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Teaching
Dred Scott to City College
Students on Public Transportation
By Amin Sharif
That I
do not own a car is a conscious, not a financial decision. I
take public transportation. Rather than a hardship it provides
numerous worthwhile opportunities. I like this mode because it
keeps me close to the folk and helps me to gage the reactions of
people on various issues. Today, while making my commute from
work, I happened to remark to some young, black high school
students that March was the month that the Dred Scott decision
was issued. Now, these weren’t just any high school students.
They attend the prestigious City College -- a high school known
for producing at least one black Rhodes Scholar and a United
States Congressmen.* So
one thus expects the scholars of City College to state with ease
the importance of the Dred Scott
Case
At the
time the Rhodes Scholar, the United States Congressman, and I
attended City, we took American History under the watchful eye
of Dr. Samuel Banks. Dr. Banks was a black man loved by all of
his students, black, white, brown, and yellow. He was a man of
keen intellect and compassion. He, in short, was a rare bird and
knew it. He brooked no insult from his white colleagues, many of
whom openly despised him. And, he brooked no laxness from his
students. I credit Dr. Banks with singlehandedly developing my
interest in all things black and African. I say this not only to
praise Dr. Banks but to decry the state of affairs that has
taken place at my alma mater since both I and Dr. Banks have
long ago left City behind. Suffice to say, not a single high
school student knew anything about Dred Scott. So, it was left
to me to explain the importance of the Dred Scott case to my
young friends.
I began
by telling them that Scott was born a slave, in Virginia in 1799
and that he was owned by Peter Blow, a plantation owner. Scott
was never given a chance to learn to read and write remaining
illiterate his whole life. In 1830, the Blow family moved to
Missouri which had been admitted into the Union as a slave state
in 1820. This occurred due to the Missouri Compromise. I briefly
explained to the student about the Compromise and went on with
my story. While in Missouri, Peter Blow decided to sell Scott to
a Dr. Emerson, a traveling military surgeon. As a consequence,
Dred Scott traveled with his new master to the state of Illinois
(a state that did not allow slavery), as well as, to the free
(from slavery) territory of Wisconsin. But, Dr. Emerson died in
1843 and Scott, his wife Harriet, and their children become the
property of Dr. Emerson’s wife.
For
three years, Scott and his children were hired out by Ms.
Emerson. But in 1846, Dred Scott sued Ms. Emerson for his
freedom in the St. Louis Circuit Court. A year later, the
Circuit Court in St. Louis threw out the case but the Court
allowed Scott to re-file his case. Scott did this and won his
freedom in the second trial. But, Ms. Emerson decided to
challenge this decision of the Court and the case ended up
before the Supreme Court. This occurred in 1856.
In
1857, the Supreme Court heard the Scott case now brought by Ms.
Emerson’s brother who has just recently taken over possession
of his sister’s estate. The Supreme Court of the United States
soon ruled against Scott and he wound up back in the hands of
Ms. Emerson’s brother. Now,
here comes the strange twist of fate. Ms. Emerson had re-married
in 1857 and regained Scott from her brother. But, her new
husband is AGAINST SLAVERY! He returns Scott and his family to
the Blow Family in Virginia (Scott’s original slave masters)
and they SETS SCOTT AND HIS FAMILY FREE!! Scott eventually
returned to St. Louis, Missouri and there dies of tuberculosis.
“Slavery
was a fickle master,” I told my now captive audience of
students. “Ms. Emerson fought to hold on to Scott, his wife
Harriet, and their two daughters until almost the end. Only the
anti-slave sentiments of her husband saved Scott and his family
from the chains of slavery. The Supreme Court at that time of
Scott’s case was headed by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney who
was a slave owner from right here in Maryland. So it was obvious
that Scott was not going to get any justice from him.”
I ended
my lesson by, more or less, quoting the Honorable Chief Justice
Taney's words that declared: “No black slave could ever be a
citizen of the United States of America. Slavery was allowable
everywhere in the United States.” The rest of the ride home
was, more or less, in silence. I turned to the brother next to
me and said, “Sometimes, you got to take things into your own
hand.” He just smiled and told me how crazy I was.
*By the
way that Congressman I mentioned is the Honorable Elijah
Cumming, a very good friend. The Rhodes Scholar was Kurt Schmoke
who became mayor of Baltimore.
*
* * * *
updated 13 October 2007 |
