And then–the Veil. It drops as drops the night on southern seas–vast, sudden, unanswering. There is Hate behind it, and Cruelty and Tears. As one peers through its intricate, unfathomable pattern of ancient, old, old design, one sees blood and guilt and misunderstanding. And yet it hangs there, this Veil, between Then and Now, between Pale and Colored and Black and White – between You and Me.
W.E.B. DuBois, Darkwater: Voices from within the Veil, 1920 As the promoters of Jamestown 2007 began to speak of the accomplishment of greater diversity in the nation, and to market the myth of the seamless confluence of Indian, European, and African traditions in the early colony, many reflected not only about how the United States’ colonial origins were based on the entrepreneurial ambitions of English settlers, the conquest and degradation of native populations, and the subsequent uprooting and enslavement of untold numbers of Africans, but also about how the more recent legacy of decades of discrimination and marginalization continue to shape our world today. Despite the assimilation, acculturation, and dehumanization that have occurred in the Americas, African Americans have continued to refashion their cultures to fit their own social needs and aesthetic preferences.
From IntroductionVoices from within the Veil explores the 400-year prelude to the inclusion of African Americans in the commemoration of this nation’s origins. With innovative approaches and pioneering research, these essays address both the conditions of African Americans’ marginalization and some of the paths toward their empowerment: marronage, the Underground Railroad, social organization, and massive protest movements, among others.