The Lost Lives of London Town series remembers the lives of Africans and African-Americans enslaved in the London Town area. We'll share their stories as best as we know of them. The stories aren't always easy to read, but they are always important. In 1708, an enslaved man known only as Dick fell in love with Elizabeth Clouds. While Elizabeth loved him back, the couple had a problem. Dick was of African descent, while Elizabeth was white. He was enslaved, and she was a servant. In this installment, we look at how love attempts to overcome all but does not always succeed. Slavery and anti-miscegenation laws created institutional barriers stripping people of the ability to choose with whom they could marry. Even for two enslaved people of African descent, marriage was not legally recognized, and husband, wife, and any children could be torn apart at any time. Dick and Elizabeth formulated a plan. She disguised herself as a "Mullatoe" by artificially darkening her skin and taking on an Egyptian name. Together, the couple went before the Reverend Joseph Colebatch at All Hallows Parish, the local Anglican church in the South River area. They were married. However, after the act of marriage, the truth was discovered. Dick was sold from Thomas Linthicum to James Carroll, possibly as punishment. Elizabeth Clouds was officially condemned by an act of the Maryland legislature, passed in Annapolis. Their marriage was legally disbanded, and they disappeared from the annals of history. There is no evidence that the pair ever saw each other again. You can read the Proceedings in which their story is discussed here: http://aomol.msa.maryland.gov/000001/000027/html/am27--318.html Even with all that stood in the way of love, enslaved people continued to get married, even if unofficially. However, rather than vowing "until death do us part," many instead recited "until distance..." While anti-interracial marriage laws continued well after the Civil War, many formerly enslaved people finally enjoyed the legal authority to marry when and who they pleased with formal protections. We post a photo of gladiolas blooming in our garden in honor of love, as they represent strength, integrity, and faithfulness.

Last year, Joel Cook performed Frederick Douglass' powerful 1852 speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" in the historic William Brown House. Watch this remarkable speech here: Photo of Joel Cook as Frederick Douglass by Dave S. Wilson of Victorian Photography Studio.

The Lost Lives of London Town series remembers the lives of Africans and African-Americans enslaved in the London Town area. We'll share their stories as best as we know of them. The stories aren't always easy to read, but they are always important. During the Civil War, the "Fire-Eaters” were strongly pro-slavery Southerners who believed in leaving the Union. There were Fire-Eaters in Maryland, including several along the South River. For example, just down the road from London Town – where the Riva Road Bridge stands today – the Taylorsville House has a secret message on the interior side of a slat: “Jeff Davis and the South," which is a reference to Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. In this post of the "Lost Lives of London Town," we're not looking at the life of a specific African-American person, but at the some of the people who wanted to keep slavery, ensuring that an entire race of people would continue being nothing more than property legally. This group included very powerful people, such as General George H. Steuart, who owned all the land directly bordering the Anne Arundel County Almshouse (William Brown House, c.1760). His estate was known as Mount Steuart. In 1859, Steuart had been a militia officer who marched against John Brown at Harper's Ferry. He also wrote a fiery letter to Washington, DC National Intelligencer after Lincoln's election in 1860, in which he claimed the election was a fraud, "because of the negro votes cast and counted for him in the states of New York, Ohio, and Massachusetts." In the election, only three people in all of Anne Arundel County voted for Abraham Lincoln. Steuart also supported the Dredd Scott decision, in which another Marylander – Chief Justice Roger B. Taney – wrote that no person of color anywhere in the nation possessed "rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit." This applied to people born either in slavery or free. Steuart wasn't the only person in the area who was pro-slavery. Just a few miles from the Almshouse was Commodore Isaac Mayo, a decorated veteran of the United States Navy. Though too old to fight, he wrote an angry letter of resignation to Abraham Lincoln. He accused Lincoln of having "denied to millions of freemen the rights of the Constitution and in its stead, you have placed the will of a sectional party." The use of the word "freemen" by someone so pro-slavery was undoubtedly galling to the President. While more than 100 officers were granted their requests for resignation, Mayo's letter was returned with the simple notation, "Dismiss by order of the President, Done May 18, 1861." His resignation was not accepted. That same day, Mayo was found dead by a gunshot wound to the head, possibly self-inflicted, although this is debated by his family. He died enslaving twenty-three men, women, and children, ages from one to fifty-four years old. Today, Mayo’s home – the Gresham Estate – is being operated by London Town. Stay tuned for updates about learning more about this site and its history, which dates back to the 17th century. The photo is of the Gresham Estate today.

