I write to encourage, inspire, and remind.
Photo for 2015 Excellence in Journalism, Milwaukee Press Club for “The Days After Tony Robinson: Madison Mothers.” Madison Magazine
Macajah Revels Camped at a Stream of Water
Mycajah Revels (1804-1881) with wife Morning Star Jacobs Revels (1808-1898) Children” Delana Revels Roberts (1822-1898), Aaron Revels (1830-1903), Henry Revels (1840-1909), Mark Revels (1841-1915 and Effa Jane Revels (1850-1941) Burial is Revels Cemetery in Vernon County, Wisconsin
By Fabu
In Black Settlers in Rural Wisconsin
there is a notation that a Black man
Macajah Revels, born in 1800 on the Cherokee reservation
migrated to Dane county and camped at a stream of water
eighteen miles north of the village of Madison.
Macajah traveled on to buy land elsewhere.
There is no record of physical description; light, dark or medium
what he accomplished or who his parents were.
In 1800, a Black man was both an oddity and invisible
but the land welcomed him.The land was cheap, fertile with plenty
there was schooling for children and protection for escaped slaves
so Macajah could rest briefly.
Who remembers Macajah Revels, Black settler in the 1800’s
Who camped at a refreshing stream
Eighteen miles north of the village of Madison
but moved on, maybe knowing there would be no welcome in Madison.
Who remembers that Black people came to Wisconsin to be free?
-Published in We Are Wisconsin, to be published in 2024
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Poet Fabu Carter