stronger, more cohesive communities.
https://stmdailynews.com/the-bridge
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Deborah W. Parker, University of Virginia
“Just Because I am a Librarian doesn’t mean I have to dress like one.”
With this breezy pronouncement, Belle da Costa Greene handily differentiated herself from most librarians.
She stood out for other reasons, too.
In the early 20th century – a time when men held most positions of authority – Greene was a celebrated book agent, a curator and the first director of the Morgan Library. She also earned US$10,000 a year, about $280,000 today, while other librarians were making roughly $400.
She was also a Black woman who passed as white.
Born in 1879, Belle was the daughter of two light-skinned Black Americans, Genevieve Fleet and Richard T. Greener, the first Black man to graduate from Harvard. When the two separated in 1897, Fleet changed the family’s last name to Greene and, along with her five children, crossed the color line. Belle Marion Greener became Belle da Costa Greene – the “da Costa” a subtle claim to her Portuguese ancestry.
When banking magnate J.P. Morgan sought a librarian in 1905, his nephew Junius Morgan recommended Greene, who had been one of his co-workers at the Princeton Library.
Henceforth, Greene’s life didn’t just kick into a higher gear. It was supercharged. She became a lively fixture at social gatherings among America’s wealthiest families. Her world encompassed Gilded Age mansions, country retreats, rare book enclaves, auction houses, museums and art galleries. Bold, vivacious and glamorous, the keenly intelligent Greene attracted attention wherever she went.
I found myself drawn to the worlds Greene entered and the people she described in her lively letters to her lover, art scholar Bernard Berenson. In 2024, I published a book, “Becoming Belle Da Costa Greene,” which explores her voice, her self-invention, her love of art and literature, and her path-breaking work as a librarian.
Yet I’m often asked whether Greene mentions her passing as white in her writings. She did not. Greene was one of hundreds of thousands of light-skinned Black Americans who passed as white in the Jim Crow era. While speculation about Greene’s background circulated in her lifetime, nothing was confirmed until historian Jean Strouse revealed the identities of Greene’s parents in her 1999 biography, “Morgan: American Financier.” Until that point, only Greene’s mother and siblings knew the story of their Black heritage.
“Passing” can often raise more questions than answers. But Greene did not largely define herself through one category, such as her racial identity. Instead, she constructed a self through the things she loved.
‘I love this life – don’t you?’
In my view, any consideration of Greene’s attitudes toward her own race must remain an open question. And uncertainty can be acknowledged – even embraced – with judgments suspended.
The Morgan Library & Museum currently has an exhibition on Greene that will run until May 4, 2025 – one that’s already generated debates about Greene and the significance of her passing.
One section of the exhibition, “Questioning the Color Line,” includes novels on passing, paintings such as Archibald J. Motley Jr.’s “The Octoroon Girl,” photographs of Greene, and clips from Oscar Micheaux’s 1932 film “Veiled Aristocrats” and John M. Stahl’s 1934 film “Imitation of Life,” which portray painful scenes between white-passing characters and their family members.
None of these objects clarifies Greene’s particular relationship to passing. Instead, they place the librarian within melodramatic and conventional representations about passing that stress self-division and angst.
We don’t know – perhaps we will never know – whether Greene had similar moments of self-doubt.
Yet some critics have concluded as much. In his review of the exhibition for The New Yorker, critic Hilton Als laments what Greene’s passing had cost her. He describes her as a “girl who loved power,” a woman who “became a member of another race – not Black or white but alternately grandiose and self-despising.”
There’s a lot of certainty in such a pronouncement – and scant evidence furnished to support such declarations.
New York Times columnist John McWhorter takes issue with Als’s depiction of the librarian’s passing in a Jan. 23, 2025, article.
Citing passages from her letters in which Greene excitedly describes reading the Arabic folktales “The Thousand and One Nights” and seeing exhibitions of modern art, McWhorter asks readers to reconsider this “witty, puckish soul who savored books and art” and “had an active social life.”
What if Greene gave her race little thought, McWhorter wonders. What if she simply saw the notion of race and racial categorization as “a fiction” and instead lived her life to its fullest? Of course, her light skin afforded her the opportunity that other Black people of her era didn’t have. But does that necessarily mean that she was self-loathing or conflicted?
“[W]e are all wearing trousers and I love them,” Greene writes in one letter to Berenson, adding, “The Library grows more wonderful every day and I am terribly happy in my work here … I love this life – don’t you?”
Greene’s vitality captivated Berenson, who once described the librarian as “incredibly and miraculously responsive.”
The connoisseur was not the only contemporary who admired Greene’s effervescence. In “The Living Present,” an account of the activities of women before and after World War II, Greene’s friend Gertrude Atherton paid tribute to Greene, a “girl so fond of society, so fashionable in dress and appointments” that she could impress any stranger with her “overflowing joie de vivre.”
Crafting an aura
Viewed through a more expansive lens, Greene’s passing can be seen as part of an exercise in self-fashioning and self-invention.