The Lost Lives of London Town series remembers the lives of Africans and African-Americans enslaved in the London Town area. We'll share their stories as best as we know of them. The stories aren't always easy to read, but they are always important. In this installment of #LostLivesofLondonTown, discover the difficulties that African American people - especially those enslaved - faced on the eve of freedom. Many people are unaware that Maryland was not included in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which freed enslaved people in states that had seceded to the Confederacy. The Proclamation didn’t apply to slavery in states that stayed with the Union – including Maryland. Being so frustratingly close to freedom, 70 enslaved people took matters into their own hands. In the June 1863, they worked together to flee from 3 different South River properties. They met up with more people from other counties, working together to reach Washington, DC. Contraband Camp near Richmond, VA, 1865, National Archives (111-B-75) More information A contraband school, ca. 1860—ca. 1865. National Archives (111-B-5240) More information It’s likely they planned to disappear into what were known as “contraband camps,” which had sprung up around the DC area. The word “contraband” first referred to goods seized by the US government that were being used by rebels to support the rebellion. Enslaved people were treated as property legally but given freedom in practice, as long as they were protected by the US government and armed forces. “Contraband camps” became refugee camps of thousands of enslaved men, women, and children who had escaped to Union lines. However, the enslaved people escaping to the contraband camps encountered hostilities from other locals. “A number of men,” the Alexandria Gazette wrote, “styling themselves as ‘patrols,’ armed” and rode between the enslaved and DC. Undeterred, the enslaved “massed themselves and pushed on.” A melee ensued, and the “patrollers” began to fire into the crowd. Two men and a woman were killed, five others shot. One of the men was shot four times. Somehow, despite the violence, the enslaved people still pushed on. They escaped into a contraband camp and reported the attack to the Union Army. The 11th New York Volunteer Cavalry arrested the suspected “patrollers.” Later, an Anne Arundel County resident recognized some of the enslaved people as his “property.” He demanded that they be returned to him under the Fugitive Slave Act. The army refused to enforce the law. However, Maryland wouldn’t vote until 1864 to officially free anyone enslaved in the state. The vote passed by a very narrow margin.

The Lost Lives of London Town series remembers the lives of Africans and African-Americans enslaved in the London Town area. We'll share their stories as best as we know of them. The stories aren't always easy to read, but they are always important. As we’ve shared in previous #LostLivesofLondonTown posts, the lives of African Americans on the South River in the 19th century were remarkably difficult. Most were enslaved on numerous plantations, although there was a free community on the eastern shore of Cadle Creek called Scrabbletown. The Almshouse In a strange middle ground were the African American residents of the Anne Arundel County Almshouse. The Almshouse was originally the site of the William Brown House, constructed in the mid 18th century. However, from the 1830s – 1965, it became the county’s almshouse for people who were unable to live on their own. Enslaved people were not allowed to live at the Almshouse. However, free African Americans did live there, either because of mental illness, illiteracy, or an inability to market their skills (It was difficult to make a living cultivating tobacco when so many thousands were forced to do so without pay). These African American “paupers” occupied a special dormitory called the “negro quarters.” This was constructed at the request of a physician who recommended segregating the Almshouse in the 1830’s. While the Almshouse offered a pleasant view of the South River, it was an atrocious place to live. Continually condemned as “an abode of misery,” a “shame” on the county and state, and “a crime,” the Almshouse was neglected by the county administrators responsible for it. In 1877, the Maryland Board of Health found “the negro quarters, if possible, were even worse than those occupied by the whites. Each room was in disorderly and dirty condition, the beds were filthy, and without sheets or pillows; indeed in several of the rooms there were no beds, nothing but soiled blankets lying in disorder on the unscrubbed and unswept floors.” No changes would be made for generations, prompting another report in 1893 to declare the dormitory “a disgrace.” Research by Rebecca Robinson into census