Black History

First Enslaved African Arrives in U.S Well Before 1619

Esteban was born in West Africa and sold into slavery in a Portuguese town on Morocco’s Atlantic coast.

Published

3 years ago

July 1, 2021

Christy Price

British Library/Unsplash

The first enslaved African to arrive in Florida who can be documented by name was a Black man named Esteban. And, long before the explorers Lewis and Clark crossed the continent, he would traverse the land that later became the United States, through the Southwest, to the Pacific Ocean.

Esteban was born in West Africa and sold into slavery in a Portuguese town on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. According to the historian Robert Goodwin, Esteban was shipped to Spain as a slave from the town of Azemmour, Morocco, in 1522. Andres Dorantes de Carranza purchased him and brought Esteban to Florida in April 1528.

Under attack by the Native American residents where they landed, the expedition sailed on rafts across the Gulf of Mexico to what is today Galveston, Texas. There, a storm sank three of the five rafts. Esteban, his master and 13 others survived the storms and the harsh conditions during the winter of 1528. And then the real fun began.

When the party decided to travel inland, they were captured and enslaved for five years by the Karankawa Indians. In 1534, Esteban and the four remaining survivors escaped and were befriended by other Native Americans, who regarded the tiny band of strangers as healers and medicine men. Esteban, according to an eyewitness account, was a gifted linguist and quickly mastered different Native American languages, so he served as translator.

Incredibly, the men traveled through what is now Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Northern Mexico, ultimately a total of 15,000 miles! Esteban’s luck eventually ran out, though: In May 1539, the Zuni Indians of Hawikuh in New Mexico executed him, regarding him as a harbinger of more unwanted and dangerous visitors. But by the time of his death, Esteban and his three companions had seen more of the North American southwest than any other non-Native American.

Source: America’s History of Slavery Began Long Before Jamestown

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estevanico

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/misguided-focus-1619-beginning-slavery-us-damages-our-understanding-american-history-180964873/

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2019/12/16/american-slavery-traces-roots-st-augustine-florida-not-jamestown/4205417002/

Christy Price

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.