Ray of Hope
Bob Wickizer
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Every year after Christmas we hear the terrifying readings about the slaughter of the innocents and the frantic flight to Egypt. To get this in proper context, I want to share with you some details about five other images of terror and political persecution. These images have haunted me for years.
First we go to Annapolis Maryland. From the south lawn of St. Anne's Church you can look down Main Street at the beautiful harbor. In the middle of all that charm and scenery you will find a small plaque noting the landing site of the Lord Ligonier slave ship. This was the source of Alex Haley's popular book Roots. The Lord Ligonier landed in Annapolis in September 1767. Its last port of call before crossing the Atlantic was Gambia Africa. Its human cargo was stowed on four decks. 170 people were packed in, shackled hands and feet, on their backs where the spacing between the decks was so tight that tall men could not even sit up straight.
A week into the trans-Atlantic crossing, fresh water rations needed to be cut with sea water in order to stretch the limited and very heavy supply of water to the end of the voyage. One medical theory about the difference in rates of diabetes among African-American people and their genetic counterparts in Africa is that those who could not tolerate a high salt diet died en route. The slave trade included a genetic selection factor.
Within 20 years, slave boats would more than double in size. A later vessel, The Brooks, sailing out of Liverpool was licensed by the British government to carry 440, but commonly docked with a manifest of 654 souls. Justice and human dignity remain hard to find.
Next stop is Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act of 1830 - a shameful period of our nation's history. Tens of thousands of Indians forcibly marched in the coldest and hottest months of the year, 1,200 miles to Indian Territory. Thousands died. White plantation owners in the Deep South got ...
Bob Wickizer
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Every year after Christmas we hear the terrifying readings about the slaughter of the innocents and the frantic flight to Egypt. To get this in proper context, I want to share with you some details about five other images of terror and political persecution. These images have haunted me for years.
First we go to Annapolis Maryland. From the south lawn of St. Anne's Church you can look down Main Street at the beautiful harbor. In the middle of all that charm and scenery you will find a small plaque noting the landing site of the Lord Ligonier slave ship. This was the source of Alex Haley's popular book Roots. The Lord Ligonier landed in Annapolis in September 1767. Its last port of call before crossing the Atlantic was Gambia Africa. Its human cargo was stowed on four decks. 170 people were packed in, shackled hands and feet, on their backs where the spacing between the decks was so tight that tall men could not even sit up straight.
A week into the trans-Atlantic crossing, fresh water rations needed to be cut with sea water in order to stretch the limited and very heavy supply of water to the end of the voyage. One medical theory about the difference in rates of diabetes among African-American people and their genetic counterparts in Africa is that those who could not tolerate a high salt diet died en route. The slave trade included a genetic selection factor.
Within 20 years, slave boats would more than double in size. A later vessel, The Brooks, sailing out of Liverpool was licensed by the British government to carry 440, but commonly docked with a manifest of 654 souls. Justice and human dignity remain hard to find.
Next stop is Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act of 1830 - a shameful period of our nation's history. Tens of thousands of Indians forcibly marched in the coldest and hottest months of the year, 1,200 miles to Indian Territory. Thousands died. White plantation owners in the Deep South got ...
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