In this episode of "Destination Freedom," we delve into the inspiring and tumultuous story of Denmark Vesey, a man who dared to dream of freedom and equality for all. Set in the early 19th century, Vesey's tale is one of courage and defiance against the oppressive system of slavery. After winning his freedom through a lottery, Vesey dedicates his life to liberating others, spreading his "disease" of freedom among the enslaved in Charleston. His efforts culminate in a planned rebellion, where he and his allies, including the sorcerer Gullah Jack and the gospel man Peter Poyais, aim to seize the arsenal and ignite a revolution. Despite the betrayal and the eventual failure of the uprising, Vesey's legacy as a freedom fighter endures, symbolizing the relentless pursuit of justice and equality.
The episode dramatizes the tension and hope of Vesey's movement, highlighting the complex dynamics between the enslaved and their masters. Through powerful dialogue and vivid storytelling, listeners are transported to a time when the fight for freedom was fraught with peril and sacrifice. The narrative captures the essence of Vesey's conviction and the broader struggle for emancipation, reminding us of the enduring spirit of those who fought for a future where all men are truly free. Join us as we explore this pivotal chapter in the history of democracy and the ongoing journey toward "Destination Freedom."
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Unknown:
Oh, freedom. Oh, freedom. Oh, freedom over me. And before I'd be a slave, I'd be buried in my grave and go home to my lord and be free.
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Destination, freedom. The Chicago Defender and station WMAQ bring you Destination Freedom, a new radio series dramatizing the great democratic traditions of the Negro people, interwoven in the pageant of history, and a part of America's own destination freedom. Destination
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freedom.
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Today, destination freedom tells the story of the daring Denmark Veazey, and fought for the end of slavery twenty years before John Brown and the civil war. Denmark Veazey.
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They say slaveholders court was crowded that day in Charleston. They say the culprit was caught in the act that conceded the crowd. They say all was over with the hang, and soon the masters could sleep, could rest.
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Order. Order the cart. Bader, let you get order. You heard the judge. Order the cart. Order. Now let the prisoner come before the bench to be sentenced. He's coming. They grab at him, but he walks straight. He's a cool one. He'll be a dead one in an hour. He'll walk no more. He'll hang for all the walking he's done. Clerk, read out the record of his crime.
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They say he walked as though the world watched him. They say the clerk read out his crimes. They say a gamble was the beginning of it. A gamble one night at a carnival when he bought a $40 play on a lottery win and stood under the tent while the barter called in the best.
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The greatest raffle in history. Get your bets in, folks. Get him in. That's all. We're off. As she goes around and around and where she'll stop, nobody knows. The greatest gamble in history.
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Round and round and she's stopping. Don't get
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Who's got number nine, folks? You? You got number nine, fella? I got it. How much am I worth? A number in sight saves a fight. Show it. Yeah. Name goes with it? Denmark Veasey. Check. Check. Right. Beginner's luck or break me.
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You gamble heavy. I always gamble heavy.
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Say, you are captain Veasey's slave, ain't you? I am. I wonder what had happened to me, say, if I just refused to pay off a slave. I wonder if the courts had bothered.
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Uh-huh.
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Well, I wonder what would happen to me. Say if I should take a barker's neck between my fingers like this broomstick and snap it like that.
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They'd hang it. You know it.
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I gamble once,
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I'll gamble again. Well, I'm not a gambler man myself. I don't gamble. I'm own neck. Then how much am I worth? $4,000. Alright. Take it and the devil be with you.
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They say Denmark wrapped his money in a sack and went aboard his ship to see his master. Captain Vesey was napping over a jug of rum.
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Denmark? Denmark, is that you? Yes. What you come here for?
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Master, how much am I worth?
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It's that talk again. This, this, freedom is a sickness. It's unbecoming to a slave. Master, all I want Get it out of your mind. It's those books you read that turn your head. A slave shouldn't read too much. I've watched you talk to the people in the market. You tell the slaves they're born equal. Nonsense. Master. If you stay with me, you'll stop this reading and writing to everybody. Where'll it get you? Lately, I've stopped reading. Yeah. I know. I know. But now you are out working your spare time for other masters. You get a penny here, a penny there.
Then Mark hopes to save enough to buy Denmark. You know how long that would take you? I know. All your life. I need money too. I know how hard it comes these days.
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Why don't you sell me?
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If I could get your price.
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How much am I worth? Oh, I'd say,
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$2,000. Alright.
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$2,000.
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What? You've got 2,000?
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I've got my release papers. Will you sign them? Sign? You need the money. Yeah. Yeah. I need my freedom.
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Well, you'd find a way to escape if I didn't let you go. Martin, I feel like I am releasing a tornado. There. What will you do with this freedom? What will you do with this money? I'll use it to help me and my family.
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I'll use my freedom to help others become free.
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I never understood you, Denmark. Pour me a drink and then finish sweeping my cabin.
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Are you asking me or ordering me?
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I see. You you begin right away. It's strange to have owned a man's party for twenty years yet not know the first thing about his mind. You're free.
