Pride, dignity and suffering in one powerful photo

[packman]

Convention of former slaves. Left to right: Annie Parram, age 104; Anna Angales, age 105; Elizabeth Berkeley, age 125 & Sadie Thompson, age 110.” / USA – Washington D.C., 1916

[hlthe2b]

1. Aged 125--youngest, 104???!!!!

Great pic, though

[brer cat]

2. It makes my heart hurt.

Nothing could ever give them back the life of freedom that they should have had or compensate them for their suffering. And there are people bitching about memorials to inhumanity coming down in New Orleans. They should all be torn down, broken up, and buried for eternity.

[Cracklin Charlie]

3. And yet, they persisted.

And our country was made better by that persistence.

Bless their souls.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. I also somehow doubt that any of those women are over 100.

I'd guess in their 80's, which still means they were born and came to adulthood in slavery. People who've researched these things have learned that, especially where reliable birth records aren't available, old people tend to add years on at a faster rate than they occur.

There's also something a bit off about those names, although maybe after they were freed they took on those names, making a break with their slave names and identity. And that's more than understandable.