records for 1850 show that 56% of residents were African American. African Americans at the almshouse were a diverse group, ranging in age from nine to sixty-eight years old. Among these residents was Susan Butler, freed by her enslaver Henry Maynadier in 1826. By 1850 she was 40 old, had no occupation listed, and was labelled as an “idiot pauper” by the census taker. By 1870, African Americans made up only a third of the people at the Almshouse. Perhaps the creation of free communities of color could absorb the less fortunate in ways that were impossible under slavery. Among these paupers were men and women who resisted slavery for decades. Lorenzo Burke had fled from his enslaver in 1844, as had Harry Scott in 1835. Now 56, Harry Scott was listed as “insane” on the 1870 census. None of the African American paupers at the Almshouse in 1870 could read or write. While they had their long sought-after freedom, they were still trapped in an oppressive society. There were few opportunities and virtually no chance for advancement. Slavery had torn apart families; none of the paupers had familial connections to each other. Children under 16 were no longer present, and the average age of black paupers had gone up considerably.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress Sall, an eleven-year-old girl, was taken from her mother. The year was 1760. Sall's heart-wrenching story starts a reprisal of a series delving into the "Lost Lives of London Town." We originally ran this series in 2018 on our Facebook page, but it’s an important part of our history at London Town, so we wanted to return to it again. In each post, we'll share the stories of people enslaved in the area and what we know of them. The stories aren't always easy to read, but they are always important. Stripping children from their parents was distressingly common in the eighteenth century. Slavery undermined families, and tried to split mothers, fathers, and children from each other by erasing their last names from history. It made it easier to sell children away from their parents when the enslavers could pretend those connections didn't exist or were fictional concoctions of the enslaved. ​We believe Sall was the daughter of Sue, who was owned by Thomas Tilley. William Brown, whose tavern still stands at London Town today, purchased Sall from Tilley for "fifteen pounds current money [of Maryland]..." A few years later, when William Brown sought a loan, he listed Sall as part of his collateral. We don't know what happened to Sall after that. When William Brown sought another loan in 1785, he no longer had any enslaved people listed as security, indicating that Sall was no longer part of his household. Nor do we know if she was able to continue any relationship with her mother.

The Lost Lives of London Town series remembers the lives of Africans and African-Americans enslaved in the London Town area. We'll share their stories as best as we know of them. The stories aren't always easy to read, but they are always important. In this installment of the “Lost Lives of London Town,” we’ll look at the African American experience in the area during the Civil War. James Henry Dorsey was born a free man in the 19th century. He may have even resided at Scrabbletown, a small free black community on the Rhode River, not far from London Town. After the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in 1863, the executive order solidified that the Civil War was about ending slavery – although it did not affect enslaved people in states that stayed with the Union, including Maryland. Instead, slavery didn't end in Maryland until 1864 when a referendum passed by a slim margin. The Emancipation Proclamation also opened the possibility of enlisting men of African descent into combat roles. In the Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln required all federal armed services to receive African American men. This became a reality on May 22, 1863 with General Order 143 which created the Bureau of the Colored Troops. All African American regiments were now to be designated as United States Colored Troops (USCT). On March 30, 1864, James H. Dorsey enlisted as a corporal in Company F of the 39th USCT. After receiving his blue uniform, Springfield rifle, and equipment, he marched off to the front lines in Virginia. The turmoil of war was incredible. Corporal Dorsey was at the horrific Battle of Crater (part of the siege of Petersburg, VA) and the racially motivated massacre that followed. Multiple Confederate accounts describe soldiers as being “infuriated at the idea of having to fight negroes” and that murdering surrendering and unarmed African American soldiers “was perfectly right, as a matter of policy.” However, African American soldiers were courageous under fire with 15 African American soldiers going