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They say the captain set him free to circulate like fresh blood through the slave system. They say he had a disease, incurable, highly contagious, and he went about the marketplace spreading it with a word, with a touch, with a whisper to the cherry. Cherry.
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Cherry. Cherry. Cherry. Room.
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Basket of cherries.
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What, Denmark?
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You can afford cherries? Yesterday, I was a slave.
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Today, I'm a free man. Uh-huh. I heard about your luck. You can have the same luck, Cherry. They say you're a learned man, Denmark, but now you talk like a donkey. My master spends the money I make. Well, I get in it to buy myself.
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Well, it's not money alone that makes a man free, Cherry. Money did quite well for you. Been a gamble? I know a greater gamble. Would you gamble?
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If the stakes were right. If the stakes were freedom.
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If I could show you that every slave in Charleston is ripe to rebel, to build a nation where all men are equal, would you stake your life on it? Are you willing?
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Are my cherries red? Blood red. My stakes are in. In. Get the others. Alright. Cherries, master. Oh. Cherries.
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Get your red rub. Cherry. Cherry.
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They say Denmark's disease hit the slaves in the marketplace like a plague. They say he believed no slave was immune to it, and he risked a talk with Rala Hard, the wealthy slave of Colonel Potter. Rala and his brother, Ogden, who'd never been hungry, never lashed, spaded their garden and talked to Denmark.
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Who am I to be in a revolution? Masters leave me alone. I'll leave them alone.
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I never know what they're doing. But you know what the slaves are doing, Rolla. You're sent to talk to them when there's trouble. Isn't that true, Ogden? Yes. We talk to them alright. You talk uncommonly well too, Rala. I've heard you tell a slave when the train was coming on the underground track. I've heard you tell a slave down. Then I don't talk that way around here. Rala, you worked well for the masters. Now work well for yourself. You know every slave who can handle a horse. The day'll come we'll need him. Will you be with us?
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How'll I know when the day
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comes? Yes. How will we know it's safe?
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When our numbers have grown. If you come and bring all those who follow you, we'll have a thousand.
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If I come, they'll come. But some will only follow the gospel man, Peter Poyais. He's a man of peace. What do you do about him?
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You recruit your friends. I'll recruit Peter.
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They say Denmark read the bible that night, read Exodus, Leviticus, Joshua, and Job. And in the morning, went to the cabin of the slave, Peter. Peter sat singing, rocking in a chair, and and looking out at the sun.
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For when the saints come marching in, oh lord, I want to be in
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Peter.
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Last night, I read the Bible.
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I read it every night then, Mark.
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I read read
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the words of Zechariah. I know the words of Zechariah.
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Zechariah said, behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken. Charleston is Jerusalem, Peter.
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Denmark, the Lord warned Gideon once to be careful about the men he picked to lead his army. There may be a Judas among the slaves. You're no Judas. I am not, but I'm against violence. I'm against bloodshed.
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Are you against slavery? God's against it. Then how will you cure it? Can you reason with slaveholders?
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It's a chancy thing, but your way is foolish and certain death. I see your mind is set. It's wrong, but I'll march in Gideon's army. My followers will come with me, but the superstitious follow Gullah Jack.
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Gullah? They're the sorcerer who sells spells and charms, him?
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My son, son, in a revolution, one looks for the honest, not the honored. Some say Gullah Jack is crazy. Some say he's wise. You go to the hills and find this house and see. It'll be deep in the woods. You'll hear him talking to his drums, calling on his gods. Who's that?
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To cast a spell, you should come at night to buy a charm come at twilight. Denmark Vissi, the disbelief. Why do you come?
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I come to test your spells.
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First, twist your neck and tap your knee. Snap your fingers. Follow me.
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Sorcerer, I want you
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Before you speak, stand by the broomstick and the bones. Now, let your tongue alone. Let your heart talk.
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That sorcerer, cast a spell that'll make the slaves know the land is heirs as much as their masters. Tie together black men and white men in a common fight to free every man. Cast a charm that'll bind them together like a Gideon's army to strike with me when the hour comes. If you're the sorcerer they say you are.
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So
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is this the only reason you're here? Is there a better reason? Go back to your books and leave me alone. You'll come with contempt for me, and you say, sorcerer, cast a spell and make men free. I'm crazy, but I'm not a fool. If I could cast a charm to free a man, wouldn't I cast one to free myself?
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Then what
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good do your charms do? They're for the lonely, the lost. Those who want to be free don't come to me. They know I can't heal their sickness.
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Peter said you might be an honest man and you are. I'll show you how you can help free men. You? Listen, Gala. I read read once of a giant who fell asleep in a strange land. And while he slept, an army of little men tied him with ropes and chains. The giant was a slave while he was asleep. But when he awoke, he stretched and the ropes broke. The little men fell off his back and he stood up strong and free. He was a giant. You were the slaves of giants, the masters of the little men. When the slaves wake and stretch, they'll be free.
