#Henrietta Wood

[todaysdocument]

Henrietta Wood had been kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1853. After the Civil War, she sued her kidnapper for $20k to cover lost wages. 

On April 17, 1878, a jury awarded Wood $2,500. This is still the largest amount awarded by a U.S. Court as reparations for slavery. 

Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States

Series: Civil Case Files

File Unit: Henrietta Wood vs. Zeb Ward

Transcription: 

No 1431

Henrietta Wood

V

Zeb Ward

Verdict

We, the Jury in the above entitled cause, do find for the plaintiff and assess her damages in the premise at Two thousand five hundred dollars $2,500.

D D Conover, Foreman.

[lilithaine]

Lilith Aine (with PJ @immcrtalsx & Hen @mcnstercus) as Aphrodite (with Heracles & Athena)

[tani-b-art]

Black women who fought for reparations.

Àbáké Matilda McCrear (she was just two years old when she arrived in Mobile, Alabama, in July 1860, a captive aboard the infamous Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring Africans to America. She died in 1940 at the age 82, making her the last known survivor of the last known slave ship.)

...Matilda had walked the 17 miles to Selma to request that she receive some compensation, too, for being kidnapped and brought to the country as a toddler. As proof that she was from Africa, she showed the marks on her cheek.

The judge denied her any reparations just as Timothy Meaher, the slaveowner who organized the illegal Clotilda journey, had denied reparations to the ship’s survivors back in 1865.

McCrear made a claim for herself and Redoshi.

Redoshi, also known as Sally Smith, was the second to last living, African-born survivor of North American slavery, and the only female survivor of the transatlantic slave trade known to have been recorded on film. Born on the coast of West Africa in what is present day Benin, Redoshi was one of about 110 West African children and adults who were human cargo of the schooner Clotilda, the last slave ship to reach the United States. She may have been 110 years old when she died in Alabama in 1937.

*************************************************

In 1870, Henrietta Wood Sued for Reparations—and Won

The $2,500 verdict, the largest ever of its kind, offers evidence of the generational impact such awards can have.

*************************************************

Callie House is most famous for her efforts to gain reparations for former slaves and is regarded as the early leader of the reparations movement among African American political activists. Callie Guy was born a slave in Rutherford Country near Nashville, Tennessee. Her date of birth is usually assumed to be 1861, but due to the lack of birth records for slaves, this date is not certain.

*************************************************

Belinda Sutton [also known as Belinda Royal/Royall] was the author of one of the earliest known slave narratives by an African woman in the United States and a successful early petitioner for reparations for enslavement.

[forthosebefore]

Women pioneers of reparations

I’ve previously posted about Henrietta Wood. Here are some other early women pioneers for reparations.

Belinda Sutton

Belinda (Royal) Sutton was born in 1712 in Ghana. She was abandoned by her enslaver, who had offered emancipation upon his death or her transfer to his daughter. If she chose freedom he provided 30 pounds for three years so she wouldn’t be a public charge. In 1783, at 63 years old, Sutton filed a petition to the Massachusetts General Court requesting a pension from the estate of her former enslaver. In her petition she recalled her life in Africa as a joyful one full of love prior to her captivity and enslavement. Sutton’s testimony describing the happy times with family in Africa contradicted the narrative that the enslaved were happy in their captivity. She won her claim and was awarded 15 pounds and 12 shillings annually. She had to fight continuously for that award to be honored and paid.

Belinda Sutton’s […] petition of 1783 is among the earliest narratives by an African American woman. […] It has been seen by some commentators as the first call for reparations for American slavery [and] opens a rare window onto the life on an enslaved woman in colonial North America.

To read the full text of Belinda Sutton’s first petition, click here. All of her petitions are available through the Antislavery Petitions Massachusetts Dataverse, maintained by Harvard University.

Callie House

Callie House was born enslaved in Rutherford County, Tennessee, in 1861. In 1897, at 36 years old, she founded the National Ex-Slave Mutual Bounty and Pension Association (MB&PA) to seek financial support for former slaves left without resources. With Isiah Dickerson she traveled to former slave states to encourage others to join the organization. The organization was eager to petition Congress for a bill that would grant payments (reparations) and mutual aid for burial expenses. Their grass-roots advocacy grew in membership to hundreds of thousands of formerly enslaved residents all over the country. The government used three agencies to try to stop this movement: the Federal Bureau of Pensions, the Department of Justice and the Post Office Department. On September 1899, the Post Office issued a fraud order, without evidence, against MB&PA, which made it illegal for them to send mail, cash or money orders. House resisted by invoking the 1st, 14th and 15th amendments and hiring an attorney.

