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(written 2015)

Above is a photo of my N'COBRA (National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America) t-shirt from it's 2002 national convention showing a picture of Ancestor Peter Gordon.  Millions of us have seen this picture, probably millions less know his story.  

Peter Gordon was an enslaved Afrikan on the  3,000 acre Louisiana prison-farm (aka plantation) of enslaver John Lyons, near Melville, LA. Although not specifically recorded, we believe Baba (father) Gordon, and many other captives including Nat Turner, Gabriel Ptosser and otheres, was positively impacted by the 1861 New Orleans Revolt of enslaved Afrikans (the largest such revolt in USA history). In 1863, Gordon escaped from chattel enslavement by crushing onions on his skin after  leaving the swampy rivers and waterways of Louisiana to mask his body odor from the bloodhounds that were on his trail.  Escaping Afrikans were encouraged to seek the masking effect of water to shield their scent from the killer dogs sent after them.

(The Legendary performance ensemble "Sweet Honey In The Rock" has  enlightened us to this process when they teach us about the old Black spiritual song "Wade In The Water". Afrikan captives would often sing this song as a coded message to their escaping fellows to seek the masking effects of bodies of water to shield their scent from the dogs in hot pursuit.  In truth, those were killer dogs as related in "On To New Orleans Slave Revolt" by Albert Thrasher which tells of the hounds being sent out for escaping Afrikans but instead out ran their pale handlers and attacked, killed and ate a pale child of the enslaver who eventually killed the dogs and shot his pale overseer.)

Baba Gordon, after covering over 40 miles in 10 days on foot reached a Union Army camp in Baton Rogue. He later joined the Union Army to fight for his and his fellow Afrikan captives liberation. It was while being given a physical exam that his tortuously whipped back was discovered and a photographer at the camp took pictures which were shown in Harpers Weekly.

Gordon is quoted as saying that Lyons overseer whipped him, causing those terrible keloid scars and that he was bedridden for over two months thereafter and that others later told him that he went crazy. He said that he didn't remember being crazy, nor did he remember the murderous whipping. He later joined the XIX Corps Colored Troops and rose to the rank of Sergeant.  He was once captured by the southern army, but escaped to fight again. The Union Army doctor who examined him said that he had seen hundreds of Afrikans who had been whipped, but not to that extent.

Lincoln's Proclamation, which did not free any enslaved Afrikans (Click here: |: Juneteenth is Mis-Guided!! :|), did allow Afrikans to join the Union Army as a self saving measure since Lincoln need Black fighting power to turn the tide of the war that the North was losing. It is our contention that we set forth in detail therein, that our enslaved ancestors liberated themselves in the manner of Peter Gordon. Lincoln's proclamation did not do it!

Ancestor Peter Gordon, long may his memory live to encourage other Afrikans to take a stand for liberation and justice.

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