Evolution of Negro Election Day’s History
How Enslaved Africans Established The First Democratic System Before The Signing of The Declaration in 1639.
Coming Soon
Short Documentary on Negro Election Day
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Stay Tuned
Note: Every day we learn more and more about the history. Continue looking for updates
― DaShanne Stokes
“Resistance isn’t enough. If we want change, we have to get out the vote.”
“I have been told to whitewash my history, to delete the name "Negro" from Negro Election Day. I will not do what others have done to our history.
I have knowledge of this history. I teach it to you. But I preserve its culture. I do not delete its significance. I do not mask its origin.
I believe in the words of Marcus Garvey and I live by those words."
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Doreen Wade President, Salem United, Inc.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
New Information about Negro Election Day celebration in the City of Boston Massachusetts in 1693
Disclaimer:
After meeting with the Curator of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, I was given permission to use this information. We will be working together regularly, with the new leadership and the Company's historians, continuing to find additional details. He said, "Many of the men who belonged to the General Court were members of the Company". I as given a tour and taught the history of the Company's relationship with the Indian community. But this story only deals with the City of Boston's part of the history. In Salem Massachusetts we are still celebrating 284 years of Negro Election Day
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Update on Negro Election Day history: In 1693 the General Court of Massachusetts ruled that the title General Election will become Negro Election Day and it would be a principal holiday.
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In 1831, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company wanted to stop the mixing of the races and separate itself from Negro Election Day's participation in their annual parade, so they separated themselves by honoring the "no blacks" in the Boston Common law and excluded them from participation. They also spread the name, "Nigger Election" so it separated Negro Election Day from Artillery Day.
HISTORY OF THE WORD ""NEGRO"
1550s, "member of a black-skinned race of Africa," from Spanish or Portuguese negro "black," from Latin nigrum (nominative niger) "black, dark, sable, dusky" (applied to the night sky, a storm, the complexion), figuratively "gloomy, unlucky, bad, wicked," according to de Vaan a word of unknown etymology; according to Watkins, perhaps from PIE *nekw-t- "night." The Latin word also was applied to the black peoples of Africa, but the usual terms were Aethiops and Afer.
As an adjective from 1590s. Use with a capital N- became general early 20c. (e.g. 1930 in "New York Times" stylebook) in reference to U.S. citizens of African descent, but because of its perceived association with white-imposed attitudes and roles the word was ousted late 1960s in this sense by Black (q.v.).
Professor Booker T. Washington, being politely interrogated ... as to whether negroes ought to be called 'negroes' or 'members of the colored race' has replied that it has long been his own practice to write and speak of members of his race as negroes, and when using the term 'negro' as a race designation to employ the capital 'N' [Harper's Weekly, June 2, 1906]
Meaning "African-American vernacular, the English language as spoken by U.S. blacks" is from 1704. French nègre is a 16c. borrowing from Spanish negro. Older English words were Moor and blackamoor. A Middle English word for "Ethiopian" (perhaps also "a negro" generally) was blewman "blue man."
*Note: Why did Salem United use the original Name of “Negro” when preserving the history of Negro Election Day instead of Black Picnic. Historically, our people are saying that Negro derived from the white man. It was used as a negative. A demeaning word for Black people. The word Negro became a stereotype, along with the images of Aunt Jemima and other historically black figures. The loss of Aunt Jemima on the box caused our people to lose a valuable statement of a black owned business; now just a plain box with no black history.
However, long before whites used the word it was a part of our cultural heritage. I will not be a part of whitewashing our history, culture or legacy. In order to neutralize the stereotypes, we must reclaim them. I am reappropriating the symbols of our oppressors.
We should respect our elders and predecessors who lived by that word, did the work of freedom fighting and still recognized today.
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The National Council of Negro Women, Inc
Negro Baseball League
United Negro College Fund
The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. - NCNW
and more including Negro Election Day.
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
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Marcus Garvey