Greene dressed to be noticed – and she was. Meta Harrsen, the librarian Greene hired in 1922, offers a rare eye-witness account. On the day Greene interviewed Harrsen, “she wore a dress of dark red Italian brocade shot with silver threads, a gold braided girdle, and an emerald necklace.”
Greene understood well the power of clothes to project a distinct identity – a highly crafted one in this case, and one befitting a connoisseur of rare books.
At that, she excelled. She became known for her stunning acquisition coups: her purchase of 16 rare editions of the works of English printer William Caxton at an auction; her procurement of the highly coveted Crusader’s Bible through a private negotiation; and her acquisition of the Spanish Apocalypse Commentary, a medieval text written by a Spanish monk that Greene was able to buy at a steep discount.
To me, a 1915 photo captures Greene’s confidence and aura more than any other image of the librarian.
She posed in her home and wasn’t shot in soft focus with a studio backdrop as other photographs tend to portray her. Sitting on the arm of a large chair upholstered in a tapestry weave, she wears an elaborate hat with a large ostrich plume, a high-necked blouse under a long, loosely belted jacket with a ruffled cuff over a long dark skirt. The decor is no less striking: Flemish tapestries decorate the walls behind her, and a liturgical vestment is draped over the bookcase. Looking directly at the viewer, Greene is assured and poised.
Greene’s stylish flair was not simply decorative. It was a testament to her vibrant personality and the joy she took in her work. Rather than judge her according to contemporary notions of racial identity, I prefer to marvel over her achievements and how she became a model for generations of future librarians.
Greene didn’t just pass. She surpassed – in spectacular ways.
Deborah W. Parker, Professor of Italian, University of Virginia
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Community
Celebrate Transit Equity Day: Ride Metrolink Free on February 4, 2025!
On February 4, 2025, Metrolink will offer free rides in celebration of Transit Equity Day, honoring Rosa Parks’ legacy and emphasizing public transportation’s role in community access and equity, while encouraging regional exploration.
Transit Equity Day
Los Angeles – Mark your calendars! On February 4, 2025, Southern Californians will have the unique opportunity to ride Metrolink free of charge, as the region’s six-county passenger rail provider celebrates Transit Equity Day. This annual event honors the legacy of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks and underscores the essential role public transportation plays in fostering access and equity for all communities.
On this special day, riders can board at any of Metrolink’s 67 stations without needing a ticket and can travel systemwide, including the Arrow service. To further celebrate Transit Equity Day, numerous local transit carriers will also waive fares, providing additional options for those seeking to explore the region.
A Statement of Purpose
Metrolink Board Chair and Orange Orange County Fourth District Supervisor Doug Chaffee expressed the significance of Transit Equity Day, stating, “This day honors Rosa Parks’ enduring legacy, while highlighting the vital role public transportation plays in ensuring people from all communities have access.” He continued, “When Metrolink introduced the largest service expansion in our history last fall, it was to create a more equitable system that works for all Southern Californians. Offering free rides on Transit Equity Day helps fulfill that promise.”
Exciting Changes in Service
In October 2023, Metrolink increased weekday service by nearly 23%, adding more midday and late-evening options for those needing to travel outside traditional work hours. Thanks to this expansion and recent improvements, Metrolink has seen a surge in ridership, setting multiple post-pandemic, single-day records. Moreover, a new San Bernardino Line schedule implemented on January 27 aims to enhance on-time performance along this high-volume corridor, allowing riders to experience efficient travel firsthand on Transit Equity Day.
A Commitment to Accessibility
Metrolink is not just about free rides on special occasions. The agency is dedicated to making public transit accessible to everyone year-round. In addition to offering three free-ride days each year, Metrolink provides everyday discounts for children, seniors, riders with disabilities, low-income riders, and active military members. For students, the Student Adventure Pass program allows K-12, college, and trade school students to ride free with a valid student ID, an initiative extended through June 30, 2025.
Metrolink ticketholders also enjoy free transfers to many connecting local transit providers, further enhancing accessibility across the region.
Explore the Region
If you’re looking to discover new places, Metrolink has curated a special repository of destinations that are easily accessible from its stations. Check out these exciting travel options at metrolinktrains.com/explore and start planning your adventure on Transit Equity Day!
Join Metrolink, LA Metro, Omnitrans, the Orange County Transportation Authority, the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, the Ventura County Transportation Commission, and other agencies in taking part in this celebratory day of equitable access to public transportation.
Ride Free, Celebrate Equity!
Transit Equity Day is more than just a free ride; it’s a reminder of the importance of public transport in promoting equity, access, and community connection. We invite all Southern Californians to take advantage of this opportunity, explore the region, and honor the legacy of Rosa Parks. This February 4th, hop aboard Metrolink and experience the freedom of transit—at no cost!
Metrolink website: Travelers looking for inspiration can view Metrolink’s specially curated repository of destinations easily accessible from Metrolink stations at metrolinktrains.com/explore.
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