on to receive Medals of Honor from fighting in the Virginia Theatre. Somehow, Corporal Dorsey survived this terror. He persevered, continuing to fight for the Union until his discharge on May 5, 1865, less than a month after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Appomattox, Virginia on April 9th. James Dorsey spent the next year in medical care, suffering from “hypertrophy of the heart,” a condition slowing the blood from the heart. For the rest of the year, Corporal Dorsey convalesced in hospitals from the Carolinas up through Harewood General Hospital in Washington, DC . We do not know what happened to Corporal Dorsey after his discharge. Learn more about the story of Black Soldiers in the Civil War in this video from the American Battlefield Trust: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/videos/black-soldiers-civil-war Image of the Battle of the Crater courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The Lost Lives of London Town series remembers the lives of Africans and African-Americans enslaved in the London Town area. We'll share their stories as best as we know of them. The stories aren't always easy to read, but they are always important. If ever any evidence was needed of the cruelty of slavery in the Chesapeake, it can be proven with the following case. In this installment of “Lost Lives of London Town,” we look at the story of a man only known by his first name – Sam. Enslaved by the planter Richard Moore, Sam ran away from near London Town on October 13, 1756. Moore took out an advertisement in the “Maryland Gazette” offering a reward if anyone could recapture him. Moore stated that Sam was wearing a “Cloth Frock Coat, turned up with blue, and white Metal Buttons,” possibly a livery. The livery was a uniform worn by servants and the enslaved, distinctive to the household in which they were held. Not only was this a uniform that demonstrated the wealth of a household, it also served as a marker. With such a distinctive garment, it was far more difficult for a runaway enslaved person to melt into a crowd. More importantly, Moore declared Sam a “notorious villain, as his back will testify.” No other evidence is given for Sam’s supposed villainy, aside from the fact that Moore whipped him until his back was permanently scarred. Enslaved people were the most likely class to run away. To prevent them from doing so, the enslavers resorted to drastic steps. Guy, an enslaved “mulatto Man” who bore “a down look,” ran away from John Gassaway in 1750. Four years later he fled again, but this time “he had irons on him when he went away.” Gassaway tried, in vain, to prevent another escape by physically binding Guy with shackles. The chance of freedom was slim for any enslaved person. According to the Maryland State Archives’ Legacy of Slavery Project, London Town was home to 961 known enslaved people between its founding in 1683 and 1788. Of those 961 people, only 9 are known to have gone free. According to the Maryland State Archives’ Legacy of Slavery Project, London Town was home to 961 known enslaved people between its founding in 1683 and 1788. Of those 961 people, only 9 are known to have gone free. With no real free or emancipated community yet created to help them escape or to shelter them, running away was an unrealistic option for permanent freedom. Nonetheless, the enslaved of London Town persisted. This photo is not of Sam but of Gordon, who escaped from a Louisiana plantation in 1863. Photos of his back, scarred deeply from whipping, were published in Harper’s Weekly and became a symbol for the plight of people enslaved. While we do not know what Sam looked like, this photo gives a sense of how horrific whipping could be and the lasting impact of brutality. (Photo courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery)

Tea set on a table in the William Brown House We recently found in London Town’s archives a booklet from the 1980's of Christmas cookie recipes. Each recipe was submitted by a volunteer who gave tours of the William Brown House. Knowing how many of you are using this time to develop your baking skills, we thought it’d be fun to share the recipes and see what you think! Try out a new #ChristmasInApril cookie recipe each week. Let us know which is your favorite. Here are a few highlights: Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies Pat McDonald ¼ cup butter, softened 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened 1 egg yolk ¼ teaspoon vanilla 1 package lemon cake mix with pudding Cream butter and cheese. Blend in egg yolk and vanilla Add dry cake mix 1/3 box at a time, mixing well after each addition. Best if mixed by hand for the last addition. Roll in small balls the size of a walnut and roll in powdered sugar and put on ungreased cookie sheet and press down slightly. