Faith to Freedom Daily: Henry Baker
Henry Baker who was enslaved in Alabama participated in a 1938 interview at age eighty-three in Alabama by Thomas Campbell. In this interview he declares that; We sut’only wuz happy in dem days tuh learn dat we wuz free. We don’t have Church now lack we did den. Folks talkin’ ‘bout servin’ de Lawd. We served de Lawd sho nuff aftuh we wuz sot free cause we had sumpin tuh be thankful fer. Aftuh Surrender, “niggers” dey sung, dey prayed, dey preached, yassuh. A’nt Ca’line Calloway, A’nt Mandy Phillips en Emeron White en Racheal MacMullens dem wimmen, dey wuz a sight, dey sut’only did know how tuh worship God. Dey wuz de leaders in prayin’ tuh de Lawd fer our freedom.
In muh time when I wuz uv de world, preachers, preached hell en damnation. Dey tole me tuh go pick me out a place tuh pray, so I went out en picked me outer place lack dey sed, way out in de woods. A nice quite place. I went out en prayed, prayed hard but I couldn’t find no ‘ligion. I didn’t wanner go tuh hell so I sed I’m gonner clam up dies tree en fall. So I clam’b up de tree en got ready tuh fall out. But ‘fore I did dat a spirit come tuh me en sed God don’t want nobody tuh hurt demselves fer him. I got down outta de tree en went home….
I live in a small community in West
Central, Illinois, and I talked with a man years ago, whose Grandmother used to hide the slaves
and send them North, to help them get to feedom, I used to have this written down, but would have to find it.