You can help awaken those who believe in your spells, Cutter.
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I see. Maybe I can help.
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They say Denmark and Gjellajack, Rolla Hart, and Peter Poyse had a pack to wake up the giant and put the slave holder to sleep. They say the recruits grew into thousands. And the day was near when Denmark's disease could not be quarantined. They say Denmark gathered his leaders together in the loft of a lonely barn to set the hour.
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This will be the last meeting. Rulla, who knows we're here? Only my brother, Ogden.
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I told him to warn us if he heard anything from the masters. Good. You got together the horses and riders. Every slave who handles a horse will be ready to pull cannons once we get them.
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Gullah, I've been to the arsenal. I cast a spell for the captain just yesterday. This time of year, it's full of cannon and powder. If we take the arsenal, the city is ours. Good.
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You, Peter. Denmark, what we planned is wrong. God won't let us succeed. The lord spoke to me last night. Yes. He said, watch out for the Judas. You said that before. We were all watching. No one's watching Rauler. He talks too freely. What have I said? What about The colonel's house boy, Jason, overheard Rauler talking. He'll toil his master, I'm sure. Rolla takes our lives on his tongue, Peter. You'll accuse no one till you're certain.
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The book teaches to watch for the Judas. We'll head off the Judas'. Peter set your men for
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What you know what? Rala, Denmark, they found this. What what are you talking about, Rala? Run while you can. They're coming for us. Who's coming? Who knows about it? Everybody. Who who told them you? No. No. Not me. Jason, the house boy. I said Rala talked too much. I warned you. The Lord is against you. Be quiet with you. It's no time to be quiet. You got to run. Run.
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And in the four years we worked and planned for this day, we'll stand our ground here. But what do we do, Denmark? What do we do, Rolla? Yes? The colonel is your master. You'll face him. What? There's not much time. I can see them coming from here. They'll be here in a minute. Now, Rola, tighten your nerves. Go down and meet them. What, Denmark? You'll face your master. You'll out talk him or we'll all hang. Go on. Shall I cast a charm for Ralla? No. Let Ralla cast his own charm now. Go down, Ralla.
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They say Denmark waited in the loft while Ralla climbed down the ladder and walked to the door to face his accuser. They say the colonel had the revolution resting at his gunpoint. Master,
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come in. Needn't say master to me anymore, boy. When this is done, you'll be dead. What? Don't play the fool. Jason told me about your plot. But before I have you shot, you'll give me the name of every leader in recruiting your rebellion.
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Rebellion? Me? What what are you talking about, master? God. Yes, sir. Bring up Jason. Yes, sir. Get up here. You
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Colonel, you call me?
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Jason, tell forgetful Rola what you overheard.
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I I hear him say he'd get men to to burn the plantations, overthrow the slave systems the way he put it.
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You hear that, Rola?
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Poor Jason.
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Feel sorry for yourself.
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I feel sorry for you, master, for believing him. You know he's run off twice. What's that to do with you? I've never run off. Who's the most trustworthy
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slave? I thought you,
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the sorcerer Gullah Jack gave Jason a spell and he hears things. I won't argue with him. You admit your plot? I admit I'm the best slave you've got. I've worked harder, earned more for you than Jason, haven't I? Yes. You've done that. Why, I'm the wealthiest slave in Charleston. I eat well. I've never complained or asked for anything. Yes. That's right. Then wouldn't it seem I lack my slavery? I love my masters? It would seem a sane man, would. If you kill me, who'll handle your cotton? Who'll learn the way
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I do? Devil, if you're not right, doesn't seem natural that you'd rebel now, does it? No. It doesn't. Jason, there are rumors enough without you adding to them. But master God, take him to the yard. Yes, sir. 30 lashes. Yes, sir. Come on, Jason. Rolla. Yes, sir. Tomorrow, we'll talk and get to the bottom of this. You've always had a glib tongue, but there's something deeper in you I've never understood. There'll come a day when I'll I'll know what's in your mind.
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Yes, master. There is coming that day.
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Forgive my suspicion, Rala. Judas has been found in time. I've been wrong. You do well for a wealthy slave. I'd rather be the poorest free man than the richest
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slave. Denmark, when do we strike? Tomorrow. There'll be militia heading this way. We know it now. They've got to beat them to the arsenal. Peter. Yes. Go to the masters who've heard of the rumors of revolt. Poor honey in their ears. I'll speak so often. Gullar, give your master the strongest sleeping charm you can make. You'll never wake from it. Alright. Now I'll draw a map of the marketplace here in the dirt. Yeah. Yeah. Gotcha. Now this is the arsenal. Mhmm. Here's a street leading to it. Here, the horsemen will wait. One will drive off and tell the slaves as soon as we open the arsenal. Alright. Alright.
After that, Gullah takes the left flank and Peter takes takes the right. Now everything depends on getting into the arsenal ahead of the militia. 10,000 slaves wait to strike when we get the weapons. Who will warn us if the militia comes? There's a cherry woman in the market.
