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Cane Creek revisits ‘Free Joe’ connection as the church notes its 159th anniversary

NEW TRI-STATE DEFENDER — Pastor Dawson and the nearly 300-member congregation marked the church’s 159th anniversary with a program that marked the occasion and a season of planning and future dreaming of their own. This summer’s event kicked off a future-centered focus, not only for the church, but for the life of its community.

Published

4 years ago

September 30, 2019

Oakland Post

The Rev. Leonard Dawson, pastor of Cane Creek Baptist Church, enters the sanctuary with his wife, Mary during the anniversary celebration. (Photo: Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell)

Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

“If Free Joe and the original church members could see us here today, they would be absolutely astounded. I think it would be unbelievable to them that we have progressed like we have from their humble beginnings,” said Pastor Leonard Dawson of Cane Creek Baptist Church.

These ex-slaves would look in amazement at the progress we’ve made 159 years from the time they built their little, wooden church,” he said. “They, no doubt, had dreams for future generations and envisioned possibilities for a whole new world where black people enjoyed some of the luxuries and benefits that had long been denied them in slavery.”

Pastor Dawson and the nearly 300-member congregation marked the church’s 159th anniversary with a program that marked the occasion and a season of planning and future dreaming of their own. This summer’s event kicked off a future-centered focus, not only for the church, but for the life of its community.

“We are concerned about the decaying and deteriorating condition of the Bunker Hill community,” said Pastor Dawson. “We would like to see the revitalization of Bunker Hill. Over the years, there has been a constant neglect of our neighborhoods. Corner stores and businesses have long closed down. Blighted and run-down structures are almost more numerous than the homes that people actually live in.”

Dawson recalls the tremendous hope and promise church founders had for their little Cane Creek church. For ex-slaves, there was nowhere to go but up. Some written records are available regarding the life and work of church founder Joseph H. “Free Joe” Harris. But most of the growth and history has lived on over the generations through a strong, oral tradition.

Joseph H. “Free Joe” Harris (sometimes written as “Freejoe”) was born a slave on July 18, 1796, in Goochland County, Virginia. In 1829, when he was 33 years old, Freejoe became a Baptist minister. Three years later, he was emancipated. The circumstances of obtaining his freedom—whether he brought his own freedom, or his master let him go free—is unclear. He left Virginia and came to Eads, Tennessee in 1833 as one of the early pioneers of Fayette and Shelby Counties.

Freejoe purchased his wife, Fanny and baby daughter, Virginia, out of slavery in 1834. In 1835, he and Fanny became the first couple of color to marry in Shelby County, Tennessee. He was the first architect of color in Shelby County, Tennessee. He built the oldest brick structure currently standing in West Tennessee in 1834. It is located in Germantown, Tennessee.

Four years later, he built Bethany Christian Church in Eads. He seems to have taken on the ministry of building churches. But toward the end of 1838, he fled to Indiana with his young family to avoid “The Trail of Tears.”

(Whites called him DocJoe or Indian Joe. He had Native American ancestry, but why he was in danger of being a part of “Indian Removal” from Tennessee—or “The Trail of Tears”—is unknown.)

He returned to Eads in 1840 and became an agent for the Underground Railroad.

Freejoe opened a stagecoach line, “The Harris Line,” that ran from Bolivar, Tennessee to Memphis on the Memphis/Bolivar trail now known as Highway 64/Stage Road, with an occasional run to Jackson, Tennessee. Runaway slaves were hidden underneath his stagecoaches.

He built Gray’s Creek Missionary Baptist Church on February 15, 1843, in Eads. Today, it is the first and oldest African-American Church in rural Shelby County, Tennessee. A historical marker has been placed by the Shelby County, Tennessee Historical Commission.

Over the course of his life and ministry, Freejoe build Cane Creek Missionary Baptist Church along side a creek called Cane Creek, and pastored there for a number of years. He died on July 15, 1875, and is buried in Gray’s Creek Missionary Baptist Church cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Shelby County. A historical marker has been placed by the Shelby County Historical Commission.

Cane Creek grew and moved as its congregation grew and migrated from rural Shelby County into the city of Memphis. Today, it is the recently built church edifice on Elvis Presley Boulevard next to the U.S. Postal Service’s Bulk Mail Center.

“I hope to make our Life Center a hub for Bunker Hill community,” said Pastor Dawson. “We want to help make our people computer-literate, and I want to make an impact on Alzheimers for our elderly. That’s the legacy Freejoe left us—serving our community and loving its people. We want the spirit of his work to be kept alive at Cane Creek for the next 100 years.”

