🔵 By Ernest Morris. Photo by lauragrafie.
For those of you who know not of Clemens Ray, you may have met him, or someone like him and didn’t even know it.
Clemens Ray was a slave, captured in the Washington, D.C. area by a group of slave runners who planned on selling him along with Solomon Northup and a few others. While he, Northup and the others were in transit, they conversed about their history and contemplated escape. Ray was of the belief that their efforts would be thwarted by the other negroes (to put it mildly) on board. He convinced the others that it would be best if they would all just endure awhile longer. As fate would have it, when the ship docked Ray’s “master” spotted him and demanded “his property” be returned to him at once! The slave runners honored his request and Ray, filled with gratitude collapsed in his “master’s” arms without so much as a glance back at the other slaves he left behind. All Northup needed to regain his freedom was a message relayed to his family and friends back home that he was kidnapped by some horrific men. However, the moment Ray found himself back in the custody of his slave master he did not mention the plight of Northup. Why? Was it best that he just mind his business? Was it the rush of excitement to be freed from the bondage of strangers paralyzed Ray? What made him fail to say something? Who’s to say. Just know the spirit of Clemens Ray moves about us today. Watch out.