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I'll tell her to warn us. If the militia beats us there Shall we turn back? Where would we run? Shall we turn back?
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Where would we run? Where would we turn? This is a one way walk, men. Look ahead to liberty or death. Yes. Alright. What about the map? Go to your people and tell them when the moon is down, they're falling behind us. They walk through the market. When I pass the cherry woman, I'll tell her how to warn us. Cherry. Cherry.
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Get your red robbed, cherry.
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Is the road clear, cherry? It's clear, but the militia's on the way. Can you warn us when you see them? I'll stand in their way selling cherries. And when I call blood red, they're on us. They may take your life with us. My stakes are in. Let me sell my cherries.
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Alright. We'll see what we can buy over the arsenal. Peter, you ready?
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The Lord has spoken. Color.
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Twist your neck and tap your knee. When the moon goes down, I'll be free.
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Alright. Well, I'm with you.
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Alright. Play casual. Peter, sing along. The revolution
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is on. Go
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lord. I want to be in that number.
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Farms, and cabins and houses a hundred miles around, men waited at the grapevine to hear the arsenal crack. The militia broke into the city and charged the market. Denmark was near the gates of the arsenal. They say you could hear the cherry woman cry when her eyes caught sight of the soldiers. They say the shots tore down like a vine off a tree. Red cherries jumped into the gutter. Red blood shot from the wounded men. Men. Red cherries rolled under the feet of the fighting, the straining, the reaching to be free. The reaching fell short. The militia took the arsenal.
They say they took a hundred dead men to their graves. They took Denmark Vesey to court.
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Order. Order to court. Denmark Vesey.
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Yes, your honor.
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You plotted rebellion against the state to bridge you. You. You set out to slaughter your master and change the state. Before our past sentence, do you have a word to explain your crimes?
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I I have a word to say.
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Then speak it.
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You speak of my crimes. I feel no guilt. I felt to be idle while other men thought to be free was a crime. I was not idle. Others talked. I acted.
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I'd act again. Oh, judge. Don't listen to me. Order.
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Order. Is that all you can say to explain your treachery?
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No. My treachery began when I read the Declaration of Independence. It said all men are created equal. It grew when I read that black Crispus Attucks died to help the colonies become free. Did he die just to free white men or all men? Then I read what Ben Franklin, Tom Franklin, Tom Paine, Lafayette, and Jefferson had said, and their words warmed my blood. They wanted their revolution to make all men free and equal. But they stopped with some men free and some men slaves. I took up where they left off. I found found my price when I was a slave.
I paid it. If my life is the price I pay to be free, take it. I'll pay it. But until all men are free and equal, the revolution goes on.
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They say the court called for the highest price. The clerk stopped writing. The hangman's hand tightened then relaxed on the rope. Denmark had paid it. The masters went home to bed. But they say Gullah Jack in his cell cast a spell and no master slept well. They say the giant was awake, and the giant never slept again until all slaves were free. That's what they say about Denmark Vesey.
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Oh, freedom. Oh, freedom. Oh, freedom. Oh, over me. And before I'd be a slave, I'd be buried in my grave and go home to my lord and be free.
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You have just heard Destination Freedom's dramatization of the story of Denmark Vesey. Destination Freedom is brought to you by the Chicago Defender and WMAQ's Department of Education and Public Service. It is written by Richard Durham, and the production is under the direction of Homer Heck. The cast included Oscar Brown Junior, Ray Grant, Howard Hall, Kurt Kupfer, Jack Lester, Charles Mountain, Arthur McCoo, Cliff Norton, Fred Pinkard, and Louise Prewitt. The singer was Greg Greg Paschal. Richard Shores composed the special music which was played by Elwin Owen and Bobby Christian. This is Franklin Ferguson inviting you to be with us again next week for another of our series on the Negro in Democracy, Destination Freedom.
This is WMAQ NBC in Chicago.
Oh, freedom. Oh, freedom. Oh, freedom over me. And before I'd be a slave, I'd be buried in my grave and go home to my lord and be free.
[00:00:34] Unknown:
Destination, freedom. The Chicago Defender and station WMAQ bring you Destination Freedom, a new radio series dramatizing the great democratic traditions of the Negro people, interwoven in the pageant of history, and a part of America's own destination freedom. Destination
[00:01:02] Unknown:
freedom.
[00:01:09] Unknown:
Today, destination freedom tells the story of the daring Denmark Veazey, and fought for the end of slavery twenty years before John Brown and the civil war. Denmark Veazey.
[00:01:28] Unknown:
They say slaveholders court was crowded that day in Charleston. They say the culprit was caught in the act that conceded the crowd. They say all was over with the hang, and soon the masters could sleep, could rest.
[00:01:47] Unknown:
Order. Order the cart. Bader, let you get order. You heard the judge. Order the cart. Order. Now let the prisoner come before the bench to be sentenced. He's coming. They grab at him, but he walks straight. He's a cool one. He'll be a dead one in an hour. He'll walk no more. He'll hang for all the walking he's done. Clerk, read out the record of his crime.
