Featuring: Larry Kenneth Alexander
Transcript:
Today, we reflect on a provocative aspect of American history and the quest for equal treatment under the rule of law: the Book of Negroes. This dual registry is a historical record that lists approximately 3,000 Black Englishmen evacuated from the United States by the British at the end of the American Revolutionary War. Compiled in 1783, it documents the names, ages, occupations, and physical descriptions of Black men, women, and children living in the 13 British American colonies.
Preserved in both London and Washington, D.C., these registries are much more than lists of names. They serve as irrefutable evidence of a profound legal dispute between two nations: the British Empire and the newly created United States of America. At the heart of this conflict was a question of liberty and the legal rights of 500,000 Black individuals who were entitled to fundamental due process and liberty under English law.
For the United States, the claim was that the 3,000 Black colonials recorded in the Book of Negroes were legal property of American slaveholders due to colonial slave statutes and laws. Without regard to the Declaration of Independence, where it admitted that King George III had abolished “our most valuable laws,” the United States argued that colonial slave laws were valid at the time of the Revolution. They contended that economic harm was inflicted when the British removed their property without cause.
Britain, however, held a different view. British General Guy Carleton, standing across from General George Washington, argued that the 500,000 Black colonials living in the 13 colonies were British subjects with the same liberty rights as any other white British subject under the rule of law. Washington attempted to placate Carleton, assuring him that Congress would resolve the question of freedom for Black individuals in the newly independent United States. However, Congress failed to address their liberty, denying fundamental due process and building America’s economy on the enslavement of these individuals.
This denial of rights was no accident—it was a calculated decision, a defiance of British law and the ideals the Founding Fathers professed. The Declaration of Independence’s grievances against King George III included Parliament’s abolition of “our most valuable laws,” which the Founders claimed disrupted their government. Thomas Jefferson himself had warned against the implications of the 1766 Declaratory Act, which nullified colonial laws challenging British authority, including those related to slavery. Jefferson understood that enslaved individuals were entitled to their liberty under English law.
Today, as we honor the 3,000 names recorded in the Book of Negroes, we must remember their story as both a reminder and a call to action. Their history challenges us to confront uncomfortable truths, honor the principles of justice and liberty for all, and ensure that our nation’s commitment to freedom is real and unbroken. Liberty cannot thrive in half-measures; it must be fully honored for every person who calls this nation home.
Look for future videos in this series.