Today in black history: First protest against slavery

On this day in 1688 Pennsylvania Quakers organzied the first protest against slavery, the “Germantown Protest.” It was the first of its kind in the English colonies. The protest took the form of a petition based on the Bible’s Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
The petition notably argued that according to the Golden Rule, the slaves should have the right to revolt. The petition was drafted by Daniel Francis Pastorius. It was the first assertion of universal human rights on American soil, a principle that later found its way into Lincoln’s Gettysburgh Addresss.

Photo: Wkikpedia

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People’s World is a voice for progressive change and socialism in the United States. It provides news and analysis of, by, and for the labor and democratic movements to our readers across the country and around the world. People’s World traces its lineage to the Daily Worker newspaper, founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists in Chicago in 1924.