Celebrating the Legacy of 6 Formerly Enslaved Black Nashvillians
Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States, holds significant historical and cultural importance. As we approach Juneteenth615’s Freedom Fireworks Celebration it is crucial to recognize and honor the individuals who triumphed over the shackles of slavery and went on to shape their community and inspire future generations. In this article, we shine a spotlight on six remarkable formerly enslaved Black Nashvillians, whose extraordinary lives and contributions serve as a testament to resilience, determination, and the power of human spirit. Let us delve into their stories and together celebrate their indomitable legacy.
Richard Henry (R.H.) Boyd, 1843-1922.
Born enslaved on the B. A. Gray plantation in Noxubee County, Mississippi. Originally, he was given the name Dick Gray, as Gray was the surname of his enslavers. Following emancipation, he worked as a cowboy and in a sawmill. In 1867, he changed his name to Richard Henry Boyd; Richard ("Dick") had been his grandfather's first name, but there is no record of the reasons for his choice of his new middle name and surname. In about 1869 or 1870 he enrolled in Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, an American Baptist Home Mission Society school for the education of freed slaves. He attended Bishop for two years but did not graduate. Later in life he received honorary doctoral degrees from Guadalupe College and Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical State College. In 1870 he helped organize the first black Baptist association in Texas, the Texas Negro Baptist Convention, and served as its missionary and educational secretary from 1870 to 1874. In 1898, in collaboration with nine other men, Boyd incorporated the National Baptist Publishing Board under a Tennessee state charter; this publishing board would become the principal source of religious publications for Black Baptists worldwide.
Preston Taylor, 1849-1931.
Born into slavery in Shreveport, Louisiana, By 1864, during the Civil War he enlisted in Company G of the 116th Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored Troops as a drummer and was at the Siege of Petersburg, fall of Richmond, and surrender of Lee. After the end of the war in 1865, his regiment did garrison duty in Texas and New Orleans where he was mustered out a free man. After the war he became a marble engraver and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. In 1884, Taylor arrived in Nashville, Tennessee where, he "soon emerged as one of the city's most influential African American business and religious leaders." Taylor was appointed minister of Gay Street Christian Church, which was the "colored" congregation associated with the Vine Street First Christian Church. In 1891 he and a breakaway group left the Gay Street church and established a congregation in an office building on Spruce (Eighth) Street; in 1903 the congregation completed its own church building on Lea Avenue near Lafayette Street. Taylor was pastor of the church for 40 years, until his death in 1931. After Taylor's death the two congregations reunited to form Gay-Lea Christian Church, now called the New Covenant Christian Church and located on Osage Street.
James Carroll (J.C.) Napier, 1845-1940.
James Carroll Napier was born into slavery to William Carroll Napier and Jane Elizabeth Napier (née Watkins) who were both enslaved in Davidson County, Tennessee. His father was mixed race, the son of his White enslaver, Dr. Elias Napier, and an enslaved mother named Judy. The Napier family were freed by their enslavers in 1848. Napier attended a private school for free black children in Nashville until whites forced it to be closed in 1856. Following the closure of the school, he moved to Ohio, a free state, and in 1859 and he enrolled in Wilberforce College, which was founded cooperatively as a historically black college by the AME Church and the Methodist Church of Cincinnati. He would shortly after transfer to Oberlin College but would eventually leave to attend Howard University and graduate with a law degree in 1872. After receiving his law degree, Napier returned to Nashville to establish his law practice. He became influential in the city's African American community. He was elected to the Nashville City Council and the Tennessee Republican Executive Committee. Napier was later elected as the first African American president of the city council and he worked to hire African-American teachers for the Black public schools in the segregated system, and to organize the Black Fire-engine Company, to serve Black residents.
William Edmondson, 1874-1951
Edmondson was born sometime in December 1874 on the Compton Plantation in Davidson County, Tennessee. He did not know the date of his birth because of a fire that destroyed the family Bible. Edmondson was one of six children born to Orange and Jane Edmondson who had been previously enslaved before they worked as sharecroppers. When his father died in late 1889, 16-year-old Edmondson refused to continue to work tirelessly on the plantation and relocated to Nashville. In 1907, Edmondson took a job as a custodian at the Nashville Women's Hospital, where he worked until the hospital closed in 1931. Most notably, Edmondson was given a one-man show, the first by an African American artist, at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City from October 20 to December 1, 1937.
Ella Shepard, 1851-1914
A direct descendant of Andrew Jackson, Samuella "Ella" Sheppard was born on The Hermitage, Jackson's plantation. Sheppard's father Simon hired himself out as a Nashville liveryman and hack driver. This enabled him to earn $1,800 allowing him to pay for his own freedom. Following emancipation and to cover her tuition to the Fisk Free Colored School, she began to teach music, where she and some of her students would be overheard singing the “old plantation spirituals” by Fisk treasurer, George L. White. He is said to have been so impressed by the spirituals that he had them arrange the compositions into concert style, thus Ella Sheppard became the matriarch of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, and accompanied them on the original 1871 tour to Europe where they would sing for Queen Victoria. It would be the Queen who would would acclaim the group by saying, “they must be from the Music City of the United States.” Thus, Music City as we know it today was born.
Nettie Langston Napier, 1861-1938
Born June 17, 1861 in Oberlin, Ohio, into a free, upper-class family. Her father was John Mercer Langston, who would later become the founding dean of the law school at Howard University, first president of Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute,now Virginia State University, and the first black person to be elected to the United States Congress from Virginia. Following her marriage to Nashville businessman, James Carroll (J.C.) Napier, she would relocate to Nashville where she was described as "the first lady of Nashville's black elite", and the Napier household was known as "the undisputed center of Nashville's African American upper class". In 1907 she founded the Day Homes' Club, an organization to support African-American children in Nashville. And lastly, she was treasurer of the National Association of Colored Women Clubs, leading the organization together with Margaret Murray Washington.
Honoring the Legacy, Uplifting the Future
The stories of these six formerly enslaved Black Nashvillians are a testament to the unyielding spirit of human resilience, the pursuit of justice, and the resilience of the black community. As we celebrate Juneteenth, let us not only commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans but also carry forward the legacy of these extraordinary individuals who refused to be defined by their past circumstances. Their contributions to their community, their unwavering commitment to education, activism, and progress, continue to inspire and empower us today.
As we celebrate this year, let us be reminded of the progress we have made as a society while acknowledging the work that still lies ahead. It is through the collective effort of understanding, empathy, and appreciation for diverse perspectives that we can ensure a more just and equitable future. Let the stories these six remarkable individuals, their resilience and determination, serve as a guiding light, propelling us towards a society that embraces and uplifts all its members. Together, let us honor their legacy and work tirelessly to create a world where freedom and equality reign supreme.