[00:02:19] Unknown:
They say he walked as though the world watched him. They say the clerk read out his crimes. They say a gamble was the beginning of it. A gamble one night at a carnival when he bought a $40 play on a lottery win and stood under the tent while the barter called in the best.
[00:02:36] Unknown:
The greatest raffle in history. Get your bets in, folks. Get him in. That's all. We're off. As she goes around and around and where she'll stop, nobody knows. The greatest gamble in history.
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Round and round and she's stopping. Don't get
[00:03:11] Unknown:
Who's got number nine, folks? You? You got number nine, fella? I got it. How much am I worth? A number in sight saves a fight. Show it. Yeah. Name goes with it? Denmark Veasey. Check. Check. Right. Beginner's luck or break me.
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You gamble heavy. I always gamble heavy.
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Say, you are captain Veasey's slave, ain't you? I am. I wonder what had happened to me, say, if I just refused to pay off a slave. I wonder if the courts had bothered.
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Uh-huh.
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Well, I wonder what would happen to me. Say if I should take a barker's neck between my fingers like this broomstick and snap it like that.
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They'd hang it. You know it.
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I gamble once,
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I'll gamble again. Well, I'm not a gambler man myself. I don't gamble. I'm own neck. Then how much am I worth? $4,000. Alright. Take it and the devil be with you.
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They say Denmark wrapped his money in a sack and went aboard his ship to see his master. Captain Vesey was napping over a jug of rum.
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Denmark? Denmark, is that you? Yes. What you come here for?
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Master, how much am I worth?
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It's that talk again. This, this, freedom is a sickness. It's unbecoming to a slave. Master, all I want Get it out of your mind. It's those books you read that turn your head. A slave shouldn't read too much. I've watched you talk to the people in the market. You tell the slaves they're born equal. Nonsense. Master. If you stay with me, you'll stop this reading and writing to everybody. Where'll it get you? Lately, I've stopped reading. Yeah. I know. I know. But now you are out working your spare time for other masters. You get a penny here, a penny there.
Then Mark hopes to save enough to buy Denmark. You know how long that would take you? I know. All your life. I need money too. I know how hard it comes these days.
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Why don't you sell me?
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If I could get your price.
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How much am I worth? Oh, I'd say,
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$2,000. Alright.
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$2,000.
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What? You've got 2,000?
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I've got my release papers. Will you sign them? Sign? You need the money. Yeah. Yeah. I need my freedom.
[00:06:12] Unknown:
Well, you'd find a way to escape if I didn't let you go. Martin, I feel like I am releasing a tornado. There. What will you do with this freedom? What will you do with this money? I'll use it to help me and my family.
[00:06:34] Unknown:
I'll use my freedom to help others become free.
[00:06:38] Unknown:
I never understood you, Denmark. Pour me a drink and then finish sweeping my cabin.
[00:06:47] Unknown:
Are you asking me or ordering me?
[00:06:52] Unknown:
I see. You you begin right away. It's strange to have owned a man's party for twenty years yet not know the first thing about his mind. You're free.
[00:07:11] Unknown:
They say the captain set him free to circulate like fresh blood through the slave system. They say he had a disease, incurable, highly contagious, and he went about the marketplace spreading it with a word, with a touch, with a whisper to the cherry. Cherry.
[00:07:28] Unknown:
Cherry. Cherry. Cherry. Room.
[00:07:33] Unknown:
Basket of cherries.
[00:07:35] Unknown:
What, Denmark?
[00:07:37] Unknown:
You can afford cherries? Yesterday, I was a slave.
[00:07:40] Unknown:
Today, I'm a free man. Uh-huh. I heard about your luck. You can have the same luck, Cherry. They say you're a learned man, Denmark, but now you talk like a donkey. My master spends the money I make. Well, I get in it to buy myself.
[00:07:53] Unknown:
Well, it's not money alone that makes a man free, Cherry. Money did quite well for you. Been a gamble? I know a greater gamble. Would you gamble?
[00:08:04] Unknown:
If the stakes were right. If the stakes were freedom.
[00:08:08] Unknown:
If I could show you that every slave in Charleston is ripe to rebel, to build a nation where all men are equal, would you stake your life on it? Are you willing?
[00:08:20] Unknown:
Are my cherries red? Blood red. My stakes are in. In. Get the others. Alright. Cherries, master. Oh. Cherries.
[00:08:30] Unknown:
Get your red rub. Cherry. Cherry.
[00:08:43] Unknown:
They say Denmark's disease hit the slaves in the marketplace like a plague. They say he believed no slave was immune to it, and he risked a talk with Rala Hard, the wealthy slave of Colonel Potter. Rala and his brother, Ogden, who'd never been hungry, never lashed, spaded their garden and talked to Denmark.
[00:09:02] Unknown:
Who am I to be in a revolution? Masters leave me alone. I'll leave them alone.
