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Secure Communications During Colonial Bondage

Absolute secrecy, a total absence of information in the enemys hands, should be the

primary base of the movement.

Che Guevara, Guerrilla Warfare

Black folk talk too much. Often our talking is purposeless, but that doesnt make the habit

any less dangerous. As fallen warrior George Jackson once pointed out, Some moment of

weakness, a slip, a mistake, since we are the men who can make none, will bring the blowthat kills.

While in prison, Comrade George was appointed Field Marshall with the Black PantherParty. While we can glean much more from his statement, he was speaking specifically in

context of the Black Liberation Movement (BLM) of the 60s and 70s. And if we but reflect

back for a moment, the BLM collapsed under the weight of not only the U.S. governmentsCounterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO) but of our own internal weaknesses.

Our history in America is rife with examples of revolutionary insurrection accompaniedwith measures of counter-insurgency. Of course, during the high tide of the freedom

struggle during the 60s and 70s, brothas and sistas seemed unaware that every action brings

a reaction. That is why COINTELPRO was so effective in undermining the Black Panther

Party and other organizations struggling in the interests of Black people. Infiltration, wire-tapping, false correspondence, raids, mass arrests, and other tactics were easy for the

government to do.

Observing from prison in 1970, Comrade George reached a powerful conclusion of the

movement at that time:

I will say that it should never be easy for them to destroy us. If you start with Malcolm X

and count all of the brothas who have died or been captured since, you will find that not

even one of them was really prepared for a fight. No imagination or fighting style wasevident in any one of the incidents. But each one that died professed to know the nature of

our enemies. It should never be so easy for them to destroy us.

The truth is, Black folk did not always lack imagination, preparation and fighting style.During the 246 years that our people endured colonial bondage (enslavement) there always

existed a vision of life beyond the plantation. Enslaved Black folk, under the constant

surveillance of slaveholders, slave drivers, overseers, and pater-rollers, found it possible to

organize and plan escapes and uprisings. Even with the presence of house negroes therewas little doubt about them or us, or of the consequences (often death!) if we were

caught assembling, organizing or planning.

The distinction between house slaves and field slaves was real. While those in the

house sometimes acted in service to the broad freedom struggle, they were mostly known

to have been corrupted by the culture of the big house. In this context, historian HerbertAptheker offers the following comments in his book,American Negro Slave Revolts:

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The fostering of division among the slaves the ancient divide and rule formula was an

important method of control. Carefully selected slaves were the personal servants, maleand female, who were often assigned to, and did serve, a particular member of the

masters family throughout his or her life. Here, as was natural, there frequently developed

a strong attachment, and it was very largely from this group that spies and traitors wereobtained by the ruling class. Betrayal always brought substantial economic regard and

invariably freedom the greatest gift in the possession of the slaveholders.

Moreover, the domestic slaves generally were encouraged to hold themselves aloof from

the field workers, and tended (thought this was not universally true) to identify their own

interests with those of the owners.

In 1822, Denmark Vesey, who had several lieutenants, organized nearly a thousand

enslaved Black folk in and around Charleston, South Carolina, with specific instructions

that house slaves be approached by none but himself or his most trusted lieutenant, Peter

Poyas. In violation of this policy of secure communications, one of the organizersapproached a house slave, who, in turn, divulged all he knew to the slaveholding

authorities. Yet, since information was shared strictly on a need to know basis, theslaveholding authorities were still unable to sweep in and round up the leaders. They

simply didnt know who they were. All they knew was that an insurrection was planned.

With neither side knowing the others next move, panic set in, and more informationsurfaced to the advantage of the slaveholding authorities. As a result, revolt leaders were

discovered, dozens of organizers executed, and millions of Black folk doomed to the next

four decades of continued colonial bondage.

