By Qeerransoo Biyyaa
In this feature multimedia story, Oromo Press presents the unusually compelling story of how Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas (circa 1820 to June 19, 1942, Texas), an Oromo (African American) slave who ended up on North American plantations nearly two centuries ago, according to our source Xerkell Plamer and Lucas's surviving family.
Histories and stories of East African slaves who crossed the Atlantic and arrived on North American shores is a less familiar story compared to a relatively well known history of slaves of West African origin. In particular, the history of slaves of Oromo descent arriving in the United States on ships two centuries ago is less heard off since the Ethiopian elites deny involvement in enslaving the Oromo people. While the travel routes of Oromo sold into slavery in Europe, the Arabian peninsula and South Africa are relatively better understood, those slaves who were taken to America across the Atlantic are less/unknown among the general public and historians alike so far.
Research into this story began with Twitter interactions with Xerkell Palmer, one of the youngest descendants of Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas, who lives in Texas. At age 9 Xerkell developed a strong curiosity in discovering her multi-great grand-father's origin.
Xerkell, 23, who said her own baby photos resembled "Grandpa Charlie"'s commented "Most people today don't know that any people, any Ethiopian, any Oromo were ever slaves. They think it only happened on the West part of Africa."
Despite the absence of official documentary evidence substantiating whether Charles Lucas spoke Afaan Oromoo or he self-identified as an Oromo as of yet, his family for years conducted painstaking research in forms of collecting photos, hearing and comparing stories and faces of various slaves of East and West African origins and examining the history of slavery in Ethiopia. Based on this and other developing evidence, the family of Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas have traced his place of origin to be Oromia of the 1820s.
Xerkell talked about two familiar story lines in her family about Charles Lucas: a) that Charles was brought to America with his father at age 12 , and (b) that he was brought to America with his entire family from Oromia. Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas, known for his quick mind and stubborn personality, moved around from plantation to plantation in Virginia and Georgia, eventually settling down in the Lucas plantation in eastern Texas where he was buried with his wife. After emancipation, his former owner gave him a parcel of land and he became a share-cropper. His descendant, Xarkell, explains that Charles Stanford Lucas learned how to read and write soon after emancipation. However, the family has not discovered whether Charles Lucas used his new-found reading and writing skills to write a journal about his formative years.
Evelyn Lucas-Palmer, Charlie's great-granddaughter, and Xerkell's great-grandmother, who met "Charlie" twice during his final years when he was 120 years old, related to Xerkell that "Charlie left a great impression on me." The young girl Evelyn Lucas-Palmer imparted to the family that Charlie and his wife Alie Prothro-Lucas were survived by 10 children.
Our source spoke at length about the importance of learning one's origin, especially in present America, where "younger people [Africans] want to become Westernized, and abandon their culture." She emphasized how discovering her Oromo East African root has changed her life when she states, "If you don't know where you are from, you don't know where you are going."
We hope that this will spark further interest in creating a much desired and overdue connection between the Oromo community and the African-American community in the United States. We also hope that researchers and historians look into this and other less known areas of the Oromo or East African origin of African Americans. We wish Xerkell the best of luck in finding the missing members of Charlie's family.
Photo Credit:
All pictures used in this story were supplied by Xerkell Palmer, to whom Oromo Press owes a great deal of gratitude and credit.
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| Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas, 1820-1942 |
"Grandpa Charlie": The Man and the Story
In this feature multimedia story, Oromo Press presents the unusually compelling story of how Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas (circa 1820 to June 19, 1942, Texas), an Oromo (African American) slave who ended up on North American plantations nearly two centuries ago, according to our source Xerkell Plamer and Lucas's surviving family.
Histories and stories of East African slaves who crossed the Atlantic and arrived on North American shores is a less familiar story compared to a relatively well known history of slaves of West African origin. In particular, the history of slaves of Oromo descent arriving in the United States on ships two centuries ago is less heard off since the Ethiopian elites deny involvement in enslaving the Oromo people. While the travel routes of Oromo sold into slavery in Europe, the Arabian peninsula and South Africa are relatively better understood, those slaves who were taken to America across the Atlantic are less/unknown among the general public and historians alike so far.
Research into this story began with Twitter interactions with Xerkell Palmer, one of the youngest descendants of Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas, who lives in Texas. At age 9 Xerkell developed a strong curiosity in discovering her multi-great grand-father's origin.
Xerkell, 23, who said her own baby photos resembled "Grandpa Charlie"'s commented "Most people today don't know that any people, any Ethiopian, any Oromo were ever slaves. They think it only happened on the West part of Africa."
Despite the absence of official documentary evidence substantiating whether Charles Lucas spoke Afaan Oromoo or he self-identified as an Oromo as of yet, his family for years conducted painstaking research in forms of collecting photos, hearing and comparing stories and faces of various slaves of East and West African origins and examining the history of slavery in Ethiopia. Based on this and other developing evidence, the family of Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas have traced his place of origin to be Oromia of the 1820s.
Xerkell talked about two familiar story lines in her family about Charles Lucas: a) that Charles was brought to America with his father at age 12 , and (b) that he was brought to America with his entire family from Oromia. Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas, known for his quick mind and stubborn personality, moved around from plantation to plantation in Virginia and Georgia, eventually settling down in the Lucas plantation in eastern Texas where he was buried with his wife. After emancipation, his former owner gave him a parcel of land and he became a share-cropper. His descendant, Xarkell, explains that Charles Stanford Lucas learned how to read and write soon after emancipation. However, the family has not discovered whether Charles Lucas used his new-found reading and writing skills to write a journal about his formative years.
Evelyn Lucas-Palmer, Charlie's great-granddaughter, and Xerkell's great-grandmother, who met "Charlie" twice during his final years when he was 120 years old, related to Xerkell that "Charlie left a great impression on me." The young girl Evelyn Lucas-Palmer imparted to the family that Charlie and his wife Alie Prothro-Lucas were survived by 10 children.
Learning About Roots Changes Life
Xerkell describes her feelings of the the moment she discovered her root:"...I feel privileged to learn about my ancestry that far back...I was really fortunate my great, great grand-mother was able to bridge this many generations...I was born in 1990 and he was born in 1820, we are 170 years apart, but I feel incredibly close to him and his experience..."
Our source spoke at length about the importance of learning one's origin, especially in present America, where "younger people [Africans] want to become Westernized, and abandon their culture." She emphasized how discovering her Oromo East African root has changed her life when she states, "If you don't know where you are from, you don't know where you are going."
Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas's Descendants in Pictures
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| Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas, 1820-1942 |
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| Alie Prothro-Lucas (Wife, Jan. 1848- May 1928) |
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| Cornelius Lucas (Son, born May 1877) |
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| Evelyn Lucas-Palmer (Charlie's great-granddaughter, Xerkell's great-grandmother) |
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| Mona Palmer (Xerkell's Grandmother) |
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| Rydell Martin, descendant (Cousin) |
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| Xerkell Palmer, Youngest Descendant of Charles "Charlie" Stanford Lucas, and our informant. |
We hope that this will spark further interest in creating a much desired and overdue connection between the Oromo community and the African-American community in the United States. We also hope that researchers and historians look into this and other less known areas of the Oromo or East African origin of African Americans. We wish Xerkell the best of luck in finding the missing members of Charlie's family.
Photo Credit:
All pictures used in this story were supplied by Xerkell Palmer, to whom Oromo Press owes a great deal of gratitude and credit.