Dear America, Black Folk Would Like to Have a Word With You

Summary

The article advocates for the provision of free genealogy research and surname change services for Black Americans, specifically the Children of Stolen & Sold Africans (CHOSSA), as a form of redress for the historical injustices inflicted upon their ancestors by the U.S. government.

Abstract

The author of the article, addressing America, calls for unfettered access to genealogical research for CHOSSA, emphasizing that the costs associated with tracing their lineage before and after the disruption of chattel slavery should not be a barrier. The piece argues that the U.S. government should also cover the expenses for professional research assistance and surname changes for CHOSSA, as a means to restore dignity and compensate for the legacy of slavery. The article points out the historical context where African captives in America were given the last names of their European enslavers, and even upon emancipation, many had to choose new European surnames due to a lack of knowledge about their African heritage. The author asserts that it is only fair for the federal government to offer this form of reparation, considering the role it played in the enslavement and cultural dispossession of African Americans.

Opinions

CHOSSA (Black people in America) deserve free access to genealogy research to understand their history, which was disrupted by chattel slavery.
The U.S. government should provide professional research assistance at no cost to CHOSSA to facilitate the exploration of their ancestry.
CHOSSA should be allowed to change their surnames without incurring any costs, as their current surnames often originate from the European enslavers.
It is considered disrespectful to expect CHOSSA to pay for changing surnames that were imposed during slavery, even if their ancestors chose new names post-emancipation out of necessity.
The article suggests that the U.S. government has a responsibility to offer these redresses to help restore the dignity of CHOSSA, whose ancestors suffered under government-sanctioned slavery.

Dear America, Black Folk Would Like to Have a Word With You

Dear America,

All CHOSSA (Children of Stolen & Sold Africans) born on your soil deserve free and unfettered access to genealogy research. The effort to learn about one’s individual history before and after it was interrupted by chattel slavery should not be further hindered by any costs associated with such research today. In addition to this, the United States government should offer professional research assistance with no out-of-pocket cost to CHOSSA (aka Black people) who descend from one or more African captives who were enslaved in the United States of America.

American CHOSSA should also be able to change their surnames with all costs associated with doing so being waived. Since African people held captive in America prior to the Civil War came to bear the last names of the Europeans who held them in bondage, it is highly disrespectful for those who inherited these names to now be asked to pay if one wishes to change that surname. Even where it is found that African ancestors chose new names upon emancipation — having been stripped of all historic memory of Africa and their rightful family legacies; largely being unschooled and prohibited from reading; and not being educated about African surnames — these ancestors had no choice but to select other European surnames in an effort to rid themselves of the names forced upon them during enslavement.

We, the Children of Stolen & Sold Africans (CHOSSA) whose roots in America started before the Civil War, should not be expected to pay the same government who enslaved our ancestors in order to regain what was stolen from them and us in the process. It is only right and fair that the federal government offer this redress to all American CHOSSA in an attempt to help restore the dignity of a people whose inhumane abuse was sanctioned and supported by the U.S. government.

Sincerely,

All American CHOSSA

Drop a comment if you’re available to drop this off at the post office for us on your way out. 😉