I have been immersed in the writings of one the most remarkable and inspiring black men ever to walk within the borders of the United States of America, Martin R. Delany. I am moved to say that if ever a man could embody the idea of Black Power, Martin R. Delany did.

Situated among such intellectual powerhouses as Nat Turner, Denmark Vessey, Harriet Tubman and Booker T. Washington to name a few, our brother Martin Delany standardized the concept of Black Power in the following passage, his personal response to the newly enacted Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 in Pittsburgh, PA:

"Honorable Mayor, whatever ideas of liberty I may have, have been received from reading the lives of your revolutionary fathers. I have therein learned that a man has a right to defend his castle with his life, even unto the taking of life. Sir, my house is my castle; in that castle are none but my wife and my children, as free as the angels of heavens, and whose liberty is as sacred, as the pillars of God.

If any man approaches that house in search of a slave, I care not who he may be, whether constable, or sheriff, magistrate or even judge of the Supreme Court, nay, let it be he who sanctioned this act to become a law. (President Millard Fillmore) surrounded by his cabinet as his bodyguard, with the Declaration of Independence waving above his head as his banner, and the constitution of his country upon his breast as his shield, if he crosses the threshold of my door, and I do not lay him a lifeless corpse at my feet, I hope the grave may refuse my body a resting place, and righteous Heaven my spirit a home. O, no! He cannot enter that house and we both live."¹

"The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."²

¹MRD speaking to Pittsburgh Mayor Hugh Fleming and the largest crowd on record in the city's Market House in Allegheny September 30, 1850 twelve days after the Fugitive Slave Act became law. (In Ullman, p. 112); http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/delany/fugitive.htm

Compare the two in nature, and you will see that Martin R. Delany took his personal stand against the Fugitive Slave Law by echoing the very ideas of freedom and vested power that the "revolutionary fathers" laid out in their national rebuke of England and King George.

In the case of Martin R. Delany, the power was vested in him by God, where on the other hand with the revolutionary fathers the power was vested by God in a group of people who identified themselves as a nation, the thirteen colonies of the United States of America.

Invoking the authority of God, Martin says, "Sir, my house is my castle; in that castle are none but my wife and children, as free as the angels of heavens, and whose liberty is as sacred, as the pillars of God."

Likewise, the revolutionary fathers ascribed their ascension to and maintenance of power for freedom an entitlement from God. Further, Martin pledged a fight to the death in defense of his freedom even if the President of the United States himself came to enslave him. Those "long train of abuses and usurpations" cited by the revolutionary fathers were cause to "throw off" the King's despotic, tyrannical government and install new guards for their future security.

Martin R. Delany was successful in living a life of freedom, as were the revolutionary fathers in establishing the United States of America and achieving freedom from the King of England. But what were the similarities and what were the differences in the types of power displayed by Martin R. Delany and the revolutionary fathers?

The difference was scale. Martin R. Delany made his stand at the personal level; the revolutionary fathers made theirs on the national level. As for similarities, each shared themes of God-given right, duty, and power both to be(come) free and maintain that freedom.

If Black people in America, for example, were to act in the same way as the revolutionary fathers they would accomplish the exact same thing. Conversely, if a white man were to find himself in like position as Martin he too would, by employing the same principles, be as successful. Why? Because power is power, regardless of the color of the person's or nation's skin deploying it. Power is energy, and the first law of thermodynamics says energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only changed from one form to another.

Simply put, it becomes Black Power when used by a black person or nation, white power when used by a white person or nation - brown power, yellow power, red power; Malaysian power, Korean power, Saudi power, Lakota power, Ashanti power, Igbo power - the power principle is the same no matter who applies it. Power may become associated with the applicator, but by no means the sole possession of the applicator.

Whites are not the only ones to understand power, but it seems they are the most consistent users of it. To change, revolutionize, we must become persistent and pervasive users of power. Actually, we must become as consistent in using it as we have become in talking about it. Before we can do that, however, we must have a commitment to power as glorious as the revolutionary fathers had in their ascension to it, and as deep as that of Martin R. Delany in maintaining it.

Where did the breakdown occur? How did we lose the connection to power established by Martin R. Delany long ago? As I pointed out in my last submission, yielding to slavery is, in my opinion, at least as great a sin as enslaving. Sin can be forgiven, but how do we reconnect to power?

The power of the free African? The power of Martin R. Delany? Even the power of the revolutionary fathers? Is it better to live as a slave, as subjects of a tyrannical king, or to die free? For Martin R. Delany, the revolutionary fathers, and to those Africans who jumped overboard the slave ships into the deep, cold blue waters of the Atlantic, the answer to that question would unequivocally be it's better to die free. That indeed was the dilemma facing so many of our fathers and mothers who were slaves. True, that had they not endured slavery many of us would not be here. But here for what?

To continue being enslaved under social and economic shackles rather than physical chains and whips? Or, were we birthed by our ancestors who endured such brutality and misery, whose foresight was 20/20, whose faith was even then already made substance, having surpassed all they could ever hope or dream to revolutionize the world by launching Black Power onto the world stage? Surely we were born to be greater than we are.

