Jean-Marie Tailly

By Jean-Marie Tailly

We Are Joseph, a riveting historic book written by Jean Louis Tailly, seeks to find a lasting solution to the ongoing crises in Africa. The book brings to life the hardships, humiliation, and expected triumphs of broken family relationships, poverty, hostility, and other horrors associated with slavery. It also explores the good that can come ou

• Language: English
• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781647530570

Jean-Marie Tailly

Jean-Louis Tailly was born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire in west Africa and spent 8 years in France where he graduated from High school. In 1991 he moved to Cincinnati, OH where his older brother Eric was attending Xavier University on a presidential scholarship. While in Cincinnati he was converted to Christianity in 1992 and have been a practicing and devoted Christian since. Inspired by his unending love for Africa, his social activism, and Christian beliefs, Jean-Louis wrote his first book "˜We Are Joseph" while completing his undergraduate degree in Sociology. Jean-Louis eventually graduated from NC State University in Raleigh, NC where he moved in 1998 with his wife. He has a BA in Sociology and is the Founder and President of Radiant F.A.C.E.S Foundation, an organization devoted to finding new sources of funding to educate African children. He currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife and daughter Imani. Jean-Louis is also providing financial assistance to his nephew Marc Alain, the son of his older brother Eric who unfortunately passed away and left a one-year old son behind. Marc-Alain ended up in a refugee camp in Ghana next door to Côte d'Ivoire where his mother is from and hoped of a better future for her and her son there.

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We Are Joseph

Copyright © 2020 by Jean Louis Tailly. All rights reserved.

All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society.

Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

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Published in the United States of America

ISBN 978-1-64753-058-7 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64753-057-0 (Digital)

10.03.20

DEDICATION

To God who inspired me with the idea of this book. To my late father, Jean Tailly, who believed in me; to my wife, Velma Laverne and my daughter Imani Chantal for their support and patience, as this has truly been a labor of love.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Prologue

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Motherland and the Ancestors

Chapter 2: The Rivalry among Brothers

Chapter 3: The Selling of a Brother

Chapter 4: The Middle Passage

Chapter 5: The Powerful Slave Owners

Chapter 6: The Productivity of the Captives

Chapter 7: The Slave Resistance

Chapter 8: The Runaway Slave

Chapter 9: The Fugitive Slave Law

Chapter 10: The Agents of Freedom

Chapter 11: The National Crisis

Chapter 12: The Enemy Within

Chapter 13: The Enlistment of the Brave

Chapter 14: The Exploits of the Exploited

Chapter 15: The Plight of the Motherland

Chapter 16: The Powerful Provider

Chapter 17: The Test of Repentance

Chapter 18: The Freewill Offering

Chapter 19: The Celebration before Reconciliation

Chapter 20: The Great Revelations

Chapter 21: The Plan of Salvation

Chapter 22: The Prosperity of the Migrants

Chapter 23: The Winning Formula for Africa

Chapter 24: The False Prophets

Conclusion

Works Cited

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Over the course of developing We Are Joseph, I have encountered many people who remained steadfast on this project. It is with humility and gratitude that I thank these individuals for my book, We Are Joseph, because it was constructed out of a collective effort. Diane Reeder, thank you for your insight in the organization of the book’s content and creation of powerful headlines. Titus Taylor- the man behind the scenes, thank you for scheduling meetings and conference calls to move this project forward. Manson Jones, it is your belief in the power of knowing one’s ancestry that motivated me to keep writing and researching despite challenges. Winsome Henry, I am truly grateful for taking time to travel from New York City to Raleigh, NC to spend several days with me and help me edit and write a better book. I thank you also for your composition of the book summary and author biography. Jermel Kyri Isaac, thank you for consistently encouraging me to keep the why at the forefront of my heart and mind and helping me remember my audience and the purpose of this project. Last but certainly not least, Susan Kendrick, thank you for editing the final version of the manuscript and helping me with the book title. Thank you, Dan Holy, for the valuable recommendations you made concerning the best marketing approach for the book. You were all sent to my aid, just when I needed it most. I sincerely thank you.

PREFACE

As a child of Africa, the affliction of my people affects me deeply. The truth as to why Africa is still struggling must be told so lasting solutions can be found and implemented. People of African descent cannot be passive observers while the African people sink deeper into despair and chaos. The fact that I am a Christian compelled me to read about the stories of deliverance in the Old Testament. The Bible is full of stories of heroes who listened to God and decided to become vessels God could use to bring salvation to their people. The story of Joseph in the Old Testament will be at the center of the book. The book of Genesis in the Old Testament from chapter 37 to chapter 50 forms the backdrop of this book. It dissects the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis—each chapter and each verse, from chapter 37 to 50.