Congress rejected the pensions petition, as if it was not to be taken seriously, and postponed it indefinitely.

In 1909, when Dickerson died, House became the leader of the MB&PA. In 1915, under House’s leadership, the class action lawsuit Johnson v McAdoo was filed in U.S. Federal Court requesting reparations for slavery in the amount of $68 million. This amount was cotton tax money collected from 1862 to 1868 and held by the U.S. Treasury Department. A former slave, H. N. Johnson, led the charge as the plaintiff against U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the claim. This was the first documented litigation for reparations for American chattel slavery in a U.S. federal court.

The following year, House was arrested on charges of fraud from the Post Office, convicted by an all-white, all-male jury and sentenced to a year in jail, deliberately hampering the reparations movement.

Callie House died from cancer in Nashville, Tennessee on June 6, 1928, at the age of 67. Source: Greenbelt News Review, BlackPast.org, RoyallHouse.org

Visit www.attawellsummer.com/forthosebefore to learn more about Black history and read new blog posts first.

Need a freelance graphic designer or illustrator? Send me an email.

[lilithaine]

Lily couldn’t help but smile as PJ playfully teased Hen, the warmth radiating from their laughter wrapping around her like a cozy blanket. It was a feeling she’d cherish forever. Watching Hen's eyes glisten with unshed tears tugged at her heartstrings and she quickly brushed her own tears away before anyone noticed. When PJ drew her closer, she was mindful of his injuries, but the moment their lips met, everything else faded. It started tenderly but quickly ignited into something electric, leaving her breathless. The kisses she shared with both PJ and Hen felt special in different ways, each moment leaving its own mark on her heart. Nestling into PJ’s side while pulling Hen in tighter, she craved the warmth and comfort after the whirlwind of chaos and pain earlier in the night. It was all starting to sink in and with vulnerability washing over her, she whispered, “I just need you both right now... I'm grateful to be able to face whatever comes next together.” @immcrtalsx & @mcnstercus

"Really crappy with words? Says the one who may have said like the most romantic thing I've ever heard," she said to PJ. When Lily spoke, she squeezed her hand lightly and when she was done, Hen fanned her watery eyes lightly. "You guys are going to make me cry," she said with a small laugh. "I think all that adrenaline is kind of wearing off right now." Hen covered her face lightly, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

( @immcrtalsx / @lilithaine )

[hollow-fantasy]

[etruatcaelum]

[ @scareqrowbranwen | ? // for henrietta ]

“Hey, lady, wait–!”

The arm the huntsman throws out to bar her from disembarking before the craft has completed its landing impedes Henrietta not at all: she simply ducks under him and vaults outside before the man has time to register that she has no intention of acting the tame little civilian to his authoritative huntsman.

It is a drop of perhaps two meters. She lands light on her feet, sinking into a deep crouch to cushion the impact, and then springs up and forward to accost the first vaguely-recognizable youth she lays eyes on.

“You!” she cries. “Girl–” Not the one from the broadcast (and what had her name been? Rue? Rhubarb? something gardeny…) but she looks to be of a similar age, and her face has the same seen-it-on-the-news familiarity. Henrietta pulls up short in front of her, arms crossed and eyebrows disappearing into the riot of mahogany curls flopping over her forehead. “You look likely. I am here for Oscar Pine.”

[lilithaine]

Lily frowned slightly, shifting closer to Hen and resting her head against the older vampire's shoulder. “I’ve noticed,” she admitted softly, her fingers idly tracing patterns on Hen’s arm. “He’s good at hiding it but I can tell it’s still bothering him.” She paused, considering Hen’s question carefully. “Sirens are tricky… their magic has a way of lingering. I haven’t known anyone personally who’s been hurt by one, but I’ve been reading up on injuries like PJ’s and it says it can take a long time to fully heal,” she said as she sighed, her brow furrowing in concern. “I get why he wants to do it naturally though,” she said with a faint, affectionate smile. “He doesn’t really like to rely on anyone or anything too much. But maybe there's something we can do to help?” Her eyes softened as she looked at Hen. “I just don’t want him pushing himself too hard.”

closed starter - hen & lily ( @lilithaine )

"Hey, have you noticed that PJ's still a little sore?" Hen asked, curling up more to Lily. PJ had a shift at the club that night so Hen and Lily were having a girl's night together. "I know he wants to heal more naturally, but do you think it's normal for a siren injury to last this long. Do you know of any other's who got hurt by the sirens?"

