BLACK DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION
MAURICE A. BARBOZA
(May, 1984, unpublished)

Lena Santos Ferguson's battle over full membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution has ended successfully. At her urging, the DAR will take several unprecedented steps to help black women join the organization and assure that the role of blacks in the American Revolution is further explored and honored. She has said she wants to be a bridge for black women who may wish to become DAR members. Now that the path has been cleared for others, the question seems to be how many will follow.

The universe of potential black DAR applicants is not minute, as implied by the op-ed, Daughters of Revolution and Children of Slavery, which appeared in the Post on May 3, 1984. There may be thousands of potential black DAR members who are legitimate descendants of one of the 5,000 black slaves or free men who bore arms during the American Revolution or one of their white compatriots.

Lena and I share at least two white Revolutionary war ancestors, through her mother, my grandmother, the daughter of a white Maine sea captain and a black Virginia woman. They were married at the turn of the century and together raised my grandmother in the up-side-down life of New York Harbor. Great grandmother and great grandfather had a strong marriage, and together watched their daughter start a large family of her own with my grandfather, a Cape Verdean immigrant.

The first black member of the DAR is a descendant of a 19th century black-white marriage, and there are other examples that have been brought to Lena's and my attention by potential black DAR applicants in recent months. We are also aware of potential DAR applicants who are descendants of black revolutionary war patriots.

Blacks and whites together entered into legal interracial marriages before, during and after the Revolution. Anti-miscegenation laws were not in effect in all the states at all times. For example, historian Lerone Bennett, Jr. says that mixed marriages became common place in Philadelphia at the time of the Revolution. The 1830 census for Nansemond County Virginia lists nine marriages between black men and white women. In Boston, just before World War I, interracial marriages were about 5 percent of all black marriages. In 1982, nationally, there were 155,000 black-white marriages according to Census Bureau data. If a significant number of partners of interracial marriages in this century alone are descendants of Revolutionary War patriots, the number of potential DAR members could be quite large.

DAR membership is not only a possibility for whites and blacks; any racial minority in America -- Orientals, Hispanics and others -- could be eligible for DAR membership based upon descent from a man or woman who contributed to the cause of independence. Lena's father and my father were both immigrants, but on the maternal side of the family, we are 9th and 10th generation Americans, respectively, going back to 10 years after the Mayflower. In a nation of immigrants, this is probably not unusual. My great grandparents alone, in the past 86 years since my grandmother's birth, are responsible for one DAR member and 16 potential members, as well as one SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) member and 18 potential members.

It is quite possible that with persistent research, many blacks will be able to trace their ancestry to a black who served in the Continental Army or one of the state militias. It is also possible that whites will be able to trace their ancestry to a black patriot. Despite barriers to marriage in some places, many slaves and free blacks entered into legal marriages and raised children in strong family units. The National Archives contains thousands of military and pension files on these men. The DAR has agreed to undertake a project to identify all of the black soldiers who served during the Revolution and produce a pamphlet chronicling the involvement of the racial and religious minorities that contributed to the cause of independence so that all women will know that their race or religion is no barrier to membership.

This raises exciting possibilities for black persons who may have been hesitant to look back for fear of what they might find and illuminates a side of American history that few people are fully aware of or fully comprehend. The history of blacks in America is complex and full of irony, challenges and pain. No aspect of it is unimportant or too tragic to explore because it is what defines us as we are today. There are many historical treasures and unknown heroes yet to be found, hidden in records that are surprisingly available.

Whether or not a significant number of blacks can trace their ancestry in an unbroken chain to the American Revolution is not important. What is important is recognition that the qualities that compelled 5,000 blacks to serve in the Revolution, 10's of thousands of others to run away from slavery, and scores of black men and women to agitate for freedom through court suits and freedom petitions during the Revolution should be remembered and honored in whatever way possible. It was these men and women who established strong family units and institutions that set in motion the events that would culminate in the civil rights gains of the l960s. Historian Benjamin Quarles says that the "contagion of liberty had long infected blacks, reaching epidemic proportions with the outbreak of war against England."

For the first time in the DAR's history, the press peeked inside the Society to find out whether it was giving black applicants a hard time. The idea did not occur to reporters over the years who rewrote references to Marian Anderson being denied the opportunity to sing at Constitution Hall whenever the DAR was in the news. That is because they were unaware of the fact that there are more black women qualified to become DAR members than there are gifted black sopranos whose appearances at the Hall in the years since 1939 have been calculated to lull the public into forgetting the organization's past.

Lena was denied membership in a local DAR chapter because she is black and perhaps perceived as someone who did not share the patriotic ideals of white American DAR5. She is the daughter of an immigrant, a resident of Southeast Washington and a secretary at a parochial school. Lena mirrors the image of the women of her adopted city more than that of her sister DARs. Perhaps this will make it easier for hesitant potential black members to follow the path she has opened.

Lena's presence in the DAR will be a constant reminder of courage to those who would not stand up with her and her two sponsors -- Margaret Johnston and Elizabeth Thompson -- against what they must know was unjust treatment. Her character will also remind them of freedom-loving Revolutionary era black men and women and of the 5,000 black soldiers who helped provide the needed manpower to win a war that could have been lost. She will also remind them of the strength of the black family, its richness and diversity.

DAR members seemed genuinely interested in Lena's family background once they learned about it. One Florida woman, who is a descendant of a distant cousin of our ancestor, wrote to Lena and embraced her as a long lost relative when they met at the DAR's recent Continental Congress. President General Sarah M. King referred to a printed statement about the family several times in public. The last time, it was with the Congressional Record citation for the benefit of 2,000 gathered DARS. Perhaps the DAR is beginning to understand more about America.

Mrs. King's leadership has taken the DAR around the corner of racism and on a path toward fulfilling an important mission, increasing the number of black members in the DAR and honoring and fully identifying all black patriots. The organization will never again be judged on what it did 45 years ago, but on what it does from now on.

While breaking down another barrier for blacks, Lena's involvement in the DAR will benefit the organization and black history. Also it will make Americans aware of the important things that bind us together as a distinct nationality. Congresswoman Nancy Johnson, during House consideration of her resolution to honor blacks who served in the Revolution, said:

"An American cannot be identified by simple physical, ethnic, racial or religious characteristics. What ties us together as a nation is our commitment to individual freedom and to maintaining the rights and privileges guaranteed by the Constitution." The Resolution, which encourages the nation to honor black patriots during Black History Month 1985, was signed by the President Reagan on March 27. The DAR passed a similar resolution at its its Continental Congress and will participate in the activities. Perhaps on this common ground, we can go forward, each with a better understanding of the nation's past.