Two Things Can Be True at The Same Time

Two Things Can Be True at The Same Time

During the Civil War, General Sherman, known for his "March to the Sea," encountered several Sea Islanders and coastal residents. While they were joyful to be free from centuries of bondage, they also felt anxious about their future. Upon arriving in Savannah, Georgia, he and his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, met with twenty Black religious leaders to discuss the needs and future of the newly freed individuals. The formerly enslaved people expressed their desire for land as a means to achieve economic independence. This meeting resulted in Sherman's famous Order Number 15, from which the phrase "40 acres and a mule" originated. However, just two years earlier, in 1862, General Sherman expressed his opinion about the formerly enslaved people he encountered in the Low Country. He went on to say that these formerly enslaved people were "hordes of totally uneducated, ignorant, and improvident blacks have been abandoned by their constitutional guardians, not only to all the future chances of anarchy and starvation but in such a state of abject endurance and stolidity as super clued all possibility of self-government and self-maintenance." Still, two things can be true at the same time. While Sherman's condescending opinion of Black people was technically accurate, it stemmed from centuries of enslavement and illiteracy. However, General Sherman failed to recognize the difference between being illiterate and being ignorant. And he was mistaken in his belief that formerly enslaved people lacked the intellectual capacity for self-government and self-sufficiency. This book will explore the significant achievements of African Americans in Georgetown, which contributed to the city's transformation from poverty and ignorance to knowledge and prosperity. The primary focus will be on the pivotal establishment of Bethel AME Church in 1865, which served as the foundation for this progress. Once again, two things can coxist. Bethel AME Church played a crucial role in helping Georgetown recover from the devastating aftermath of the Civil War, and that is a fact. However, it is also true that Bethel did not accomplish this alone; other churches and organizations, including Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church, also contributed to the growth of Georgetown. In 1865, the two newly established pillars of the community were not competing with each other; instead, there was a sense of unity—recognizing that we must all row in the same direction or risk drowning.