[artparks-sculpture]

A sculpture titled 'Colouring in Grass and Sky (Big Fun Crayon Lawn statue)' by sculptor Henrietta Bud. In a medium of wood, steel.

[candy-baroque]

yaaaay artfight!

[nctural]

"i don't know how to go back to the person i was hen - i feel like she died." the blonde admitted, swallowing thickly. "i've tried in my own way to reach out for help and i don't think she understood that was what i was doing." astoria shook her head, knowing that this whole situation was her whole fault. "don't you think some things might be too broken for anyone to want to fix?"

"We're both little kids in her eyes given that we're centuries younger than her, but maybe, be a little kid with her. Let her help you, let yourself be vulnerable around her. You've grown up, but it's okay to feel young every once in a while. Maybe that's what she needs from you. For you to ask her for help."

[theambitiouswoman]

Book Recommendations 📚📒

Business and Leadership:

"Good to Great" by Jim Collins

"The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries

"Zero to One" by Peter Thiel

"Leaders Eat Last" by Simon Sinek

"Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell

Success and Personal Development:

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey

"Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Carol S. Dweck

"Atomic Habits" by James Clear

"Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by Angela Duckworth

"The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg

Mental Health and Well-being:

"The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle

"Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy" by David D. Burns

"The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brené Brown

"The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund J. Bourne

"The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook" by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley

Goal Setting and Achievement:

"Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want—Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible" by Brian Tracy

"The 12 Week Year" by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington

"Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" by Daniel H. Pink

"The One Thing" by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

"Smarter Faster Better" by Charles Duhigg

Relationships and Communication:

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

"The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman

"Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High" by Al Switzler, Joseph Grenny, and Ron McMillan

"Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life" by Marshall B. Rosenberg

"Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" by John Gray

Self-Help and Personal Growth:

"The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson

"Daring Greatly" by Brené Brown

"Awaken the Giant Within" by Tony Robbins

"The Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod

"You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero

Science and Popular Science:

"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

"Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

"A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

"The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins

Health and Nutrition:

"The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II

"In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan

"Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker

"Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Fiction and Literature:

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

"1984" by George Orwell

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

[forthosebefore]

Black Woman Won Largest Reparations Award at Time From U.S. Courts in 1878

In 1878, Henrietta Wood, a formerly “illegally” enslaved Black woman, was awarded $2,500 in reparations by an all-white jury — the most significant sum of its kind that a U.S. court had granted.

Wood initially sought $20,000 for being kidnapped and illegally enslaved in an 1870 lawsuit, Business Insider reported. But was awarded a smaller amount. While it may not seem like a lot, the $2,500 total would equate to more than $75,000 today, the outlet noted.

Wood used her settlement to move with her son, aiding his education. The outlet noted that he became one of the first Black law graduates from what is now Northwestern University’s School of Law.

Born into slavery between 1818 and 1820 in Kentucky, Wood was sold multiple times before finally gaining freedom in 1848 from her owner’s wife, Jane Cirode, who wanted to avoid debt collectors. According to Business Insider, the wife of William Cirode — a French immigrant who had abandoned his family due to legal reasons — had rented Wood out as a domestic servant.

Wood was illegally recaptured just five years later by a deputy sheriff in Kentucky named Zebulon Ward, whom Cirode’s daughter and son-in-law hired. Following the Civil War, Wood sued Ward for damages and won the most significant reparations case the U.S. courts had awarded.

The battle Wood began sadly continues with reparations still being denied to most African Americans. Now, more than a century later, federal reparations remain a question despite unprecedented Congressional apologies for slavery. In 2008-2009. Rep. Steve Cohen wrote in a resolution that the nation must seek “reconciliation, justice, and harmony.”

While state efforts have emerged, national progress stalls. Rep. Cori Bush said in May 2023: “Black people … cannot wait any longer for our government to … address the harm it has caused,” Business Insider reported.

Source: Black Enterprise, Wikipedia, Library of Congress

Visit www.attawellsummer.com/forthosebefore to learn more about Black history.

Need a freelance graphic designer or illustrator? Send me an email.

