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“Oh! my coloured brethren, all over the world, when shall we arise from this death-like apathy? And be men!” So goes David Walker’s 1829 “Appeal To The Colored Citizens Of The World,” one of the first anti-slavery publications by a Black person. It terrified whites.
Aimed directly at the currently enslaved, the book argued for emancipation – by any means necessary.
It was so revolutionary that it was immediately made illegal throughout the South, and Walker had to go to incredibly creative means to get it into the hands of the enslaved.
Because he ran a used clothing shop in Boston, he was able to sew copies of the book into sailors’ clothes. The sailors transported books to the South, where they would eventually get into the hands of the enslaved.
The book was so radical – it called for full-scale rebellion, including violence if necessary – that even some abolitionists denounced it. Its spread resulted in many slave states outlawing reading among enslaved people.
David Walker became a wanted man, with a $10,000 bounty on his head – over $250,000 today. Yet he refused to run to Canada, as many wanted.
“I will stand my ground,” he said. “Somebody must die in this cause … but it is not in me to falter if I can promote the work of emancipation." Scared where? Not him and NOT US!