Lena Rogers’ letter was right out of Frederick Wright’s handbook of racism. The only truth in her message of misinformation is “slavery was wrong.”
In the 1830 U.S. Census in Virginia, my home state, there were 3,775 free blacks. Those free blacks owned a “few” black slaves — 12,740 according to census records. Many years earlier, the first slave of record to enter Virginia was named John Casor. His owner was a man named Anthony Johnson of Northampton, Va. He was and still is known as the father of American slavery.
I read a newspaper account from 1864 of a regiment of Richmond blacks, free and slave, who volunteered to fight for the Confederacy. They were shown marching out of Richmond with the Stars and Bars flying in front of them.
I served as an airman in World War II. Probably the best known fighter group was a group of blacks known as Tuskeegee Airmen. Part of their mission was to escort bomber groups to their targets. Most missions lost two or more bombers due to ground fire or enemy fighters. No bombers were lost when those black heroes escorted a bomb group. I’m talking about every group they escorted.
Bernie Kerrick
Kingsport
