The Bird People
Early-19th century, somewhere outside Atlanta, Ga.
Angela had always wanted to be free. She would in times of trouble when her life as the "mammy" of the Swift's children. The master of the house James wanted others to think of himself as a Southern gentleman in his but he was extremely nasty and easy to anger with his slaves. He would not hesitate to whip them mercilessly and only stopped hurting them because they were "property" of his. His wife, Mary, was just as nasty with her treatment of the female slaves who worked inside their mansion, tending to their kids' needs. Angela and her fellow slaves hated this treatment but there was no way to stop it at all. Every day, they would verbally berate and insult them, and oftentimes James and Mary would physically abuse them. It should come as no surprise then that the slaves truly enjoyed more than anything the times they would spend at church on Sunday, the only day of rest that the slaves ever got in a hard week.
"Someday, we will be free like 'de birdies outside," Angela said. In her mind influenced by the folktales of her childhood in Africa, the animals could talk and they had human emotions. Each of the earthbound animals- the wolf, the lion, the otter- they all wanted to be birds so that they could know the secret of flight. The humans in those African folktales wanted to know that secret too and it also was a dream of these now-enslaved men and women in America to have wings like the birds so they could fly back to Africa, where they would be free again.
About the only white people in the world who understood the horros and injustices of the peculiar institution were James and Mary's children, David and Hope 8 and 5, respectively. Though they grew in a highly-racist and bigoted culture, these children were sweet and innocent and they did not believe in the cruel ideologies of their parents. Still, they could notice that the woman who cleaned their homes, washed their laundry, and prepared their meals was fascinated by birds, even more than her boyfriend Malcolm working shirtless in the fields getting the ingredients for the meals she would cook.
She would look at them, cardinals with their bright-red plumage, orioles with the orange crests, robins with the blood-red spot that came when "'dey flew to close to 'de crown of thorns 'dat Christ wore" according to the minister, even the ugly grackels which made lots of noise and ate the crops. As she dusted the furniture and thought of her cruel captors, Angela would often think of what it would be like to fly away.
This blessed Sunday when no work was to be done was a time for recovery for people whose fingers were being worked to the bone. The slaves knew full well that they would be forced to go back to the fields on the following day, worked from sunup to sundown for the males and the females would have to prepare every single meal for their masters. But today was the Sabbath day in the South, and at least now there would be some rest for the slaves.
"Remember, brother Moses who led 'da Israelites outta Egypt when 'dat wicked Pharaoh had ‘dem all enslaved. We'll be ‘de same way if we just trust in ‘de might of ‘de God of Heaven to save us. We will do our own work, not someone else's, my friends. Someday we will all be free," Malcolm's father, the rare man among the slaves who actually was literate spoke. Though none of the words were understood by many of the all-black attendees at this makeshift church, the spirit of freedom was there for the slaves to embrace, to hope for, to dream.
"We will all be free, like ‘de birds," Angela remarked. At this church, it was perfectly normal for the congregation to speak their feelings, though not many did, again for want of the English language. But Angela wanted to make her feelings known to the congregation.
"Yes, as she said, we will be free like ‘de birds," the minister commented. He knew that his son Malcolm wanted to marry Angela someday but he only wanted what was best for both his son and the woman who would someday become his daughter-in-law.
The next day come too soon, the sun rising over the horizon and the masters beckoning for the slaves to go outside and work from dawn to dusk again. Angela had no work to do that day, watching her boyfriend work the fields, sweat pouring off of his black body on this hot day in Georgia. But the heat of the sun was no match for James' hatred of the slaves, who was doing this backbreaking work. He whipped him mercilessly until the lash marks could be seen on his skin. This was all too much for Angela to bear- she could not watch this violent whipping anymore.
"For the love of all that is good and holy- stop that! You will kill him if you continue!" she cried out, as she took her boyfriend's hands and her close friends grabbed hers as well, as to form a human chain.
"And what if that was my goal- to kill each and every single one of you. They wouldn't even think of pressing charges against a refined gentleman such as myself. You will never be free- don't you realize for your kind, there will be no justice?"
"There will be justice- from a much higher power. Lord of Heaven, perform a miracle. Set us free!" At that moment, a very strange sensation came over the people in the human chain, Angela and Malcolm included. Their fingers curved into sharp talons, their faces contorted such that their mouths and noses became as beaks, and to them was gifted large expansive wings. Their voices had been replaced by the majestic shrieks of birds of prey. And while they had the power to rip their former master with their razor-sharp talons, these transformed slaves sought one thing â€"freedom. The human chain had become a group of birds, with the amazing ability to fly- a talent they would use to confidently fly away from slavery, all the way back to Africa and into freedom.