Adrian Bravo

PID 1578794
Overcoming Their Oppressors
For decades we have heard that Black people are content with a place that provides the
essentials; food, a roof over ones head, and work to keep one occupied. But can the same be said
today as horror stories flood in from the very mouths of those enslaved, telling us of their scars
and oppression? They were willing to find freedom even if it resulted in failure and death. I had
the pleasure of meeting two women who were able to escape from the loosening grip of slavery.
The forces around them constantly tried to keep their lives unstable, ties with friends and family
continuously cut by their enemies. Yet both Mattie Jackson and Kate Drumgoold were able to
hold onto their passion for education, their love and trust in God, and their own personal strength
to not only become free, but to share their stories with anyone who would listen in an attempt to
regain the strengths of their fellow Black people.
If it were up to their oppressors we would never hear the stories of Miss Jackson and
Miss Drumgoold. The people of the north would live their lives ignorant to the suffering heard
on every acre of land in the south. When the oppressors could no longer keep the mouths of the
oppressed sealed, they saw an approaching threat that would hinder their greed. As Union
soldiers marched into their towns and saw their means of financial gain as disgusting, they only
grew more fearful and more brutal in their tactics. Slaveholders would need to have their fingers
broken open before they loosened their grip on their stolen property. Miss Jackson witnessed her
own mother, a strong Black woman who stood up to those that called themselves masters, pushed
to the ground and her life almost choked from her by those that cherished slavery. It was not as a
means of punishment for her doing wrong, it was a means of keeping her silent so they could
continue to commit the illegal slave trades that keep their pockets fat with bloodied dollars. Miss

Jackson was no stranger to both physical pain and mental pain as she toiled in slavery. She was
struck without mercy until her clothing was drenched in blood and only made to continue her
work in her stained garments. If it were not for her great faith in God, she may have never
escaped with her sanity. She was fortunate enough to see the world around her change, to see
those who abused her now compelled to brush their own flies.
The resilience of Miss Drumgoold is as much a necessity for all to hear. Supported also
by her deep love and devotion for God. She was fortunate to meet White men and women in her
life that did not treat her like a commodity, who did not try to beat her spirit by slashing her skin.
Her love of study and her desire to work hard is a strong example when it comes to the fortitude
of the Black people, His people. Even as her body was stricken with sickness after sickness, she
continued on her journey for education. To be able to work freely between families who all
respected her, no matter the color of her skin, and yet still keep the plight of her brothers and
sisters as her priority in life was an amazing feat. She wanted her people to be proud of their
race, to overcome the persecution of her people by those who only wished to keep their
property in line. Miss Drumgoolds life flies in the face of those who have told us that Black
people are simple minded and want nothing more than food in their guts and work at their hands.
The separation she experienced as her brothers and sisters were taken from herself and her
mother never stopped her from trying to keep her family together and with God by her side she
was able to accomplish that. She was able to stay together with her family and against the
sickness that tried to cripple her body was able to share the joys andsorrows that have
crowned [her] little life.
So when you hear from those who feast on the sorrows of others tell you that they take
care of their slaves, that they are doing what is best for society by keeping these simple minded
animals occupied, just remember the stories of these two women. Black women who wanted

nothing more than to be free and to help find freedom for those who were permanently marked
by slavery and to out the liars who commanded it.