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Herbs & Plants Used by African Americans During Slavery

Black Apothecary: Delta Arrowhead 

By: Sanguine Scorpio

Photo credit:https://images.app.goo.gl/ZPGLovpGaYuC4H1UA 

Laying down the foundation for Black Apothecary.

Our ancestors endured the toughest of times while being captured and enslaved in America. Their resourcefulness and resilience ensured their survival through it all. As a black woman, I have always been interested in herbs and the properties in which they heal. Capitalism in medicine is a large reason why black people of today still hold on to “Big Mama’s Kitchen Remedies”. 

Roots have always been our magic and as a writer and fellow researcher, I believe it’s a duty to continue to shed light on what our ancestors learned and discovered for our health and well-being.  

The Delta Arrowhead

Sagittaria platyphylla

Characteristics and Uses

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Habit: Herb

Fruit Type: Achene

Size Notes: Up to about 5 feet tall.

Leaf: Green

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White

Bloom Time: Jun

Distribution

USA: AL , AR , FL , GA , KS , KY , LA , MO , MS , NC , OH , OK , SC , TN , TX , VA

Native Habitat: Still water, Marshes

Uses

The Delta Arrowhead is a swamp plant that our ancestors made into necklaces to be worn by teething babies to relieve pain and fever.

Web Reference

Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.

Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

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I am trying to love myself now

Because I loved you then

Even when I shouldn't have.

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hyperfixation please stay with me long enough to complete the project. hyperfixation do not fade. hyperfixation finish what you started for the love of god

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This is validating ❤️

PSA: Writing a book can take a looooong time. If you've been working on your project for a year, two years, five years... you're not doing anything wrong. If you've written three drafts and thrown them all away, if you can only write a hundred words a day, if you put your book down for six months and pick it up again only to be baffled by what you've written... Congratulations. You're not inefficient or slow. You're just a writer. Welcome to the writing life.

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That's Magic

The most Magical thing I've ever done was heal myself. Shifting, twisting, changing, and rearranging the thoughts and ideologies passed down to me. I alchemized my brain.

I turned every insecurity and dysfunction I witnessed or possessed into a superpower. My spells were journal prompts I created for myself, always needing to go back to the drawing board. I understood that no preacher man or words from a Bible was going to rescue me. I can only save myself.

My mind needed to rise above the pain so the Kingdom inside of me could sustain.

The most magical thing I've ever done was ask, “Why?”. Why did the lineage I came from behave so poorly? Why didn't their emotional well-being ever mature, or bloom passed the age of pain? I vowed to never be the same.

My seed would never experience abandonment, never see a domestic violent relationship. I vowed to honor my role as a mother, a leader, and a creator. I created a safe haven for myself and my family. Love, joy, and laughter are experienced here daily.

I alchemized my soul. I am nicer to myself when I'm wrong. Hugging my inner child while humming familiar songs. I transformed into somebody that I needed when I was young.

And That's Magic!

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ACCEPT SHIT FOR HOW IT IS:

Stop trying to paint people in the Perspective YOU want them. Take them for how they are… BEWARE OF BELIEVING IN WORDS WITH NO ACTIONS❗️

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Indeed!! 💯🎯

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A Historical Deep Dive into the Founders of Black Womanism & Modern Feminism

Six African American Suffragettes Mainstream History Tried to Forget

These amazing Black American women each advanced the principles of modern feminism and Black womanism by insisting on an intersectional approach to activism. They understood that the struggles of race and gender were intertwined, and that the liberation of Black women was essential. Their writings, speeches, and actions have continued to inspire movements addressing systemic inequities, while affirming the voices of marginalized women who have shaped society. Through their amazing work, they have expanded the scope of womanism and intersectional feminism to include racial justice, making it more inclusive and transformative.

Anna Julia Cooper (1858–1964)

Quote: “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class—it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.”

Contribution: Anna Julia Cooper was an educator, scholar, and advocate for Black women’s empowerment. Her book A Voice from the South by a Black Woman of the South (1892) is one of the earliest articulations of Black feminist thought. She emphasized the intellectual and cultural contributions of Black women and argued that their liberation was essential to societal progress. Cooper believed education was the key to uplifting African Americans and worked tirelessly to improve opportunities for women and girls, including founding organizations for Black women’s higher education. Her work challenged both racism and sexism, laying the intellectual foundation for modern Black womanism.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911)

Quote: “We are all bound together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.”

Contribution: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a poet, author, and orator whose work intertwined abolitionism, suffrage, and temperance advocacy. A prominent member of the American Equal Rights Association, she fought for universal suffrage, arguing that Black women’s voices were crucial in shaping a just society. Her 1866 speech at the National Woman’s Rights Convention emphasized the need for solidarity among marginalized groups, highlighting the racial disparities within the feminist movement. Harper’s writings, including her novel Iola Leroy, offered early depictions of Black womanhood and resilience, paving the way for Black feminist literature and thought.

Ida B. Wells (1862–1931)

Quote: “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”

Contribution: Ida B. Wells was a fearless journalist, educator, and anti-lynching activist who co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Her investigative reporting exposed the widespread violence and racism faced by African Americans, particularly lynchings. As a suffragette, Wells insisted on addressing the intersection of race and gender in the fight for women’s voting rights. At the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., she famously defied instructions to march in a segregated section and joined the Illinois delegation at the front, demanding recognition for Black women in the feminist movement. Her activism laid the groundwork for modern feminisms inclusion of intersectionality, emphasizing the dual oppressions faced by Black women.

Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)

Quote: “Ain’t I a Woman?”