[00:09:08] Unknown:
I never know what they're doing. But you know what the slaves are doing, Rolla. You're sent to talk to them when there's trouble. Isn't that true, Ogden? Yes. We talk to them alright. You talk uncommonly well too, Rala. I've heard you tell a slave when the train was coming on the underground track. I've heard you tell a slave down. Then I don't talk that way around here. Rala, you worked well for the masters. Now work well for yourself. You know every slave who can handle a horse. The day'll come we'll need him. Will you be with us?
[00:09:46] Unknown:
How'll I know when the day
[00:09:48] Unknown:
comes? Yes. How will we know it's safe?
[00:09:51] Unknown:
When our numbers have grown. If you come and bring all those who follow you, we'll have a thousand.
[00:09:58] Unknown:
If I come, they'll come. But some will only follow the gospel man, Peter Poyais. He's a man of peace. What do you do about him?
[00:10:10] Unknown:
You recruit your friends. I'll recruit Peter.
[00:10:16] Unknown:
They say Denmark read the bible that night, read Exodus, Leviticus, Joshua, and Job. And in the morning, went to the cabin of the slave, Peter. Peter sat singing, rocking in a chair, and and looking out at the sun.
[00:10:33] Unknown:
For when the saints come marching in, oh lord, I want to be in
[00:10:51] Unknown:
Peter.
[00:10:53] Unknown:
Last night, I read the Bible.
[00:10:55] Unknown:
I read it every night then, Mark.
[00:10:58] Unknown:
I read read
[00:11:00] Unknown:
the words of Zechariah. I know the words of Zechariah.
[00:11:03] Unknown:
Zechariah said, behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken. Charleston is Jerusalem, Peter.
[00:11:21] Unknown:
Denmark, the Lord warned Gideon once to be careful about the men he picked to lead his army. There may be a Judas among the slaves. You're no Judas. I am not, but I'm against violence. I'm against bloodshed.
[00:11:37] Unknown:
Are you against slavery? God's against it. Then how will you cure it? Can you reason with slaveholders?
[00:11:46] Unknown:
It's a chancy thing, but your way is foolish and certain death. I see your mind is set. It's wrong, but I'll march in Gideon's army. My followers will come with me, but the superstitious follow Gullah Jack.
[00:12:05] Unknown:
Gullah? They're the sorcerer who sells spells and charms, him?
[00:12:10] Unknown:
My son, son, in a revolution, one looks for the honest, not the honored. Some say Gullah Jack is crazy. Some say he's wise. You go to the hills and find this house and see. It'll be deep in the woods. You'll hear him talking to his drums, calling on his gods. Who's that?
[00:12:53] Unknown:
To cast a spell, you should come at night to buy a charm come at twilight. Denmark Vissi, the disbelief. Why do you come?
[00:13:07] Unknown:
I come to test your spells.
[00:13:10] Unknown:
First, twist your neck and tap your knee. Snap your fingers. Follow me.
[00:13:22] Unknown:
Sorcerer, I want you
[00:13:26] Unknown:
Before you speak, stand by the broomstick and the bones. Now, let your tongue alone. Let your heart talk.
[00:13:38] Unknown:
That sorcerer, cast a spell that'll make the slaves know the land is heirs as much as their masters. Tie together black men and white men in a common fight to free every man. Cast a charm that'll bind them together like a Gideon's army to strike with me when the hour comes. If you're the sorcerer they say you are.
[00:14:03] Unknown:
So
[00:14:05] Unknown:
is this the only reason you're here? Is there a better reason? Go back to your books and leave me alone. You'll come with contempt for me, and you say, sorcerer, cast a spell and make men free. I'm crazy, but I'm not a fool. If I could cast a charm to free a man, wouldn't I cast one to free myself?
[00:14:30] Unknown:
Then what
[00:14:33] Unknown:
good do your charms do? They're for the lonely, the lost. Those who want to be free don't come to me. They know I can't heal their sickness.
[00:14:47] Unknown:
Peter said you might be an honest man and you are. I'll show you how you can help free men. You? Listen, Gala. I read read once of a giant who fell asleep in a strange land. And while he slept, an army of little men tied him with ropes and chains. The giant was a slave while he was asleep. But when he awoke, he stretched and the ropes broke. The little men fell off his back and he stood up strong and free. He was a giant. You were the slaves of giants, the masters of the little men. When the slaves wake and stretch, they'll be free.
You can help awaken those who believe in your spells, Cutter.
[00:15:35] Unknown:
I see. Maybe I can help.
[00:15:46] Unknown:
They say Denmark and Gjellajack, Rolla Hart, and Peter Poyse had a pack to wake up the giant and put the slave holder to sleep. They say the recruits grew into thousands. And the day was near when Denmark's disease could not be quarantined. They say Denmark gathered his leaders together in the loft of a lonely barn to set the hour.
[00:16:08] Unknown:
This will be the last meeting. Rulla, who knows we're here? Only my brother, Ogden.
