On December 3, 1847, Frederick Douglass launched The North Star —twenty years after John B. Russworm, the first Black graduate of Bowdoin College and the third Black person to graduate from an American college, and Samuel E. Cornish, a graduate of the Free African School in Philadelphia and the founder of the first Black Presbyterian Church in Manhattan co-founded the Freedom’s Journal.
The mission of The North Star was to attack slavery in all its forms and aspects; advocate universal emancipation; exalt the standard of public morality; promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the Colored people, and hasten the day of freedom to the three millions of our enslaved fellow countrymen.
Douglass noted in the inaugural issue that the (Polaris) North Star, which had been used as a guide to help those who were working to free themselves from slavery by escaping up North, was now, for the millions living in the boasted land of liberty, a Star of Hope.
So, The North Star, wherever you were located, was something you followed, something that provided light and guidance, something that kept you on your path and from losing your way.
In this same spirit, last year, ASALH released our North Star, ten acts of resistance designed to provide you with a clear path forward. Resistance, as you know, is a muscle, and like any muscle, you must work at it to build it up. We are in the middle of a war, not just for our history but for the narrative that is being written for future generations. It is now time to step up, build up your resistance muscle, and help us to push back and push forward.
Every day this month, I will highlight a few steps, and I encourage you to share them with your network and invite them to engage with ASALH and with our North Star.
For Day #4, we encourage everyone to:
1. Learn one new fact about Black History every day and share it with someone else. By helping us to plant seeds of truth, you affirm our shared responsibility to nurture knowledge, truth, and justice for generations to come.
2. Find the organizations and institutions doing the work you agree with and support them with your time, treasure, and talents. Black media is under attack. Black organizations are under attack. Our communities, our jobs, our legacy, our children, our right to vote – everything is on the table, and we need to support the places doing the hard, daily work to hold the line. ASALH is one of those places–if you are not a member, become a member. If you are a member, become a life member. If you are a life member, purchase a membership for your family. If you are in a city that has an ASALH Branch, join it. If there is no ASALH Branch near you, contact us to help you start one.
3. Get off the sidelines and get into the game: there are no spectators to the changing tide of history. Everyone has something they can offer right now. Take one concrete step: call elected officials, join a march, make signs or sandwiches, or purchase whistles. Don’t just be an armchair activist—act today. This is your invitation. You are needed now. The final hour is here: start now.
History has its eye on us, and the children of our children will judge us—not only for what we do, but for what we leave undone. Let us act now to ensure we are remembered for our courage and responsibility.
In pursuit of social justice,
Karsonya Wise Whitehead
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