Black History

Esteban: Enslaved African Became an Early Explorer of the New World

In 1534, Esteban and the four remaining survivors escaped. As the journey continued, he would become a scout, a diplomat and lead communicator. According to historians, Esteban was a gifted linguist, quickly mastering different Native American languages. He served as translator throughout what became a 15,000-mile journey.

Published

3 years ago

July 7, 2021

Isabelle Price

Depiction of Esteban courtesy of thinkafrica.net

The year 1619 is historical: An English privateer ship reached Point Comfort on the Virginia peninsula. Its arrival represented the dawn of the institution of slavery in America. Today, more than 400 years later, the events of that year remain surrounded by misconceptions and debate.

What historians have uncovered is that the first enslaved African to land on what would become North American soil was named Esteban (de Dorantes from his status as an enslaved person). According to historian Robert Goodwin, “Esteban was shipped to Spain as a slave from the town of Azemmour, in Morocco, in 1522. Andres Dorantes de Carranza purchased him and brought Esteban to [what would later become] Florida in April 1528.”

Long before the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806), Esteban, said to have been Muslim and born sometime around 1500 in Morocco, would traverse the land from the Southwest to the Pacific Ocean. His fate would extend beyond servitude and little of his life would be recorded.

Esteban left Spain for the New World in 1527 as part of an expedition to conquer and colonize Florida. The ship landed in the area that is now Tampa Bay, and the explorers wandered through the swamps and jungles for about a year. Several died as a result of hunger, disease, and skirmishes with Native Americans. With only a few boats left, they decided to return to Mexico City.
Hit hard by the Gulf currents, only 15 of the 80 men survived. Choppy waters dragged them to a place just west of the Mississippi: Galveston Island. They began to explore what would become Texas. Soon they were captured and enslaved for five years by the Karankawa Indians.

Still, he was considered Dorantes’ slave.

The trek across Texas to Mexico City was challenging; the explorers were met by both friendly and hostile Native Americans. They were mostly barefoot and naked, and often starved for food. One of the stories told is that along the way they were considered “children of the sun” by some Native American tribes. Others revered them as shamans. But not everyone was fond of the strangers.

The Zuni Indians of Hawikuh in New Mexico grew to distrust Esteban quickly, labeling him a “harbinger of unwanted and dangerous visitors.” In May 1539, they executed him. By the time of his death, some historians say that Esteban and his three companions “had seen more of the North American southwest than any other non-Native American.”

Almost two centuries would pass before another Spanish expedition would discover other Africans living alongside Native Americans near the mouth of the Rio Grande. Historians say that these Africans were likely survivors of other expeditions or shipwrecks. Nevertheless, Esteban had been the first.

Isabelle Price

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Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2024

Oakland Post

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‘Donald Trump Is Not a God:’ Rep. Bennie Thompson Blasts Trump’s Call to Jail Him

“Donald Trump is not a god,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

Published

4 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he not intimidated by President-elect Donald Trump, who, during an interview on “Meet the Press,” called for the congressman to be jailed for his role as chairman of the special congressional committee investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Donald Trump is not a god,” Thompson told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

“He can’t prove it, nor has there been any other proof offered, which tells me that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said the 76-year-old lawmaker, who maintained that he and the bipartisan Jan. 6 Select Committee – which referred Trump for criminal prosecution – were exercising their constitutional and legislative duties.

“When someone disagrees with you, that doesn’t make it illegal; that doesn’t even make it wrong,” Thompson said, “The greatness of this country is that everyone can have their own opinion about any subject, and so for an incoming president who disagrees with the work of Congress to say ‘because I disagree, I want them jailed,’ is absolutely unbelievable.”

When asked by The Grio if he is concerned about his physical safety amid continued public ridicule from Trump, whose supporters have already proven to be violent, Thompson said, “I think every member of Congress here has to have some degree of concern, because you just never know.”

This story is based on a report from The Grio.

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Biden’s Legacy Secured with Record-Setting Black Judicial Appointments

His record surpasses previous efforts by his predecessors. President Jimmy Carter appointed 37 Black judges, including seven Black women. In stark contrast, Donald Trump’s first term resulted in only two Black women appointed out of 234 lifetime judicial nominations. The White House said Biden’s efforts show a broader commitment to racial equity and justice.

Published

4 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

iStockphoto.

By Stacy M. Brown
WI Senior Writer

President Joe Biden’s commitment to diversifying the federal judiciary has culminated in a historic achievement: appointing 40 Black women to lifetime judgeships, the most of any president in U.S. history.

Biden has appointed 62 Black judges, cementing his presidency as one focused on promoting equity and representation on the federal bench.

The White House said Biden’s efforts show a broader commitment to racial equity and justice.

Meanwhile, Trump has vowed to dismantle key civil rights protections, including the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“Having the Black woman’s experience on the federal bench is extremely important because there is a different kind of voice that can come from the Black female from the bench,” Delores Jones-Brown, professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told reporters.

Lena Zwarensteyn of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights told reporters that these district court judges are often the first and sometimes the final arbiters in cases affecting healthcare access, education equity, fair hiring practices, and voting rights.

“Those decisions are often the very final decisions because very few cases actually get heard by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Zwarensteyn explained.

Biden’s nomination of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court further reflects his commitment to judicial diversity. Jackson became the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.

Patrick McNeil, spokesperson for the Leadership Conference, pointed out that over half of Biden’s Black female judicial appointees have backgrounds as civil rights attorneys and public defenders, experience advocates consider essential for a balanced judiciary.

Meanwhile, Congress remains divided over the expansion of federal judgeships. Legislation to add 66 new judgeships—approved unanimously by the Senate in August—stalled in the GOP-controlled House until after the election. House Republicans proposed distributing the new judgeships over the next decade, giving three administrations a say in appointments. President Biden, however, signaled he would veto the bill if it reached his desk.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., argued the delay was a strategic move to benefit Trump’s potential return to office. “Donald Trump has made clear that he intends to expand the power of the presidency and giving him 25 new judges to appoint gives him one more tool at his disposal,” Nadler said.