[bi4bisamjess]

something something adansey something something summer in the south. christ! adam sits with gansey in the dark of the woods on the ley line. he goes to the public library on the bus to do research about glendower and prints out photocopies to go in gansey's journal. they do the saturday crossword together. adam stops on the side of the road to pick the blackberries growing. he rides his bike to monmoth to share them with gansey. they sit in the pig and listen to the oldies station on the radio. gansey watches adam trim his hair using craft scissors over st. agnes' bathroom sink. adam collects cardboard for gansey's henrietta. it feels impossible that they are only 17. the sit on the front stoop of monmoth and watch the birds. they watch the sunrise. they are thankful and horrified that they are still alive at all.

[lilithaine]

Lily glanced between PJ and Hen, her gaze warm and thoughtful as she took in the festive atmosphere around them. The decorations, costumes, and laughter in the air brought a soft smile to her face. “Honestly? I’m just glad we’re all here together,” she admitted, giving PJ’s arm a gentle squeeze. “But… if I had to choose, maybe we can start with something low-key? Like the pumpkin patch or the haunted hayride?” Her smile turned playful as she looked over at Hen. “Unless you’re in the mood to drag us through the haunted house first?” she teased her, her tone light. @immcrtalsx & @mcnstercus

Since recovering from the last attack, PJ had spent a lot of his free time with Lily and Hen. It was a strange adjustment. He didn't usually make room for people in his life bar his biological and chosen family. However, he felt so much lighter in their presence and he looked forward to making and carrying out plans with them. Even today, dressing up for Halloween, he was looking forward to it. It was by no means his thing, though someone usually convinced him to dress up since moving here. With both women on his arms, he looked around at all the Halloween festivities available, "What would you like to do first?" he asked, looking between them.

@mcnstercus & @lilithaine

[peppermintquartz]

Actual Beast Tommy and Buck being sent to the Beast's castle in place of his sister Maddie (who's gonna be married to the town mayor's asshole son); Beast!Tommy lending Buck a magic mirror so he can check in on his family, but Buck only checks in on Maddie at her wedding. He watches her get married and thinks, this exchange is worth it, if she gets her happily ever after.

Meanwhile he and Beast!Tommy learn to live together. There's definitely a huge library and Buck can learn to his heart's content; Beast!Tommy makes little models of flying creatures, his massive paws incredibly delicate and careful as he carves and joins and ties bits of wood together.

Beast!Tommy tells Buck about the curse, and that while he wishes he had not been a bigoted bastard, he thinks this is better. Because he was forced to grow and change for the better.

Buck learns to be assured of his place in the world, living with his "captor"; he learns to cook from Chef Nash (currently a salt shaker) and he becomes firm friends with the closet, who apparently was a valet named Eddie. There's also a little footstool with crooked legs, called Christopher. He's Eddie's son and really likes Buck, who is just so funny and affectionate. There's a broom named Chimney, and a mirror named Henrietta, and a suit of armor named Ravi who sometimes wander elsewhere in the castle.

There's a scene where Buck falls asleep leaning against Beast!Tommy in the library and he snuggles into Beast!Tommy's fur, just using him as a massive teddy bear.

But Buck misses his sister. So he asks to borrow the mirror again, and he sees a black eye on her. He thinks - hopes - it's an accident, but he remembers it. Two nights later, he actually sees through the mirror that she's being beaten up, and tells Beast!Tommy he has to go rescue her. Beast!Tommy lets him go.

But Buck is captured by Doug and both siblings are thrown into jail. He's accused of stealing gold from the town's treasury, and that Maddie was his accomplice.

Beast!Tommy has been looking at the mirror every other moment since Buck left. And the minute he was captured and imprisoned, Beast!Tommy throws all caution to the wind. Before he can charge into town, however, Christopher has managed to spook the town's horses to run into the jail and cause mayhem, and in the process the warden drops the keys. Christopher gets the keys to Buck and Maddie, and they all run back to the castle (Buck carries Maddie on his back)

Beast!Tommy welcomes them and gets the castle ready for a battle. Doug musters the men of the town. Big fighty mcfight. Doug stabs Buck when he was shielding Maddie; Beast!Tommy goes fully feral and basically uses him as a chew toy. The killing blow is from Maddie, however, because she thought Buck has been killed by Doug.

Beast!Tommy holds Buck and cries, finally confessing that he's fallen in love with him, and suddenly there's light and shimmery magic and voila! Buck is back to full health and Beast!Tommy is human!Tommy. The fairy godfather who changed Tommy in the first place shows up to congratulate him on breaking the curse. Buck grabs hold of Fairy Godfather Tim and asks for a favor. He asks so sincerely with his big blue eyes that FG Tim gave in.

So, in the end, Tommy returns to his human form, but he gains the ability to turn into a Beast whenever he wants.

For reasons.