It was time for them to make a decision. The Civil War was raging, and the plantation owner was running from the Union Army. But what about those who were enslaved? What choice did they have?
Because of the owner’s “benevolence,” our ancestors on the Davis plantation had their own form of self-government and a self-contained criminal justice system. They even ran the plantation owner’s local store. But did they have freedom?
For all his “empowerment,” the owner was the brother of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. At the end of the day, he was still a slaver.
As he planned to flee, he offered to take them with him – to “safety.” So would they join him? Or stay?
They stayed! And their settlement, then called Davis Bend, became the first Black town in Mississippi. They found freedom and opportunity for decades, and it inspired the founding of other all-Black towns.
Though Davis Bend ended up being overtaken by the Mississippi River, it proved one thing.
We have a proven history of the successful creation of our own spaces, even against all odds. We must always seek our liberation by educating ourselves, pooling resources, and working together!