"In this way, religion became not consolation but reinforcement—a moral alibi for ownership.

For the enslaved, faith meant something different. Their Christianity inverted his: it promised that the last would be first, that masters would answer for every lash."

So at Jackson's funeral, the enslaved people surrounding him sang "One day your head must bow as low as ours" — "scripture in their own language, a theology of resistance."

#BlackHistory #solidarity #resistance #religion
/3

I like in particular Glassco's critique of Jackson's "fierce but selective" application of scripture and theology — something characteristic of the entire white ruling class in the period of slavery, and something still thriving in the Republican party under Trump now.

As Glassco notes, Jackson's selective use of bible quotes was "theology bent to power":

"He could quote the Bible to justify punishment and use the same faith to comfort the dying."

#BlackHistory #resistance #religion
/2

I highly recommend Dr. Elisabeth Glassco's site 400 Years. It focuses on Black history, Black resistance and solidarity, with an eye to contemporary events that call for resistance including political ones.

Her essay yesterday about Andrew Jackson and other founders of the American Republic is first-rate.

#BlackHistory #solidarity #resistance #religion
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400years.substack.com/p/one-da…

“One Day Your Head Must Bow as Low as Ours"

Their days ordered his fortune; their silence framed his legend. What remains is the record beneath the record—the lives whose endurance exposes the power that built the early republic

^{Dr. D. Elisabeth Glassco (400 Years)}