[00:16:13] Unknown:
I told him to warn us if he heard anything from the masters. Good. You got together the horses and riders. Every slave who handles a horse will be ready to pull cannons once we get them.
[00:16:24] Unknown:
Gullah, I've been to the arsenal. I cast a spell for the captain just yesterday. This time of year, it's full of cannon and powder. If we take the arsenal, the city is ours. Good.
[00:16:38] Unknown:
You, Peter. Denmark, what we planned is wrong. God won't let us succeed. The lord spoke to me last night. Yes. He said, watch out for the Judas. You said that before. We were all watching. No one's watching Rauler. He talks too freely. What have I said? What about The colonel's house boy, Jason, overheard Rauler talking. He'll toil his master, I'm sure. Rolla takes our lives on his tongue, Peter. You'll accuse no one till you're certain.
[00:17:07] Unknown:
The book teaches to watch for the Judas. We'll head off the Judas'. Peter set your men for
[00:17:14] Unknown:
What you know what? Rala, Denmark, they found this. What what are you talking about, Rala? Run while you can. They're coming for us. Who's coming? Who knows about it? Everybody. Who who told them you? No. No. Not me. Jason, the house boy. I said Rala talked too much. I warned you. The Lord is against you. Be quiet with you. It's no time to be quiet. You got to run. Run.
[00:17:34] Unknown:
And in the four years we worked and planned for this day, we'll stand our ground here. But what do we do, Denmark? What do we do, Rolla? Yes? The colonel is your master. You'll face him. What? There's not much time. I can see them coming from here. They'll be here in a minute. Now, Rola, tighten your nerves. Go down and meet them. What, Denmark? You'll face your master. You'll out talk him or we'll all hang. Go on. Shall I cast a charm for Ralla? No. Let Ralla cast his own charm now. Go down, Ralla.
[00:18:05] Unknown:
They say Denmark waited in the loft while Ralla climbed down the ladder and walked to the door to face his accuser. They say the colonel had the revolution resting at his gunpoint. Master,
[00:18:18] Unknown:
come in. Needn't say master to me anymore, boy. When this is done, you'll be dead. What? Don't play the fool. Jason told me about your plot. But before I have you shot, you'll give me the name of every leader in recruiting your rebellion.
[00:18:37] Unknown:
Rebellion? Me? What what are you talking about, master? God. Yes, sir. Bring up Jason. Yes, sir. Get up here. You
[00:18:47] Unknown:
Colonel, you call me?
[00:18:49] Unknown:
Jason, tell forgetful Rola what you overheard.
[00:18:56] Unknown:
I I hear him say he'd get men to to burn the plantations, overthrow the slave systems the way he put it.
[00:19:04] Unknown:
You hear that, Rola?
[00:19:07] Unknown:
Poor Jason.
[00:19:09] Unknown:
Feel sorry for yourself.
[00:19:12] Unknown:
I feel sorry for you, master, for believing him. You know he's run off twice. What's that to do with you? I've never run off. Who's the most trustworthy
[00:19:22] Unknown:
slave? I thought you,
[00:19:25] Unknown:
the sorcerer Gullah Jack gave Jason a spell and he hears things. I won't argue with him. You admit your plot? I admit I'm the best slave you've got. I've worked harder, earned more for you than Jason, haven't I? Yes. You've done that. Why, I'm the wealthiest slave in Charleston. I eat well. I've never complained or asked for anything. Yes. That's right. Then wouldn't it seem I lack my slavery? I love my masters? It would seem a sane man, would. If you kill me, who'll handle your cotton? Who'll learn the way
[00:20:04] Unknown:
I do? Devil, if you're not right, doesn't seem natural that you'd rebel now, does it? No. It doesn't. Jason, there are rumors enough without you adding to them. But master God, take him to the yard. Yes, sir. 30 lashes. Yes, sir. Come on, Jason. Rolla. Yes, sir. Tomorrow, we'll talk and get to the bottom of this. You've always had a glib tongue, but there's something deeper in you I've never understood. There'll come a day when I'll I'll know what's in your mind.
[00:20:38] Unknown:
Yes, master. There is coming that day.
[00:20:50] Unknown:
Forgive my suspicion, Rala. Judas has been found in time. I've been wrong. You do well for a wealthy slave. I'd rather be the poorest free man than the richest
[00:21:00] Unknown:
slave. Denmark, when do we strike? Tomorrow. There'll be militia heading this way. We know it now. They've got to beat them to the arsenal. Peter. Yes. Go to the masters who've heard of the rumors of revolt. Poor honey in their ears. I'll speak so often. Gullar, give your master the strongest sleeping charm you can make. You'll never wake from it. Alright. Now I'll draw a map of the marketplace here in the dirt. Yeah. Yeah. Gotcha. Now this is the arsenal. Mhmm. Here's a street leading to it. Here, the horsemen will wait. One will drive off and tell the slaves as soon as we open the arsenal. Alright. Alright.
After that, Gullah takes the left flank and Peter takes takes the right. Now everything depends on getting into the arsenal ahead of the militia. 10,000 slaves wait to strike when we get the weapons. Who will warn us if the militia comes? There's a cherry woman in the market.
