Black History

Horace King: A Genius Builder and Architect in Old South

One of the greatest fears of a slave owner was Black literacy. An uneducated slave was thought to be nonthreatening and “necessary to their security.”

Published

4 years ago

October 30, 2021

Christy Price

Horace King. Public domain photo.

One of the greatest fears of a slave owner was Black literacy. An uneducated slave was thought to be nonthreatening and “necessary to their security.”

Reading and writing posed a threat to the system of slavery, and strict laws were enforced against it. Simply put: educating an enslaved person was a crime. John Godwin, however, ignored this law, giving his slaves, including Horace King (1807–1885), a great degree of freedom.
King was born in South Carolina. He was taught to read early and thought to have been literate when purchased by Godwin around 1830. Soon after, Godwin, a builder, relocated from Alabama to a suburb of Columbus, Ga. There, he was awarded the contract to build the first public bridge connecting the two states.
It is said that King planned the project and supervised the enslaved people tasked to erect the span. It was then that Godwin realized King’s talents and natural genius as a builder. He made the decision to take King on as his protégé. Soon after, he sent King to Oberlin College (Ohio), the first college to admit African-American students.
After graduation, King returned to work with Godwin. The two collaborated on the construction of courthouses and bridges throughout Georgia and Alabama. In 1841, they rebuilt their Columbus City Bridge which had been destroyed in a flood.
King also served as superintendent and architect of major bridges at Wetumpka, Ala., and Columbus, Miss. Godwin did not supervise those projects.
Godwin experienced financial difficulties in the late 1830s, forcing him to transfer ownership of King to his wife and her uncle. In 1846, King was freed. It is said that Godwin came to these decisions because he needed to “protect this valuable asset (King) from his creditors.”

King could possibly have bought his freedom, but the relationship between the two men continued.
In the mid-1850s, King erected Moore’s Bridge, which stretched over the Chattahoochee River between Newnan and Carrollton. In lieu of cash, he accepted stock in the enterprise as payment. King’s wife and their five children are believed to have moved to this site. There they tended the bridge and farmed until 1864, when the Union cavalry burned the span.
The Civil War (1861–65) brought an economic boom to Columbus. King, at that time, worked for the Confederacy, supplying timber. He also took on the project of erecting a major building for the Confederate navy.
During Reconstruction (1863–77), King became a Republican politician. He served two terms as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives, although his presence was minimal. His focus was on rebuilding wagon and railroad bridges, grist and textile mills, cotton warehouses, and public buildings. He did not seek a third term.
In 1872, King and his family moved to LaGrange, Ga., where he continued to design and construct bridges, stores, houses, and college buildings. He had become the most respected bridge builder in west Georgia, Alabama, and northeast Mississippi from the 1830s until the 1880s. King died in 1885.

Christy Price

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Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

Published

2 days ago

June 20, 2025

Oakland Post

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Juneteenth: Celebrating Our History, Honoring Our Shared Spaces

It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Published

4 days ago

June 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans

By Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans

Juneteenth marks an important moment in our shared history—a time to reflect on the legacy of our ancestors who, even in the face of injustice, chose freedom, unity, and community over fear, anger, and hopelessness. We honor their resilience and the paths they paved so future generations can continue to walk with pride.

As we head into the weekend full of festivities and summer celebrations, I want to offer a friendly reminder about who is not invited to the cookout: litter.

At Clean California, we believe the places where we gather—parks, parade routes, street corners, and church lots—should reflect the pride and beauty of the people who fill them. Our mission is to restore and beautify public spaces, transforming areas impacted by trash and neglect into spaces that reflect the strength and spirit of the communities who use them.

Too often, after the music fades and the grills cool, our public spaces are left littered with trash. Just as our ancestors took pride in their communities, we honor their legacy when we clean up after ourselves, teach our children to do the same, and care for our shared spaces.

Small acts can inspire big change. Since 2021, Clean California and its partners have collected and removed over 2.9 million cubic yards of litter. We did this by partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to organize grassroots cleanup events and beautification projects across California.

Now, we invite all California communities to continue the incredible momentum and take the pledge toward building a cleaner community through our Clean California Community Designation Program. This recognizes cities and neighborhoods committed to long-term cleanliness and civic pride.

This Juneteenth, let’s not only celebrate our history—but also contribute to its legacy. By picking up after ourselves and by leaving no litter behind after celebrations, we have an opportunity to honor our past and shape a cleaner, safer, more vibrant future.

Visit CleanCA.com to learn more about Clean California.

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IN MEMORIAM: Legendary Funk Pioneer Sly Stone Dies at 82

Sly Stone’s musical approach radically reshaped popular music. He transcended genre boundaries and empowered a new generation of artists. The band’s socially conscious message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of influence, reaching artists as diverse as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre, and the Roots.

Published

5 days ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Sly and the Family Stone play the Opera House in Bournemouth. Mojo review. Photo by Simon Fernandez.

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Newswire

Sylvester “Sly” Stewart—known to the world as Sly Stone, frontman of the groundbreaking band Sly and the Family Stone—has died at the age of 82.

His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home surrounded by loved ones, after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other health complications.

Born March 15, 1943, in Denton, Texas, Stone moved with his family to Vallejo, California, as a child. He began recording gospel music at age 8 with his siblings in a group called the Stewart Four. By his teenage years, he had mastered multiple instruments and was already pioneering racial integration in music—an ethos that would define his career.

In 1966, Sly and his brother Freddie merged their bands to form Sly and the Family Stone, complete with a revolutionary interracial, mixed-gender lineup.

The band quickly became a commercial and cultural force with hits such as “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—all penned by Stone himself.

Their album “Stand!” (1969) and live performances—most notably at Woodstock—cemented their reputation, blending soul, funk, rock, gospel, and psychedelia to reflect the optimism and turmoil of their era.

As the 1970s progressed, Stone confronted personal demons. His desire to use music as a response to war, racism, and societal change culminated in the intense album “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” (1971). But drug dependency began to undermine both his health and professional life, leading to erratic behavior and band decline through the early 1980s.

Withdrawn from the public eye for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Stone staged occasional comebacks. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2017, and captured public attention following the 2023 release of his memoir “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—published under Questlove’s imprint. He also completed a biographical screenplay and was featured in Questlove’s documentary “Sly Lives!” earlier this year.

His influence endured across generations. Critics and historians repeatedly credit him with perfecting funk and creating a “progressive soul,” shaping a path for racial integration both onstage and in the broader culture.

“Rest in beats Sly Stone,” legendary Public Enemy frontman Chuck D posted on social media with an illustrative drawing of the artist. “We should thank Questlove of the Roots for keeping his fire blazing in this century.”

Emmy-winning entertainment publicist Danny Deraney also paid homage. “Rest easy Sly Stone,” Deraney posted. “You changed music (and me) forever. The time he won over Ed Sullivan’s audience in 1968. Simply magical. Freelance music publicist and Sirius XM host Eric Alper also offered a tribute.

“The funk pioneer who made the world dance, think, and get higher,” Alper wrote of Sly Stone. “His music changed everything—and it still does.”

Sly Stone is survived by three children.