Messages from past inspires councilman
A century and a half ago and hundreds of miles away, Lawrence Cain was born a slave, sold as a child,.
A century and a half ago and hundreds of miles away, Lawrence Cain was born a slave, sold as a child, and forced to join the army of the Confederacy at the start of the Civil War.
He served as an aide to a general for all four years of that conflict, was wounded at Appomattox, and then went on to become the first student of mixed race to graduate with a law degree from the University of South Carolina.
Cain was part Native American and part AfricanAmerican, a man who rose from an early life in slavery to become a statesman in the South, an unlikely achievement for a man of color in the late 1800s.
Cain is the subject of a book, “Virtue of Cain: From Slave to Senator,” a biography written by Kevin M. Cherry Sr., who is one of Cain’s descendants.
This story was brought to a local borough council meeting in Montgomery County last week as a reminder that in these turbulent times our experiences are not unique. Hardships, prejudice and divisiveness have plagued our nation during difficult times throughout history.
North Wales Borough Councilman Jim Cherry read the following passage written by Cain regarding issues in Edgefield County, South Carolina, at a meeting last week, as reported by Dan Sokil in The Reporter:
“Whereas, a large number of people in the County of Edgefield are suffering from employment, and are without the necessary means of subsistence; and whereas, the condition of these people appeals to every instinct of humanity for relief; and whereas, the suffering and want is not the result of their indolence or improvidence, but the consequence of their adhesion to and support of Republican principles and their advocates; and whereas, their political belief and action has called down upon them the prescriptive policies of the enemies of universal liberty, which have culminated in the driving of these people from their former homes, and refusing them employment, as well as the formation of leagues against their further continuance to be residents of the County of Edgefield; and whereas their unfortunate condition demands immediate consideration and relief.”
“I just wanted to read it, because I think some of it kind of applies to our current status in this country,” Cherry said. Then, he added to clarify the connection to Cain: “He helped build a town, a church, a school for slave children, he became a senator ... and he was my great-great-grandfather.”
Cain is believed to have been of Creek Indian or possibly African-American slave background, and the family now has copies of the original documents showing Cain sold as a slave as a child, Cherry told Sokil. After his first master died, Cherry said, Cain was sold to a new owner who soon joined the Confederate army, and acted as an aide while earning his own military rank in that conflict. Once the war ended, Cain graduated from law school, and used the law degree in combination to his military background to run for South Carolina’s state legislature, first as a state representative and then a state senator.
“He had stood on the steps of the courthouse in South Carolina, and basically pleaded with the people: ‘Hey, we need to get it together. Stop judging people because they align themselves with a political party or not, or based on their faith, or their skin color’,” he said.
In recent weeks, Cherry said he’s seen friends and neighbors spar with each other over lawn signs and social media posts, and said he hopes they draw the lesson to not let friendships be ruined over politics.
“If we don’t remember the past, we’re condemned to repeat it, and I don’t think a lot of people remember where we’ve come from,” Cherry said in an interview after the meeting.
Cherry’s message inspired by his ancestor: Let history remind us that our democracy will survive, and this election will have a result to be honored and to stand behind. Words from 1874, and a sentiment for 2020: Come together, America, as one.