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in 350 to 375 F, until lightly browned. Cool slightly and remove from baking sheet and roll again in powdered sugar. If in a hurry, don’t cool on cookie sheet, but remove them very carefully. Tip: Use any flavor cake mix – chocolate, cherry, etc. for different flavors. Peppermint Kisses Vicki Lerch 2 egg whites Dash salt 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar ½ teaspoon peppermint extract ¾ cup sugar 1 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces (minis) At highest speed, beat egg whites with salt, cream of tartar, and peppermint extract till soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually, beating to stiff peaks. Fold in chocolate pieces. Cover cookie sheet with brown paper. Drop mixture from teaspoon onto paper. Bake at 325 F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from paper while slightly warm. Red and White Cookies Cathy Pringle 1 cup unsalted butter (or oleo) 1 3 oz package cream cheese ½ cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups flour 36 strawberries Mix all but berries. Chill in refrigerator. After chilled make small (tablespoon) balls. Make center in ball and place ½ strawberry. Bake at 350 F until lightly browned. Mexican Wedding Cookies Barbara Munz 1 cup butter or margarine, softened ½ cup confectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla ¼ teaspoon salt 2 cups flour In a medium bowl, cream sugar, vanilla, and salt until fluffy. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill 30 minutes or until firm enough to handle. Shape in 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 375F oven 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden. Remove to rack (close together) and while still warm, dust heavily with confectioners’ sugar. Cool. Store airtight in cool dry place. Before serving, dust cookies with additional confectioners’ sugar. Makes approximately 25. #cookies #lemoncreamcheesecookies #peppermintkisses #redandwhitecookies #mexicanweddingcookies

In just under a week on Saturday, June 22 at 10am, London Town will welcome Dr. Herbert Brewer to speak on the slave ship Margaret and its journey from London, England to Sierra Leone, West Africa, to the Chesapeake (including London Town) and back to England. Please join us. After the lecture at 1pm, the Conversation Starters will lead a discussion about Dr. Brewer’s talk, moderating a conversation on the legacy of slavery. Both the lecture and the discussion are free for members and included with general admission. However, the Margaret is far from the only ship carrying enslaved people to dock at London Town. In this following article, Sylviane A. Diouf, PhD, shares the remarkable story Ayuba Suleyman Diallo, a Muslim man from Senegal, who was forcibly sold to Stephen Pike in 1730. Pike was the captain of the Arabella, a slave ship that came to London Town. Sylviane A. Diouf, PhD is an award-winning historian, notably, of Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas (New York University Press 2013). She is Visiting Professor at Brown University’s Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice. Image: Portrait of Ayuba Suleyman Diallo and a page of the Qur'an that he wrote “Allah. Muhammad.” With these words a runaway found wandering in Kent County, Pennsylvania, introduced himself to the men who interrogated him in June 1731. He did not speak English and could not say where he came from or to whom he “belonged.” He had been renamed Simon; and was later known as Job ben Solomon. But he was Ayuba Suleyman Diallo and when confronted with a dangerous situation over which he had no control, he had placed his faith in Allah and his Prophet Muhammad. Diallo’s ordeal had started in late February 1730. A trader and Qur’anic teacher who lived in the Islamic State of Bundu in Senegal, he was abducted in Gambia and sold to Stephen Pike, the captain of the Arabella. Diallo told him that his father would pay for his freedom and was allowed to dispatch an acquaintance to his hometown. But the Arabella left for Maryland before the thirty-year-old husband and father of four could be redeemed. Upon arrival in Annapolis Diallo and the 149 people who had survived the journey –nineteen had died—were sold. The Arabella then sailed to London Town on the South River where, with the proceeds of the sale, he purchased tobacco before returning to London on the third leg of the trip. Bought by a Mr. Tolsey of Kent Island, Diallo worked in the tobacco fields and later tended cattle. As the devout Senegalese secretely prayed in the woods, a white boy entertained himself by throwing dirt in his face. In the end, Diallo ran away and walked fifty miles before being captured and thrown in jail. There he acquired some notoriety because it was discovered that he could