2021.08.23 20:53
Formerly enslaved man's response to his 'master' wanting him back is a literary masterpiece
https://www.upworthy.com/formerly-enslaved-mans-letter-to-former-master
2021.08.23 21:05
2021.08.24 10:02
Amazing story, Dr. HJ, I never heard or read, responding to the old master by the former slave who escaped from Tennessee and is now freed! Plain but such a well-written reply beyond average intelligence! I enjoyed it so much because it reminded me of my unique experience with such Southern plantation masters I encountered while I stayed at Columbia, SC where I joined a newly organized medical school at Univ South Carolina right after I finished my training at Richmond temporarily- I was then agonizing to decide whether I should accept the humiliating offer from SNU to come back to work though SNU refused to give an extra (?) credit on my additional training to get the American board of surgery after the transplant surgery fellowship- till I decided to settle here in the U.S.
I know South Carolina is a bit different from Tennessee but Tennessee isn’t that far from South Carolina and fought the Civil War together with neighbor North Carolina and Georgia so that I bet they share their resentment/grievance to the Union with no doubts as to the part of Southern Confederate heartland. Anyhow, I was so surprised to listen to their painful humiliating memories through the Civil War, still fresh to remain one of the popular topics over the dinner, when I arrived at Columbia, though the Civil War was ended barely over 100 years.
Their mentality as an old plantation owner remained dominant in South Carolina with no exception then in mid ’70 - I am sure it didn’t change much since I left to return to the ‘civilized’ world to Washington DC in 1978 -, rather close to the ‘deep south’ in terms of Confederate point of view. And they certainly looked missing their good old days dearly with the slaves as permanent servants. They just hated to encounter any outsiders especially from Yankee land but they just didn’t know how to deal with the foreigners like me because they were never exposed to the foreigners before.
Indeed, within a few weeks after I came down to Columbia, SC, one unexpected event for me to save one gentleman from the ‘ruptured abdominal aneurysm’ changed my entire social life because he was happened to be the father-in-law of the former mayor of Columbia. I became an instant celebrity among their ‘exclusive’ society- they even excluded the Jews together with Yankee!!- but perceived they were so embarrassed with how to handle me who saved their senior because I am a ‘triple’ monster to them.
After we became close enough like family, they confessed I represented the worst condition they never encountered before with triple combinations: a damn foreigner, a guy from Yankee land, and lastly a Catholic. But, they were genuinely warm and sincere and prayed for my best with no reservation when I left Columbia to start to work at Georgetown Univ and sent us a special southern fruit cake every Xmas for so many years.
BB Lee
2021.08.24 11:48
As usual, Professor, you have an amazing story for us, which
I enjoyed much.
Your observations are amazingly accurate in my opinion as well.
2021.08.24 17:40
Glad you enjoyed one old man's lament! Though the memory is fading away so fast these days, such unique experiences still remain embedded deeply in my brain. Indeed, I had not much idea on the slavery issue to cause the Civil War with very limited interests except 'Gone with the Wind' till I moved to Colombia, SC. But a new life in the South gave me momentum and since then I took it seriously to become a Civil War buff- Indeed a good many colleagues/friends spare one extra day to get a personal tour I give through nearby historical Civil War battlegrounds when they visit me to Washington DC!- and learned a lot about the grievance to the Union throughout the Southern Confederate States as well, I am sure many of you already know more than I.
So this letter from the former slave to its master gave me a special joy to read through! Indeed I am going to share/forward this story to Marion Jordan, one Southern gentleman, a son of a huge southern plantation - where famous TV series of The Duke of Hazzard were taken -, who was a world authority of burn surgery but now retired to go back to Georgia.
BB Lee
The story certainly makes a thinking man stop and think,
from wherever he may be in his life journey, of what life is all about.