"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : WILLIAM LAMBERT

Jim Rohn once said,"If we ignore the lessons of the past, from whatever the source, then we may become victims of the process of trial and error." You see, there are many lessons to be learned from the experiences and events of the past. For instance, the lessons that are to be learned from "Slavery and The Underground Railroad." It is sad that Black students at schools in our Black Communities aren't being taught the lessons learned from Slavery and The Underground Railroad. Furthermore, I feel that it is a travesty that so little is taught in public schools about the Underground Railroad escape routes, Underground Railroad conductors, and many of the White abolitionists that hid Negro slaves in their homes and on their property, allowing them to make it to freedom! Well, this week's Black Pioneer is William Lambert. William was born a "FREE NEGRO" in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1817. At a very young age, he was introduced to a group of White People known as Quakers. A Quaker by the name of Abner H. Francis became a mentor to William. In addition to serving as his school-master, Abner introduced young William to the Abolition Movement. Around 1830, they ended-up in Buffalo, New York. They helped the local abolitionists as much as they could. However, from 1832 - 1836, William went to work as a cabin-boy on commercial steamer boats. Around 1839, William decided to make the city of Detroit his permanent place of residence. His first job in Detroit was at a tailor 's shop. While working at the tailor shop, William met several people involved in the local abolition movement. In 1842, William and two other Negroes formed The Colored Vigilante Committee. The committee would lobby for the rights and freedom of the Negroes in Michigan. "One of the main things for which the committee lobbied for was the right of the Negro Males to Vote!" As time went on, William became a conductor in the Underground Railroad. In 1847, a Negro slave by the name of Robert Cromwell was just short of crossing over into Canada to freedom. He had just made it to Detroit, but his slave master was close behind him. William stepped up and not only helped the slave escape, but he used his influence with the local police to have the White slave master detained long enough for the slave to escape to Canada! Around 1888, it became noticable that something wasn't quite right with William 's mind. Nevertheless, in 1890, after everyone else in his household had gone to bed, William hanged himself in the shed. On April 30, 1890, he was laid to rest at Elm Wood Cemetery, where many of the best well known abolitionists we're buried.