Apart from insurrection conspiracies, we can never forget the skill, commitment and

courage of those men and women who organized the Underground Railroad. TheUnderground Railroad was designed to facilitate the delivery of Black folk from colonial

bondage in the South to a marginal freedom in the North. It involved so-called free Blacks

and many who were formerly enslaved, in addition to many friendly supporters in theabolitionist movement. Still, for the Underground Railroad to have been effective, all

involved had to adhere to a strict policy and practice of secure communications.

According to Henrietta Buckmaster in her book,Flight to Freedom:

Secrecy, and a carefully encouraged mystery, was the strength of the Underground

Railroad. It grew like a vine in all directions. From one successful escape grew fifty more.From one failure grew greater determination to succeed the next time.

Every slave cabin knew about the mysterious glory road that could sweep the slave outinto freedom. Every Negro church in the slave South learned to speak a disguised

language about the sweet chariot that was going to carry me home.

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Not every slave dared think of mounting that heavenly chariot, but he talked about it, and

he helped others to climb aboard. And any slave who had a pipeline to a free Negro kept it

open, for the free Negro stood just at the borderline of night and day: he could see in twodirections, he was on speaking terms with the chariot, he knew the lingo of the

underground line.

The Underground Railroad was wagons built to conceal fugitives, houses with hidden

rooms, trap doors and tunnels, bounty hunters under the surveillance of slaves and

supporter. The operators called themselves conductors, station-masters, brakemen,and firemen, and their homes and hiding places called depots and stations; when there

was talk of catching the next train, no slave was confused to what this meant.

Harriet Tubman, known to many as Moses, escaped from colonial bondage and becamethe most popularly known conductor on the Underground Railroad. After reaching the

North, she returned South numerous times and is reported to have personally delivered

more than 300 Black folk from their enslaved plight. According to Charles Blockson in his

bookThe Underground Railroad, She never went tot he South to bring away fugitiveswithout being provided with money; money for the most part earned by drudgery in the

kitchen, until within the last few years, when friends have aided her. She had to leave hersisters two orphan children in slavery the last time, for the want of thirty dollars. Thirty

pieces of silver; an embroidered handkerchief or silk dress to one, or the price of freedom

to two orphan children to another!

Harriet was a professional conductor on the Underground Railroad, employing intelligence

gathering techniques and practicing a rigid but secure form of communications. She

resorted to various devises, reports Blockson:

She had confidential friends all along the road. She would hire a man to follow the one

who put up the notices, and take them down as soon as his back was turned. She crossedcreek on railroad bridges by night, she hid her company in the woods while herself not

being advertised went into the towns in search of information. If met on the road, her face

was always to the south, and she was always a very respectable looking Negro, not at all apoor fugitive. She would get into the cars near her pursuers and manage to hear their

plans.

The expedition was governed by the strictest rules. if any man gave out, he must be shot.

Would you really do that? she was asked. Yes, she replied, if he was weak enough to

give out, hed be weak enough to betray us all, and all who had helped us; and do you

think Id let so many die just for one cowardly man.

The Underground Railroad was more than a secret route out of the South. Blockson reports

that Harriets efforts were not confined to the escape of slaves. She conducted them toCanada, watched over their welfare, collected clothing, organized them into societies, and

was always occupied with plans for their benefit. She understood that her leadership

position was multi-dimensional, involving duties around the day-to-day needs of Black

people.

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The Black struggle for freedom in America is an old one. Throughout this struggle we can

find innumerable examples and lessons in the practice of secure communications andclandestine organizing. And, if we are honest with ourselves, we would also find that most

of our setbacks have been the result of internal weaknesses and flaws. COINTEOLPRO,

for example, could not have infiltrated the Black Panther Party had they had a solidmembership policy and practice designed to weed out agent provocateurs. Similarly,

Malcolm X understood and conveyed to us knowledge that we should have internalized

long ago: Its not good to ever let too much of you come out above the ground. The mostimportant part of the tree is the roots [leadership], and the roots always remain beneath the

ground. Thats where the tree gets its life. And the tree dies only when you put those roots

up where the light [enemy] is and it dries up [is assassinated].