write Arabic. He was eventually returned to his owner who gave him a place to pray and a lightened workload. Diallo was still determined to recover his freedom and, as his biographer Thomas Bluett explained, “he therefore wrote a letter in Arabick to his father, acquainting him with his Misfortunes, hoping he might yet find Means to redeem him.” Diallo arranged for his letter to return to his homeland along the same route he had taken to Maryland: from a factor for slave dealers to the slave captain who had brought him to Annapolis. The letter ultimately arrived in London and ended up in the hands of the deputy governor of the Royal African Company, James Oglethorpe, the future founder of the colony of Georgia. His curiosity piqued, Oglethorpe forwarded the letter to Oxford University to be translated and then decided buy Diallo’s freedom. In June 1732, after eighteen months of servitude, Diallo left for Senegal which he reached in August 1734 after a stay in London where he had his portrait made by William Howe. It shows a handsome man with long hair and wearing a white turban and a white robe, the West Africans’ distinctive Islamic dress. He was actually wearing European clothes but had insisted on being represented “in his own country dress” which he had to describe, as the artist stated he could not draw something he had not seen. The young Senegalese’s insistence at being immortalized the way he wanted to is a testament to his pride in his country and religion. By so doing he strongly affirmed his belonging to the larger Islamic world that at some point extended from Portugal to East Asia. The peoples of Senegal and the western Sahel—the savannah belt south of the Sahara—had been in contact with the North African Islamic world since the eighth century. Islam had spread not through conquest but through contact—first with Arab and Berber traders and Sufi clerics—then through local traders and clerics. When the transatlantic slave trade started in the early 1500s, Islam had already been flourishing in some parts of West Africa for half a millennium. The religion had brought literacy in Arabic (and ajami, any foreign language written in the Arabic script) with the opening of countless schools for boys and girls; generated the production of books and manuscripts; stimulated the creation of specific Islamic attires; and encouraged long-distance travel for education, trade, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is estimated that at least 10 percent of the 12.5 million Africans who endured the horrendous Middle Passage—10.7 millions survived it—were Muslims. Among them were teachers, students, clerics, musicians, memorizers of the Qur’an, long-distance traders, pilgrims, soldiers, farmers, and herders. They landed in every country of the Americas where their trace can be found in accounts by missionaries, planters and travelers; runaway notices; newspaper articles; court and police records; and in the Muslims’ own manuscripts. Muslims were of varied ethnic and geographic origins and spoke different languages, but they were linked, in the Americas as they were in West Africa, by their common faith as well as Arabic that the most educated could speak, write, and read. In the Western Hemisphere, their “rebelliousness” was well-known—Islam forbids the enslavement of free Muslims—and Spain, which had just freed itself of seven centuries of Muslim rule and was concerned that enslaved Muslims could convert Native Americans, enacted five bans against their introduction in the first 50 years of its colonization of the continents. Muslims from Senegal organized the first uprising of enslaved Africans in 1522 on the estate of Christopher Columbus’ son in what is now the Dominican Republic. In December 1804 they staged an uprising—Herman Melville turned the episode into the novel Benito Cerreno—on the ship that was taking them from Santiago, Chile to Lima, Peru. They planned to sail back to Senegal and had the captain sign a “contract” to that effect. He testified, “they knew how to write in their language.” The ship was eventually overtaken after a fierce battle. One successful shipboard revolt organized by Muslims occurred in 1800. The captives forced the first officer to take the ship from Montevideo, Uruguay to Saint Louis, Senegal where they arrived several months later. Muslims were involved in the 1791 revolution in Saint Domingue that led to the independence of Haiti in 1804. A French colonel mentioned that the French soldiers found papers written in Arabic in the bags of the few Africans they killed. Starting in 1807 Muslims organized conspiracies and uprisings in Bahia, which culminated, in 1835, in the largest slave revolt in the country. Image: Portrait of Yarrow Mamout by Charles Wilson Peale, 1819, Philadelphia Museum of Art However, remaining faithful