Contribution: Born into slavery, Sojourner Truth became a powerful voice for abolition, women's rights, and racial justice after gaining her freedom. Her famous 1851 speech, "Ain’t I a Woman?" delivered at a women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio, directly challenged the exclusion of Black women from the feminist narrative. She highlighted the unique struggles of Black women, who faced both racism and sexism, calling out the hypocrisy of a movement that often-centered white women’s experiences. Truth’s legacy lies in her insistence on equality for all, inspiring future generations to confront the intersecting oppressions of race and gender in their advocacy.

Nanny Helen Burroughs (1879–1961)

Quote: “We specialize in the wholly impossible.”

Contribution: Nanny Helen Burroughs was an educator, activist, and founder of the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington, D.C., which emphasized self-sufficiency and vocational training for African American women. She championed the "Three B's" of her educational philosophy: Bible, bath, and broom, advocating for spiritual, personal, and professional discipline. Burroughs was also a leader in the Women's Convention Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention, where she pushed for the inclusion of women's voices in church leadership. Her dedication to empowering Black women as agents of social change influenced both the feminist and civil rights movements, promoting a vision of racial and gender equality.

Elizabeth Piper Ensley (1847–1919)

Quote: “The ballot in the hands of a woman means power added to influence.”

Contribution: Elizabeth Piper Ensley was a suffragist and civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in securing women’s suffrage in Colorado in 1893, making it one of the first states to grant women the vote. As a Black woman operating in the predominantly white suffrage movement, Ensley worked to bridge racial and class divides, emphasizing the importance of political power for marginalized groups. She was an active member of the Colorado Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association and focused on voter education to ensure that women, especially women of color, could fully participate in the democratic process. Ensley’s legacy highlights the importance of coalition-building in achieving systemic change.

To honor these pioneers, we must continue to amplify Black women's voices, prioritizing intersectionality, and combat systemic inequalities in race, gender, and class.

Modern black womanism and feminist activism can expand upon these little-known founders of woman's rights by continuously working on an addressing the disparities in education, healthcare, and economic opportunities for marginalized communities. Supporting Black Woman-led organizations, fostering inclusive black femme leadership, and embracing allyship will always be vital.

Additionally, when we continuously elevate their contributions in social media or multi-media art through various platforms, and academic curriculum we ensure their legacies continuously inspire future generations. By integrating their principles into feminism and advocating for collective liberation, women and feminine allies can continue their fight for justice, equity, and feminine empowerment, hand forging a society, by blood, sweat, bones and tears where all women can thrive, free from oppression.

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It's my 13 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

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❤️❤️❤️😆

“Way to the Show” - Solange (2019)

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De-center your family so you can grow

One thing I have learned on this active spiritual and healing journey is how much people will misunderstand you on purpose. When you begin to align yourself into the person that you’re supposed to be and rise from the mold your family put you in, those same people will act as if you are the one that’s doing wrong. They will twist your journey as if it’s something unnatural or weird on purpose to suck you back into the chaos of misalignment. Do not fall for it. Look at their judgement as a test that you must pass. The way to pass this test is by using your intuition, or your discernment, it’s that feeling in your gut that keeps you away from harm. 

Early in your childhood, your family may have put you in unsafe situations such as being in a volatile household, or a home without the proper resources, your intuition spoke to you a lot. The adults in our lives sort of gaslight us into ignoring it. As far as my personal experience, the nervousness in my stomach when my father would yell was just my body’s way of saying, “This place is not safe”. Yelling and arguing inside my home was an everyday occurrence, and as I matured and got older, I learned that those behaviors were not normal. I began to put myself in safer situations, my nervous system began to regulate the more I was not around my childhood home. De-centering my family in this way helped me emotionally grow enough to have my own family and give them peace and joy in the home. 

No matter the reason behind the childhood trauma, it is your job to rise above it. You can not heal in the same place or around the same people that caused you pain. You must find the strength to leave and move on. When you begin to grow, try your best not to overshare because, they will not validate your growth. This version of you is foreign and probably is a threat to their dysfunction. Congratulations! You’ve now been promoted to the outcast. Wear it as a badge of honor because it's a recognition that you looked past your situation, noticed the chaos and decided to do something different. Now it’s time to find your own tribe of like-minded people. People that appreciate you as you are and have a desire to heal and grow too.

Now by no means do you have to completely ditch your family because I didn’t. I physically still show up to family events and cordially converse with most of my family members. Mentally, I am on a completely different wavelength and I move when my intuition says “move”. I no longer allow myself to stay in unsafe situations, and I do not force my family to heal with me. I create personal boundaries with myself and when I see unsafe behaviors, I simply remove myself from them. No explanation is needed. I understand that every situation is different, but I hope that when you read this, it sparks change within you. We are born with individuals, and we may share DNA, but you have the power to create your own family. 

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Stop trying to assimilate to things that don't align with your higher self. You're not like the others for a reason. You are meant for a different path. Pick up the clues the universe has dropped for you and finish your life's journey!

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My life motto represents my idea of true happiness. Freedom is everything to me because, at a young age living in a black household, I learned early that little black girls could not express their likes and dislikes freely. The basic care that was given was good enough for us, even if there was no gentleness offered. The day I found the courage to speak my mind was the day my dad looked at me as a problem that needed to be dealt with and not as the confident woman that I was becoming. He knew that I could no longer be controlled with empty threats of physical harm. His words did not put the fear of God in my heart. I learned myself and understood that The Most High lived within my soul, and I was free to find peace in any way I chose. Courage gave me my freedom, and freedom gave me my happiness.

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“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself, the challenge is to silence the mind.”

— Book of serenity