This article originally appeared in the New Tri-State Defender

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WATCH LIVE! — NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Welcome to the NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception
The post WATCH LIVE! — NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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1 day ago

September 22, 2023

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The post WATCH LIVE! — NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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OP-ED: Delivering Climate Resilience Funding to Communities that Need it the Most

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Just last month, FEMA announced nearly $3 billion in climate mitigation project selections nationwide to help communities build resilience through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) national competition and Flood Mitigation Assistance program. In total, more than 50% of these projects will benefit disadvantaged communities, and in particular, 70% of BRIC projects will do the same.
The post OP-ED: Delivering Climate Resilience Funding to Communities that Need it the Most first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2 days ago

September 22, 2023

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By Erik A. Hooks, FEMA Deputy Administrator

We know that disasters do not discriminate. Yet, recovery from the same event can be uneven from community to community, perpetuating pre-existing inequalities. Recognizing these disparities, FEMA and the entire Biden-Harris Administration have prioritized equity when it comes to accessing federal programs and resources.

The numbers tell the story.

Just last month, FEMA announced nearly $3 billion in climate mitigation project selections nationwide to help communities build resilience through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) national competition and Flood Mitigation Assistance program. In total, more than 50% of these projects will benefit disadvantaged communities, and in particular, 70% of BRIC projects will do the same.

These selections further underscore the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to equity and reaffirm FEMA’s mission of helping people before, during and after disasters, delivering funding to the communities that need it most.

Building on this momentum and our people-first approach, FEMA recently announced the initial designation of nearly 500 census tracts, which will be eligible for increased federal support to become more resilient to natural hazards and extreme weather worsened by the climate crisis. FEMA will use “Community Disaster Resilience Zone” designations to direct and manage financial and technical assistance for resilience projects nationwide, targeting communities most at risk due to climate change. More Community Disaster Resilience Zone designations, including tribal lands and territories, are expected to be announced in the fall of 2023.

These types of investments have, and will yield a significant return on investment for communities nationwide.

For example, in my home state of North Carolina, the historic community of Princeville, founded by freed African American slaves, uses BRIC funding to move vulnerable homes and critical utilities out of flood-prone areas.

In East Harlem, BRIC dollars will provide nature-based flood control solutions to mitigate the impacts of extreme rainfall events in the Clinton low-income housing community.

While we are encouraged by these investments, we know more must be done.

Not every community has the personnel, the time or the resources to apply for these federal dollars. Fortunately, FEMA offers free, Direct Technical Assistance to help under-resourced communities navigate the grant application process and get connected with critical resources. Under the leadership of FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, this assistance has been a game-changer, reducing barriers and providing even more flexible, customer-focused, tailored support to communities interested in building and sustaining successful resilience programs.

In Eastwick, Philadelphia, FEMA’s dedicated support helped the city with outreach to multiple federal agencies. Together, we built a comprehensive community-led flood mitigation strategy. When applied and implemented, this will make this community more resilient to hazards like flooding, which was negatively affecting many neighborhood blocks.

In DePue, Illinois, we worked hand-in-hand with communities to improve their ability to submit high-quality funding applications for hazard mitigation projects. We are happy to share that DePue is the first Direct Technical Assistance community to be selected in the BRIC national competition. And, we know they will not be the last. Thanks to this assistance and their ambition, DePue was awarded more than $20 million to build a new wastewater treatment plant, which will reduce flooding and raw sewage back-up into the basements of homes.

In total, our agency is working with over 70 communities, including tribal nations, to increase access to funding for mitigation projects that will make communities more livable and resilient.

With extreme weather events becoming increasingly intense and frequent due to climate change, we must keep pressing forward and continue investing in ways to better protect ourselves and our neighbors. And we are encouraged that local officials are engaging with us to learn more about the benefits of the BRIC non-financial Direct Technical Assistance initiative—just last week, we saw hundreds of participants nationwide register for a recent webinar on this important topic.

We want to see even more communities take advantage of this initiative, and, ultimately, obtain grants for innovative and forward-looking resilience projects. To that end, FEMA recently published a blog with five steps to help local communities and tribal nations learn more about the benefits of this non-financial technical assistance to access federal funding. I hope your community will take action and submit a letter of interest for this exciting opportunity and increase meaningful mitigation work throughout the country.

