Hampton’s HistoryLetter to the editor of the Daily PressApril 13, 2007"In response to the letter "Jamestown’s History" by Thomas Cannon, the first Africans did not arrive at Jamestown. The interpretation by early historians has been refuted and the 20 and odd Negroes actually landed in Hampton at Point Comfort, today’s Fort Monroe.
John Rolfe, widowed husband of Pocahontas, wrote in a letter that he personally saw the arrival of the ship and the unloading of the slaves at Point Comfort in late August 1619. John Colyn Jope who was the captain of the ship White Lion who brought the first Africans to Virginia also wrote in his journal they were unloaded at Point Comfort.
Hampton and Fort Monroe is where the first slaves landed, where the first African American child was born, and eventually where slaves were freed at Freedom’s Fortress.
The ancestors of today’s African Americans did not arrive by choice but were instrumental in making this a great country. As Hampton prepares to celebrate its 400th birthday in 2010, let’s celebrate our past and work toward making our future better for everyone.
Calvin PearsonHampton(Home)