By Cheryl Renée Gooch
From Revolutionary patriots to generations of community activists, Wilmington residents have carried the pursuit of freedom through every chapter of our shared history.
On February 17, 1875, the Fisk University Jubilee Singers performed at the Grand Opera House, linking the legacy of slavery and emancipation to liberty’s promise. Many of these students were descendants of once-enslaved people who transformed spirituals such as “Steal Away,” “Lord’s Prayer,” and “The Gospel Train” into powerful expressions of faith, hope, perseverance, and freedom that resonated with their audiences. Their performances here in Wilmington and Europe showed that freedom was not merely a legal condition but an aspiration carried through voice, memory, education, and song.
The Jubilee Singers turned memory into songs of freedom and liberty, inspiring later educators and writers to use art to define national belonging. One such figure was Alice Dunbar-Nelson, whose teaching and writing extended this tradition of shaping American identity through voice and history.
Dunbar-Nelson, who taught at Wilmington’s Howard High School from 1902 to 1920, was a prolific writer and poet. Her brief yet compelling poem “I Am an American” expresses personal and communal patriotism: “My forefathers were brought to this country three hundred years ago … My fathers and mothers toiled to make an economic foundation for me! Every drop of my blood holds a heritage of patriotism. I am proud of my past; I hold faith in my future! I am an American!”
Dunbar-Nelson’s former husband, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, wrote “Black Samson of Brandywine” to restore the overlooked role of Black soldiers in the American Revolution and argue that Black Americans — enslaved, free, military, and civilian — deserve a place in our country’s heroic memory. For decades during the early to mid-20th century, Delaware schoolchildren recited the poem, which includes these lines:
Was he a freeman or bondman?
Was he a man or a thing?
What does it matter? His brav’ry
Renders him royal — a king.
If he was only a chattel,
Honor the ransom may pay
Of the royal, the loyal black giant
Who fought for his country that day.
Noble and bright is the story,
Worthy the touch of the lyre,
Sculptor or poet should find it
Full of the stuff to inspire.
Beat it in brass and in copper,
Tell it in storied line,
So that the world may remember
Black Samson of Brandywine.
Like America’s story, Delaware history is far more complex than commemorations can capture. When President Gerald Ford proclaimed February as Black History Month in 1976, he urged Americans to honor the achievements of Black citizens. The link between the bicentennial, Black History Month, and the 250th anniversary underscores a crucial truth: Black history is not separate from American history but woven into the nation’s narrative from the very beginning.
That interwoven history comes into sharper focus through the work of Delaware historian Syl Woolford, 82, who devotes his work to tracing the intersections of American, Delaware, and Black history. A descendant of Black families from the Cooch’s Bridge area, he says he is committed to uncovering the history he never learned and sharing it widely. As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, Woolford urges reflection on “what we should celebrate, what we should protest, and what we still have the ability to change,” noting that history’s true value lies in helping us avoid past mistakes and build a better future.
Wilmington’s Black history is not a separate chapter but a defining thread in America’s shared story — a truth Delaware’s 250th anniversary calls us to recognize and remember.
In celebration of Delaware 250, this monthly series will spotlight historic sites unique to our state.
Above: Fisk University Jubilee Singers,1875. The popular group performed before audiences in Europe and the United States. Public Domain Photo.