With the pace of disasters accelerating, communities can utilize federal resources to reduce their risk and take action to save property and lives. FEMA stands ready to be a partner and collaborator with any community that is ready to implement creative mitigation strategies and help build our nation’s resilience.

The post OP-ED: Delivering Climate Resilience Funding to Communities that Need it the Most first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tale of Two Underground Railroad Communities

ARIZONA INFORMANT — Prior to the Civil War, many communities in the Ohio River Valley were a part of an elaborate system that provided resources and protection for enslaved persons from Southern states on their journey to freedom. Once someone crossed the Ohio River, they traveled along unknown terrain of trails to safe houses and hiding places that would become known as the Underground Railroad.
The post Tale of Two Underground Railroad Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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4 days ago

September 20, 2023

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By Christopher J. Miller, Sr. Director of Education & Community Engagement, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Christopher J. Miller

September is International Underground Railroad Month.

This proclamation began in the State of Maryland in 2019, and now more than 11 States officially celebrate one of the most significant eras in U.S. history. With the signing of Ohio HB 340 in June 2022, Ohio became the 12^th state to designate September International Underground Railroad Month.

Many history enthusiasts and scholars hope the momentum of the proclamation spreads to other states so that all our forebears of freedom are remembered.

Examining this era, you find that the Ohio River Valley is instrumental in the many narratives of freedom seekers. These stories are critical to our understanding of race relations and civic responsibilities.

Before the Civil War, many communities in the Ohio River Valley were part of an elaborate system that provided resources and protection for enslaved persons from Southern states on their journey to freedom. Once someone crossed the Ohio River, they traveled along unknown terrain of trails to safe houses and hiding places that would become known as the Underground Railroad.

Gateway to Freedom sign

The Underground Railroad was comprised of courageous people who were held to a higher law that confronted the institution of slavery with acts of civil disobedience by helping freedom seekers elude enslavers and slave hunters and help them get to Canada.

Many communities were a force for freedom along the more than 900-mile stretch of the Ohio River Valley, but I would like to focus on two significant communities.

Southern Indiana was a major part of this history. It was originally believed that there were from Posey to South Bend, Corydon to Porter, and Madison to DeKalb County, with many stops in between.

In further examination, the Underground Railroad in Indiana was a web of trails through the forests, swamps, briars, and dirt roads. The city that is often overlooked in reflecting on the history of the Underground Railroad is New Albany, Indiana.

By 1850, New Albany was the largest city in Indiana, with a population of 8,632. Free Blacks accounted for 502 of that population. Across the river, Louisville was Kentucky’s largest city, with a population of 42,829. A quarter of the 6,687 Black population were free in Louisville.

Town Clock Church (aerial view)

Louisville and New Albany would grow to become a significant region for Underground Railroad activity. People like Henson McIntosh became a prominent community member and major Underground Railroad conductor. McIntosh was one of approximately ten Underground Railroad agents in New Albany who used their wealth and influence to impact the lives of freedom seekers crossing the Ohio River.

The Carnegie Center for Art & History is an outstanding resource that continues to preserve New Albany’s role during the Underground Railroad era. Approximately 104 miles east along the Ohio River is another institution that plays a critical role in elevating the profile of the Underground Railroad on a national scope.

Inside Town Clock Church New Albany Indiana safe house

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is located on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio.

By 1850, Cincinnati would grow to be the 6^th largest city in the Union, with a sizable Black population.

The Freedom Center is prominently located in the heart of a historic Black community called Little Africa. Although the community no longer exists, its legacy lives on through the Freedom Center.

As with New Albany, the community that resided along the banks of the river served an important role in the story of the Underground Railroad. Little Africa was the gateway to freedom for thousands of freedom seekers escaping slavery.

Although there were Underground Railroad networks throughout the country, Ohio had the most active network of any other state, with approximately 3,000 miles of routes used by an estimated 40,000 freedom seekers that crossed through Little Africa.

Despite the growth of enslavement leading up to the Civil War, communities such as Little Africa and New Albany reveal the realities regarding race relations and a model for the dignity of human life through their respective efforts to be kind and resilient friends for the freedom seekers.

For More Information:

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center – https://freedomcenter.org/

Cincinnati Tourism – https://www.visitcincy.com/

Carnegie Center for Art & History – https://carnegiecenter.org/

Southern Indiana Tourism – https://www.gosoin.com/

The post Tale of Two Underground Railroad Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.