to their religion in the most oppressive circumstances, even when forced to convert was the Muslims’ most prevalent form of resistance. Just as Diallo did, Muslims continued to pray. Most probably did it in secret, but some were open about it. In the 1930s the children of some Sea Islands Muslims described how their relatives prayed several times a day. The painter Charles Willson Peale wrote that in Maryland Yarrow Mamout, “is often seen & heard in the streets singing Praises to God—and conversing with him.” Georgian Joseph Le Conte, later a professor at Berkeley recalled how “An old native African named Philip, who was a very intelligent man, . . . not a pagan but a Mohammedan … greatly interested us by going through all the prayers and prostrations of his native country.” One man mentioned that his grandfather had slaves, “devout Mussulmans, who prayed to Allah . . . morning, noon and evening,” and that Bilali Mohamed—from the Islamic State of Futa Jallon in Guinea—enslaved on Sapelo Island faced east to “call upon Allah.” When Diallo pressed Howe to represent him in his West African Muslim dress, his concern was far from unique. On the Sea Islands, some women wore white veils as their descendants attested in the 1930s. Bilali Mohamed sported a fez and other men wore white turbans. Omar ibn Said-- from the Islamic state of Futa Toro in Senegal—was photographed with a piece of cloth around his head or a hat and was also known to wear a white turban. Yarrow Mamout was painted in 1819, very much covered and donning a woolen hat. A British lawyer who visited Trinidad wrote the “African negro Mohammedans” wore “large sleeved white surplices, made very nearly like ours, broad-brimmed straw hats, bare legs, and coolie sandals.” The Muslims who rose in Bahia in 1835 all wore white turbans and white tunics. The Islamic attire represented a refusal of the abjection of the slaves’ material life. It was furthermore a rejection of acculturation, an affirmation of their dignity as Africans and Muslims. While they had no say about their diet, it has been recorded that, following Islamic interdiction, some Muslims refused alcohol, pork, and fasted during Ramadan. When Diallo was interrogated after his capture, he declined the wine offered to him. Neron in South Carolina earned the right to get beef instead of pork. In contrast, a Muslim from Mali enslaved in Mississippi lamented the fact that he had to eat the forbidden meat but stressed he had never drunk alcohol. Ibrahima abd al Rahman—enslaved 39 years in Mississippi before being freed—did not drink alcohol either. Yarrow Mamout—who freed himself—used to say, “it is not good to eat Hog--& drink whiskey is very bad.” To retain a particular dress and to continue to adhere to a specific diet may appear trivial but those were difficult religious principles to uphold precisely because they were visible and were the domains of the slaveholders who distributed clothes and rations. While in London Diallo wrote three copies of the Qur’an—one was sold at auction in 2013-- which he knew by rote as students are required to do. He was far from being the only literate Muslim in the Americas. In 1871, Theodore Dwight, the secretary of the American Ethnological Society, observed, several other Africans have been known at different periods, in different parts of America, somewhat resembling Job-ben-Solomon [Diallo] in acquirements; but, unfortunately, no full account of any of them has ever been published. The writer has made many efforts to remedy this defect and has obtained some information from a few individuals. But there are insuperable difficulties in the way in slave countries, arising from the jealousy of masters, and other causes. Bilali Mohamed of Sapelo wrote a 13-page document in Arabic, an excerpt of a 10th century text that is part of the curriculum of higher studies in West Africa. Ibrahima abd al Rahman penned a letter in Arabic that was sent to the sultan of Morocco who inquired about the fate of his coreligionist, who was subsequently released. Omar ibn Said wrote several manuscripts, but his main work was his 1831 autobiography in which he subtly denounced his continued enslavement. It was recently acquired by the Library of Congress. Several manuscripts in Arabic and ajami have been recovered in Brazil—where Muslims operated secret Qur’anic schools-- Jamaica, Trinidad, Panama, the Bahamas; and have been documented in Haiti and Guyana. Although less numerous than men, Muslim women too left their mark. In the Sea Islands they made rice cakes for the children on important occasions. The word associated with them was saraka and the children grew up thinking that saraka was the “African” word for rice cakes. The same rice cakes are a charity traditionally offered by West African Muslim women on Fridays. It is a sadaqa a freewill