Looking unto Jesus (our ancestors), the author(s) and finisher(s) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him (them) endured the cross (slavery), despising the shame, and is (are) set down at the right hand of the throne of God (freedom).³

A little presumptuous? I don't think so. I do know that before we can launch anything beyond more empty words we must grapple with these and other questions, such as, "Is it better to live as second class citizens in a country that never accepts our best efforts, efforts I might add that surpass those of the majority in morality and patriotism, or to strike out on our own for a new land filled with possibilities and uncertainty?" Second class citizenship equals slavery because it is second class citizenship and not freedom. Therefore, anything less than freedom is slavery.

I do not engage in the useless exercise of second guessing our ancestors. Those decisions were made long ago. I do understand the importance of challenging the circular gradualism that keeps us wondering 'when will our change come' while proclaiming 'they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength'. We are trapped betwixt belief and reality - what we wish were true and what we know is true. I also know that we are afraid of the power we posses, afraid of our own being, afraid to be.

Slavery in its worst sense is over. Yet, there is an invisible kind of slavery that lurks in the shadows of American society, masked by the law. It is the mother of all loopholes. It is the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution which reads:

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

It's been said that there's an exception to every rule, well here's one hell of an exception. Imagine, an exception to slavery! Down through time the poor under classes, society's underdogs, have been the ones that fall through such loopholes. Contrary to the myth of the white woman being the black man's kryptonite, it's these 32 little words that zap us of our black power. Since 1865, these 32 words have eaten away at the power of Black America. Because it's written into this country's highest law document we feel we must accept it, even if it means abiding by our own enslavement.

It seems to make sense that prisoners should have no rights, like slaves, but these 32 little words undermine any efforts we make to change our underclass status in this country. We as black people feel we are powerless to change the Constitution. After all, we had no part in writing it. That privilege has been reserved exclusively for the wielders of white power. This little 32-word entry, and our abiding by it, is the break in the line. It is here that white power siphons off black power making whites more powerful and blacks less powerful.

The effects of this amendment on blacks are devastating. Once convicted of a crime, the black man finds himself in the most unnatural of environments, prison. It's a world of all men, except for the occasional female corrections worker. It's a zoo-like setting of bars, locks, barriers and zones. The bars are a constant reminder that only the body, and not the mind, can be predictably controlled.

My time as a corrections officer taught me the most important lesson of all: that corrections staff, from the warden to the last-hired food worker, runs the institution only with the cooperation and permission of the inmates. Inmates have lost the connection between the mind and power. That is why we see so many inmates who come out of prison swollen from throwing weight at the weight pile. They have mistaken the power of their arms as their liberator, when in reality it is the power locked away in their minds that will free them.

Under the pressures of this unnatural setting, the black man to a degree loses his mind, evident by the high recidivism rates among prisoners. The effects don't stop there but filters down into the black family. It poisons the black woman against the black man, causing her to see as just his enslavement. In her eyes the black man is now unworthy of her love and respect, but completely worthy of her contempt. Likewise, the black child also comes into opposition to the black father. They now see their dad as a member of America's lowest caste, unworthy of honor, and powerless.

In contrast, the black man in Africa is seen as the supreme power figure whose word is law. An African man who fails to live up to these expectations is seen as less than a man, and is often referred to as a woman. Don't be alarmed because the white world is the same. It is the white man who holds and wields power in their societies also. When I lived in Germany, my landlord came to my apartment one day and saw me washing dishes. He commented to his wife upon returning to his home that American men were strange for doing "woman's work". Here in America, white men hold power.

White women have tried to rest power from them by various means, albeit unsuccessfully, but as long as there is an America, white men will hold power. When Blacks, or Hispanics, or women hold power here, America will cease to exist. Thus, anything or anyone who raises their head above a certain level risks being attacked by the white power structure and targeted for destruction. This was true for Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) or Martin L. King, Jr. Ironically, King George III of England had the same resolution, but the early colonists won the war. Let us as Black Americans take a page from their book.

Part of our challenge is to reduce those 32 words to 18, so that a new 13th Amendment reads:

Section 2. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

The undermining effect that the current 13th Amendment has on Black Power must be removed. It conflicts with the strong stand taken by Martin R. Delany against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and the rebellion of the 13 American colonies against the laws of King George III of England. It is our right and our duty to oppose this old law, to eradicate it from the laws that govern a modern, civil, free people.

Let us reconnect with our brother Martin R. Delany by declaring, "If any man approaches that house (our person) in search of a slave, I care not who he may be, whether constable, or sheriff, magistrate or even judge of the Supreme Court, nay, let it be he who sanctioned (upholds) this act (13th Amendment) to become a law. (President Millard Fillmore (George W. Bush) surrounded by his cabinet as his bodyguard, with the Declaration of Independence waving above his head as his banner, and the constitution of his country upon his breast as his shield, if he crosses the threshold of my door, and I do not lay him a lifeless corpse at my feet, I hope the grave may refuse my body a resting place, and righteous Heaven my spirit a home. O, no! He cannot enter that (my) house and we both live."

The end of all slavery has come, and this time Black Power will write a new, just law where all can find safety.

Read The Quest For Black Power from beginning

© September 2005 By Dan Hardman

Brother Dan Hardman will be keeping the Black community informed on issues concerning the church and righteous living. Visit regularly for new information that could help you overcome and make the best of your everyday experiences.

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