Remembering Joseph and Josephine
                                       
​                                                                    September 16, 2019                         
                                   
                                              A Reflection written by Karah R. Newton
                   To commemorate 400 years since the beginning of slavery in America in 1619
 
                 

Joseph and Josephine left Mali by way of the Kingdom of Congo, in the loins of their great great-grandfather Daniel, who was transported in the belly of a dark, cold ship to a country far across the ocean. Why was Daniel snatched from his beloved homeland? In the grand scheme of purpose, it was necessary for Joseph and Josephine to be born in America, to prepare the way for generations yet unborn. Joseph and Josephine represent the host of brave forerunners of African descent who have gone before their brothers and sisters to soften the harsh, cruel mindset toward people of darker hue that was the norm in the new nation of America. 
 
Over centuries, newcomers from many different lands made their way to America to make a place for themselves in this rich, vast territory stretching from shining sea to shining sea. Looking down the long lens of history, one can conclude that it must have been the Creator’s plan for people originating in sub-Saharan Africa to stake their claim in the new nation that would become the United States of America.
 
It was not God's plan for Africans to come to America as human cargo in the belly of germ-infested slave ships. The operating force behind this inhumane transatlantic trafficking of humans was sheer greed. Greed on the part of White men who were all too eager to capitalize on a vast source of free labor and greed on the part of Africans all too willing to betray their brothers and sisters in exchange for supplies of textiles, firearms, alcohol, beads, manilas, cowries or any other form of currency that satisfied their insatiable appetite for material things. This demonic alliance between White slave traders and Africans, spawned in the deepest, darkest chambers of hell, exacted a toll of brutality that ripped away the very foundation of the souls of millions of fellow human beings created in the image of God. The human greed and selfishness that fueled the slave trade created a definitive path for people of African descent in America; a path that would for centuries inflict ruthless pain and suffering, to the point of crushing the soul of the oppressed, had it not been for the grace of God.
  
That Joseph and Josephine were born on the soil of this new nation was, for certain, the call of destiny. Their birth would serve many purposes. For now, let us closely examine just one of the purposes:  to bear the brunt of racial cruelty and overcome the harsh mindset of the lighter skinned natives and by so doing, pave the way for future generations of their darker skinned brothers and sisters from the east, west, north, and south to have the freedom to enter this bountiful country as liberated men and women, free to pursue that most valued of American ideals  —  happiness  
 
Joseph and Josephine’s great great great- grandfather Daniel (his American name) learned to speak the English language with proficiency in a thick African accent after being in this new country America for three years. It was against the law for him to learn to read. Nevertheless, Daniel had an extraordinary memory. When the young master of the house would read the Bible to the slaves, Daniel would memorize key scriptures that would help calm his troubled mind. One of his favorite scriptures was “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
 
When Daniel was born in Africa he was given the name Amare Chikelu Olufeme. The natives of this new country America would not permit him or anyone else to call him by his birth name. They gave him the name Daniel Smith. In his fourth year in America Daniel welcomed with great excitement the birth of his first offspring to be born in the new land. The master of the house gave Daniel permission to name the infant.  He named the healthy, handsome boy child Emen Smith.  Daniel taught Emen that no matter how tumultuous the outside world may get, no matter how and what the lighter skinned natives said to him, he should always center himself within that powerful, unshakable peace offered by the God of Heaven and Earth.
 
In this new land of oppression, Daniel found an unlikely cause for hope. On occasions, he encountered individuals, who though in position to make his life most wretched, chose to treat him with kindness. His master brother spoke to him with kindness and respect; a vendor who secretly slipped him an extra pound of provisions; an overseer who shortened his work hours each Friday, to give him more time to complete his personal chores. Daniel stored each act of kindness in the treasure chest of his memory. This treasure store of kind acts renewed Daniel’s faith in the humanity of the oppressing class of the land and gave birth to a bracing vision that one day, the power of the kind, gentle hearts of this land would transcend the vise-like grip of the evil oppressors and America would become a nation where all people would be valued for their intrinsic, God given worth. In the America to come, his descendants, people of African descent, would take their rightful place and put their shoulder to the wheel alongside their fellow Americans to build a great nation that would become a beacon to the world.   
 
Daniel’s blood line in Africa was of royal descent. His father was second in command to the king of the tribe. Daniel was trained and taught some solid principles as a future leader. Finding himself uprooted, in a strange land, he was keenly aware that only the God of Heaven and Earth along with the strength of the principles he had learned as a youth in his homeland would help him navigate America. Back in his homeland, Daniel had learned a powerful truth from Wise Teacher Abraham, an itinerant preacher who originated from the territory of Ethiopia. This truth imprinted on Daniel’s mind was to become a personal revelation that only the very God of Heaven and Earth could have revealed to his oppressed mind: all of mankind was created in the image of God. The implication of this truth was that even if a person looked different from you, you were duty bound to respect that person by virtue of his intrinsic value as a creation of God. 
 
Another of the principles that Daniel learned in Africa was that when you are in unfamiliar environment, speak as less as possible, and observe everything, without letting on that you are observing anything. Daniel taught his children and grand-children these principles and many other principles that helped him and his future descendants survive and grow in such a cruel environment. Daniel knew and understood that his ultimate purpose in life was to prepare the way in this great nation America, for the unborn dark skinned brothers and sisters who, one day, would come as free persons, to visit or make their home in this country.
 
In August 1619, a Dutch man of war vessel anchored in Jamestown, Virginia with a cargo of 20 plus Africans from Angola. These newcomers who landed in chains were viewed as mere commodity, and promptly put to work as slaves on the surrounding tobacco plantations. Thus began the 245- year history of chattel slavery in America.
 
Four hundred years later, as a proud citizen of the United States of America, born and bred in this land, I am grateful to Daniel, to Joseph and Josephine and to the countless numbers of the Africans who were brought in chains to this nation over the course of two centuries  ̶̶̶  brave forbears who paved the path for me and many others like myself to live today in this great nation we call America.