offering. It is recommended that the gift be accompanied by a supplication to God, therefore in West Africa—and on the Sea Islands—as women handed out the cakes, they said it was a sadaqa. In Brazil, Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, and Carriacou offerings, to this day, are called saraka. For centuries, in a brutal environment, African Muslims kept their faith alive. They prayed and fasted, wrote and read, and retained what they could of their “country dress.” From the first years of the 1500s, the second monotheistic religion brought to the New World, was very much a part of the Americas’ fabric. Given their circumstances, most of these Muslims were unable to pass on their religion to the next generations, but their legacy nevertheless lives on as several manifestations of Islamic practices and Arabic terminology subsist in the cultures of the African Diaspora. #slavery #islam

Adding alba, blanca and leuc blossoms for respite after a mundane day. Magnolia White flowers are spectacular choices to enjoy during the daylight as they bounce off deep green leaves and other loud colors. But viewing white flowers around twilight or dark is a serene experience of its own. Especially if they are fragrant like Lilium ‘Casa blanca’ or David Austin Tea roses, then walking by them after twilight will make any ordinary late evening aromatically extraordinary! Lilium 'Casa Blanca' (Superbly fragrant) Alba, blanca in a Latin name (leuc in Greek) indicates a 'white' color on some plant part. For eg., Quercus alba (White Oak) wherein, 'alba' as in white refers to the silvery white bark striations. Now white Oaks would look great in any yard, but not even closely stunning as some of the Moon garden flowers. London Town has quite a few swaths of white blossoms. A select few include: Magnolias, Oak leaf hydrangea ‘Gastby Moon’, Lilium ‘Casa Blanca’, Hybrid tea roses, Clematis, Comos, Deutzia, Limelight Hydrangea and many more. Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Holly Osmanthus' Some of London Town's unique white blossoms are those of: Osmanthus heterophylllus ‘Holly Osmanthus’ with superbly fragrant flowers, lusciously blooming spring beauty ‘Styrax japonicus’ with abundant daintily hanging down white flowers, and magnificent D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia blossoms. Camellia 'Autumn Moon' One stellar and aptly suited white blossom for any moon garden is Camellia ‘autumn moon’. Each flower of ‘autumn moon’ is pure bright white goodness to enjoy anytime of the day or night. Few easy to grow moon garden flowers, regardless of space would be: white Tulips, Daffodils, Clematis, Cosmos and Candy tuft. Add them to planters or garden beds closer to a pathway or paved stones and enjoy them at twilight. For large shrubs and bigger spaces, use abundant repeated swaths to create a large impact. Gardens are transient, but the impact and lasting impressions they create aren’t. Especially, when you are at London Town and get to enjoy the fragrant white blossom of the 'Holly Oasmanthus/‘Casa blancas’, gape at large ‘Gatsby moon’ stalks or walk under stunning Magnolias. Gardens are also a place to restore, contemplate and reacquaint with nature. White at night in a garden, will do that for anyone. Remember to look for the albas, Leuc and blancas. For zone higher than 8, one of my favorite white blossoms, Plumeria ‘alba’ would be the winner amongst even the most fragrant blossoms. Learn more: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=276110 Camellia 'Snow Flurry' London Towns unique white blossom collection is spread out throughout all four seasons. Camellia ‘Snow flurry’ and ‘Autumn moon’ are at their best this month, catch them this weekend before the colder white blanket withers them away

The past few weeks at London Town Gardens have been rather musical with many song birds visiting their favorite berries and chirping away in glory. Their big attractions in the gardens include, Winterberries, Hollies, Viburnums and many other winter garden berries. The rain gardens, dry perennial seed stalks and many other ornamental grasses are also providing a great habitat for these precious pollinators. One specific group of birds we noticed last week was that of the American Robins, Turdus migratorius. Whether you heard an Osprey/Bald Eagle or a group of Chickadees, Sparrows or Woodpeckers, every musical noise was followed by a loud encore by the large group of Robins. Here are some links to learn more about plants and habitats that attract song birds: https://hgic.clemson.edu/.../attracting-feeding-songbirds/ https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-robin https://nc.audubon.org/.../winterberry-%E2%80%93... Hope you enjoy the joyful Turdus migratorius encore as well! -Meenal Harankhedkar, Director of Horticulture