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row, left to right: Joseph W. Dooley; Paul Williams, II; Maria
Cole; Cheryl Williams; Paul Williams, Sr.; Roland G. Downing;
Lawrence E. McKinley. Front row, left to right: Devin Williams;
Arleathia Williams; Aubri Williams" (Photo by www.josephbeatty.com)
Williams Family Inducted Into Sons of the American
Revolution
On
June 4, 2005, at Gunston Hall Plantation in Mason Neck, Virginia,
the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) welcomed four new
members. Paul Williams, Sr., Paul Williams, II, Andrew Williams
and Devin Williams are descended from Absalom Martin, a free
black man who enlisted as a Private on April 25, 1781 for
twelve months in Captain William Dennis' Company in the 1st
North Carolina Regiment, commanded by Colonel Lighton.
Maria
Coles discovered her ancestor's name listed in "African
American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary
War," which qualified
her for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Through the encouragement of Joseph W. Dooley, of Liberty
Fund D.C., she then suggested to her brother,
nephews, and niece that they join the SAR and Children of
the American Revolution.
Published
in 2001, "African American Patriots..." lists over
2,400 soldiers. It was undertaken by the DAR 20 years ago
to satisfy a major requirement of Lena Santos Ferguson's settlement
agreement. At the time Mrs. Ferguson said, "this
publication will enable black women to embrace their heritage
and join the DAR."
Comments
of Joseph W. Dooley,
a Vice President of the
Virginia Society SAR
At
SAR functions, we often quote Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin
Franklin, and rightly so. But today, I'd like to quote Whoopi
Goldberg:
"Call
me a jerk, call me a blowhard, but don't call me an African
American. It divides us, as a nation and as a people, and
it kind of annoys me. It diminishes everything I've accomplished
and everything every other black person has accomplished on
American soil. It means I'm not entitled to everything plain
old regular Americans are entitled to.
".
. . [T]he Bill of Rights is my Bill of Rights, same as anyone
else's. It's my flag. It's my Constitution. It doesn't talk
about some people. It talks about all people - black, white,
orange, brown. You. Me.
".
. . [S]o, no, I'm not an African American. I'm not from Africa.
I'm from New York.
".
. . [G]eorge Washington belongs to me. Lou Gehrig belongs
to me. Jackie Robinson belongs to me. . . . [T]he amber waves
of grain? Mine. I'm as American as Chevrolet.
"For
centuries now, people have come to America from all over the
world. It wasn't an all-white country up until the time some
of the wealthy landowners started importing black folks as
chattel, the way some of the supremacists would have us think.
Heck, some of our most outspoken Black leaders would have
us believe the same, but that's crap. We were here. . . .
[W]e worked the land. We had jobs. We had property. We had
families."
Whoopi makes a very strong statement. But one thing she overlooked
is that many of the Black folks who were here not only had
land, jobs and families, they were also Patriots who helped
achieve our Nation's independence.
Many of the men who are members of this Society, and I know
for fact a couple of our guests today, are former members
of the United States Military.
Imagine, if you will, leading troops into battle with an automatic
reduction in your force of 10%. If want to take a hill or
hold a field, you don't care what color your soldiers are,
as long as they can shoot, and shoot well.
Well, by some accounts, the total number of men fighting in
Washington's army during the entire Revolution - not all at
once mind you, but the aggregate - was about 50,000 men. By
some accounts, more than 5,000 of these soldiers were black.
The math is simple: perhaps as much as 10% of the men who
fought under Washington were black.
How many Americans know that more than 5,000 black Americans
fought in our Revolution? Very few. This is sad. This reflects
very poorly on American education. Americans of all colors
don't know their own history.
We in the SAR seek to remember and honor all those brave men
and women, regardless of color, who fought and won our freedom.
We seek to educate all Americans about the glorious American
Revolution.
If all you know about George Washington is that he owned slaves,
then I submit to you that you don't know the man. His is a
life worth studying. His is a life you can get excited about.
In the same vein, if all you know about black Americans in
the 18th century is that they were slaves, then I submit to
you that you don't know the American people. Blacks were not
just slaves, although sadly too many of them were enslaved.
Black Americans, like white Americans, were farmers, merchants,
craftsmen, shipbuilders and clergymen. Most importantly for
us here today, Black Americans, like white Americans, were
freedom fighters.
Black Americans, like white Americans, wanted freedom so badly
they were willing to fight, to bleed, to die for it. And they
did. And for that, we are all indebted to them.
Martin Luther King once said, "Injustice anywhere is
a threat to justice everywhere."
I'd like to modify this statement somewhat: failure to honor
all Americans who fought in our Revolution is a failure to
really honor any of them.
American heroes come in all colors. As a people, we must honor
the hero George Washington. As a people, we must honor the
hero Crispus Attucks.
I believe all Americans who supported the cause of American
independence are heroes. Each one of us who is a member of
the DAR, the SAR or the C.A.R. is a living memorial to that
hero patriot who is our ancestor.
I'd like to stress this point for our guests, the Williams
family: you are descended from a genuine American hero. You
are a living memorial to the hero patriot, Absalom Martin.
And now, without further ado, I'd like to ask Secretary General
Roland Downing to install our new compatriots into the SAR.
PROGRAM
June 4, 2005
Call to Order ……..……………...….…...
Joseph W. Dooley
2nd Vice President, Virginia Society SAR
Invocation ………....……………….
Lawrence E. McKinley
President, Virginia Society SAR
Pledge of Allegiance ………….……...
Maurice A. Barboza
President, National Mall Liberty Fund D.C.
Pledge to the SAR ……...…..………...
Roland G. Downing
Secretary General, National Society SAR
Introduction of Guests……..…………...
Joseph W. Dooley
2nd Vice President, Virginia Society SAR
(Lunch is Served)
Installation of New Compatriots
into the National Society SAR
……………....…. Roland G. Downing
Secretary General, National Society SAR
Other Business ...…… ……..…………...
Joseph W. Dooley
2nd Vice President, Virginia Society SAR
Benediction ……….………..…........
Lawrence E. McKinley
President, Virginia Society SAR
Recessional ………..……...…..
Paul Anthony Williams, Sr.
New Compatriot, SAR
The SAR welcomes our new compatriots:
Paul Anthony Williams, Sr.; Paul Anthony Williams, II; Andrew
Michael Williams; Devin Christopher Williams
The SAR also congratulates Aubri Leanne Williams on becoming
a new member of the Children of the American Revolution.
The SAR wishes to acknowledge and give special thanks to
Maria Cole, the sister of Paul Anthony Williams, Sr., whose
hard work has made it possible for herself and her mother
Arleathia Loretta Carter Williams to join the DAR, for her
brother and nephews to join the SAR, and for her niece to
join the C.A.R.
The Patriot ancestor of the Williams Family was Absalom Martin.
Absalom was a free Black man who enlisted as a Private on
April 25, 1781 for twelve months in Captain William Dennis'
Company in the 1st North Carolina Regiment, commanded by Colonel
Lighton.
Following the Adjournment, members of the SAR and guests
are invited to tour Gunston Hall, the home of George Mason.
Mason is the Father of the Bill of Rights and the Author of
the Fairfax Resolves. He is also the patron of both the George
Mason Chapter and the Fairfax Resolves Chapter.
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