by Beedee Clay

When discussing, in 1998, whether the name of the James Wimberly Institute should be “African American Studies and History or Black Studies and History,” I remember keenly that it was then Councilman James Timely who remarked that it should be Black rather than African American. He reasoned that Black was the more inclusive term even though it would be at first misinterpreted as meaning just the history of Black people, while African American History would be construed as being just the history of African American. Black can be interpreted to mean more than just one race of people and really is about all history that needs to be uncovered regardless of the race or ethnicity of the people to whom the historical account belongs.

Former Councilman Timely was indeed right and the history that is studied by the institute comes from all sources which can contribute history that has not been in the mainstream of study or research. It is history that we know nothing of, that is Black History. We have come across some of it in our studies and found that it demands more study to fully understand the quality and impact of that history on our present-day existence.

One such historical discovery came about when a Ballard Hudson High School valedictorian, Mrs. Barbara Blue, of North Carolina, became interested in an inscription craved into the headstone of her grandfather’s grave in Linwood Cemetery. The inscription simply said, “The Lincoln Guard.” She had done research as she was a professor by trade. She related this power historical find to the Wimberly Institute during our 6th annual celebration of the Barrier Breakers Award in 2006.

Her story is very fascinating in that she was determined to find out why the Lincoln Guard was so important to her deceased relative until he would have that inscription on his headstone. It must have been a very important and impactful part of his life. She did not rest but sought information from all sources she thought that might have a clue as to what was meant by the Lincoln Guard. She even visited the National Guard Archives in Atlanta to look among their records for information on the Lincoln Guard and found nothing. However, she did ask those working there daily that if they ever ran across any information on the Lincoln Guard, please be in contact with her.

Time passed, and one day she received a call with the story that one day a worker stumbled across an old dusty box of materials that included a lot of information about the Lincoln Guard. Her account and presentation of the findings are just an amazing piece of history, Black History, that the world needs to know. I have waited for her book, but at this time have not heard of it having been published. I am just retelling what I remember from her presentation in 2006, and it is amazing.

It turns out that her discovery of the Lincoln Guard was a fascinating story of how former slaves used the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to form militias that help them to fight against those who sought to re-enslave them. They made the words of the Second Amendment come to life: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” They were amazing men who knew enough about their rights under the U.S. Constitution to form these para-military units and then petition the government to issue them arms. It was these men who responded to attacks by groups like the KKK upon housing units of Negroes seeking to capture them and put them in systems of slavery called peonage (slavery under another name) under the laws designed for re-enslavement. The actions of these Guards, as she learned that there were several of them, including the Lincoln Guard, around Middle Georgia and over the South, were a mighty arm of resistance for these newly freed slaves who remained in the South.

This was a history that had not been written about and we were not aware of it. This was Black History. I hope to trace Mrs. Blue to find out about her book and materials, because it is fresh information that has been kept away from our history that we need to know, and it gives us another appreciation for the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.