[00:22:00] Unknown:
I'll tell her to warn us. If the militia beats us there Shall we turn back? Where would we run? Shall we turn back?
[00:22:04] Unknown:
Where would we run? Where would we turn? This is a one way walk, men. Look ahead to liberty or death. Yes. Alright. What about the map? Go to your people and tell them when the moon is down, they're falling behind us. They walk through the market. When I pass the cherry woman, I'll tell her how to warn us. Cherry. Cherry.
[00:22:36] Unknown:
Get your red robbed, cherry.
[00:22:41] Unknown:
Is the road clear, cherry? It's clear, but the militia's on the way. Can you warn us when you see them? I'll stand in their way selling cherries. And when I call blood red, they're on us. They may take your life with us. My stakes are in. Let me sell my cherries.
[00:22:58] Unknown:
Alright. We'll see what we can buy over the arsenal. Peter, you ready?
[00:23:05] Unknown:
The Lord has spoken. Color.
[00:23:08] Unknown:
Twist your neck and tap your knee. When the moon goes down, I'll be free.
[00:23:14] Unknown:
Alright. Well, I'm with you.
[00:23:18] Unknown:
Alright. Play casual. Peter, sing along. The revolution
[00:23:27] Unknown:
is on. Go
[00:23:37] Unknown:
lord. I want to be in that number.
[00:23:57] Unknown:
Farms, and cabins and houses a hundred miles around, men waited at the grapevine to hear the arsenal crack. The militia broke into the city and charged the market. Denmark was near the gates of the arsenal. They say you could hear the cherry woman cry when her eyes caught sight of the soldiers. They say the shots tore down like a vine off a tree. Red cherries jumped into the gutter. Red blood shot from the wounded men. Men. Red cherries rolled under the feet of the fighting, the straining, the reaching to be free. The reaching fell short. The militia took the arsenal.
They say they took a hundred dead men to their graves. They took Denmark Vesey to court.
[00:24:48] Unknown:
Order. Order to court. Denmark Vesey.
[00:24:54] Unknown:
Yes, your honor.
[00:24:56] Unknown:
You plotted rebellion against the state to bridge you. You. You set out to slaughter your master and change the state. Before our past sentence, do you have a word to explain your crimes?
[00:25:13] Unknown:
I I have a word to say.
[00:25:16] Unknown:
Then speak it.
[00:25:18] Unknown:
You speak of my crimes. I feel no guilt. I felt to be idle while other men thought to be free was a crime. I was not idle. Others talked. I acted.
[00:25:37] Unknown:
I'd act again. Oh, judge. Don't listen to me. Order.
[00:25:44] Unknown:
Order. Is that all you can say to explain your treachery?
[00:25:51] Unknown:
No. My treachery began when I read the Declaration of Independence. It said all men are created equal. It grew when I read that black Crispus Attucks died to help the colonies become free. Did he die just to free white men or all men? Then I read what Ben Franklin, Tom Franklin, Tom Paine, Lafayette, and Jefferson had said, and their words warmed my blood. They wanted their revolution to make all men free and equal. But they stopped with some men free and some men slaves. I took up where they left off. I found found my price when I was a slave.
I paid it. If my life is the price I pay to be free, take it. I'll pay it. But until all men are free and equal, the revolution goes on.
[00:27:17] Unknown:
They say the court called for the highest price. The clerk stopped writing. The hangman's hand tightened then relaxed on the rope. Denmark had paid it. The masters went home to bed. But they say Gullah Jack in his cell cast a spell and no master slept well. They say the giant was awake, and the giant never slept again until all slaves were free. That's what they say about Denmark Vesey.
[00:27:49] Unknown:
Oh, freedom. Oh, freedom. Oh, freedom. Oh, over me. And before I'd be a slave, I'd be buried in my grave and go home to my lord and be free.
[00:28:29] Unknown:
You have just heard Destination Freedom's dramatization of the story of Denmark Vesey. Destination Freedom is brought to you by the Chicago Defender and WMAQ's Department of Education and Public Service. It is written by Richard Durham, and the production is under the direction of Homer Heck. The cast included Oscar Brown Junior, Ray Grant, Howard Hall, Kurt Kupfer, Jack Lester, Charles Mountain, Arthur McCoo, Cliff Norton, Fred Pinkard, and Louise Prewitt. The singer was Greg Greg Paschal. Richard Shores composed the special music which was played by Elwin Owen and Bobby Christian. This is Franklin Ferguson inviting you to be with us again next week for another of our series on the Negro in Democracy, Destination Freedom.
This is WMAQ NBC in Chicago.
Introduction to Destination Freedom
The Story of Denmark Vesey Begins
Denmark Buys His Freedom
Spreading the Seeds of Rebellion
Recruiting Allies for the Cause
The Final Meeting and Betrayal
The Failed Uprising and Trial
Denmark Vesey's Legacy