This book explains how the revitalization of Africa should take place based on the model set forth in the story of Joseph. I was on a cruise ship the summer of 2004 when the idea of writing this book was born. I had been talking about how inspirational the story of Joseph was and how African Americans could benefit from it. My God told me to stop talking and start writing. I listened to God and the result is this book. The story of Joseph covers contemporary issues that affect the African people.

This book begins by talking about the ancestors, the physical location of their native land, the family structure, the internal conflicts that eventually led to slavery, and the trials and triumphs connected to life in a foreign land. This book is about the history of African Americans from the time they left Africa to their lives in America today. It is a history full of victories and defeats but more importantly, a history rich with lessons that can help build a brighter future for generations to come.

Prologue

God believes in setting protection mechanisms around all people to preserve their lives. God wants all people to multiply, grow, increase, and fill the earth. God is the protector of life. In Genesis 4:13-14, we read:

Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me. But the Lord said to him, Not so]; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

Cain took his brother Abel’s life, but God decided that Cain should live. Cain did not get the death penalty. Cain did not protect Abel’s life, but God protected Cain’s life. The mark was a protection mechanism God put around Cain to shield him from potential attackers. It was more important for God to let Cain live so he could become a giver of life. In Genesis 4:15-18, we read:

So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

Because God let him live, Cain made love to his wife who gave birth to a son. From Cain’s single life came many lives. Cain became very fruitful. He even built a city and fulfilled God’s command of population growth. God wants to perpetuate life. From Cain’s life came many lives. The mark God put on Cain was the first protection mechanism mentioned in the Bible. God set up other protection mechanisms to preserve human life.

Noah’s ark was the second protection mechanism set up by God. In Genesis 6:11-14, we are told that for:

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.  God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.  So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.

Noah found favor in God’s sight because he was a righteous man. God instructed Noah to build an ark as a protection mechanism for him and his family. The ark was designed to protect their lives against the flood. On that very day Noah and his sons- Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s wife, and the wives of his three sons entered the ark. Eight people in all would be saved and protected from the devastating flood. The ark became their protective cover. Noah and his family members were the only humans who survived the flood. In Genesis 7:17-23, we read:

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased, they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.  Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

The flood destroyed every living thing on earth, but Noah and his family were protected. Those outside the ark perished and those inside the ark were preserved. God was determined to give life on earth another chance through Noah’s offspring. In Genesis 8:13-19, we learn that:

By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.  By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

Then God said to Noah, "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.  Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it."

So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.  All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another.

God saved Cain so he can have a son with his wife and multiply, increase in number, and fill the earth. God saved Noah and his family, so they could multiply; be fruitful; increase in number; and fill the earth once more. Noah’s sons became fruitful, increased in number, and filled the earth. Noah’s sons became nations of people. In Genesis 10:32, we read:

These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

The nations that exist today originated from Noah’s sons. The first instruction God gave mankind after he created them male and female was to be fruitful and multiply in number. God gave the same instruction to the animals he had created. Procreation is very important to God. God created man in his image. God wants to reproduce himself. Only through the living can God reproduce himself. God protected Cain to give him an opportunity to procreate. God also saved Noah and his family and gave them the opportunity to reproduce themselves. Death prevents reproduction, but life enables procreation. God wants people to live and multiply on the earth and increase in number. God protected Cain with a mark, and he also protected Noah and his family with the ark. The mark and the ark were two effective protection mechanisms.

I discovered a third protection mechanism in the book of Genesis while reading about the story of Joseph. I discovered God’s plan to set up a protection mechanism around Joseph’s family when a devastating famine struck their ancestral land. It was while reading about Joseph that I uncovered similarities between his life and the lives of African Americans. This book will address the similarities between Joseph and African Americans and discuss their implications and relevance in the formulation of solutions to mitigate the various crises affecting the well-being of the African people.

Introduction

The more I read about the story of Joseph, the more evident it became that his story spoke directly to African Americans. The book reveals that Joseph was chosen by God to save his people from the terrible famine that devastated their motherland. African Americans must understand that they will play a vital role in the rebuilding of Africa. African Americans must stop Africans from dying in poverty under dictatorship rules. I was convinced that if God protected the Hebrews, he can certainly protect the African people who are also his people. God wants to prevent Africans from dying too soon. He wants the African people to increase in number and multiply. The African children who are dying by the thousands everyday will never get a chance to replicate themselves. They, too, were made in the image of God and given the solemn duty to reproduce themselves, increase in number, and fill up the earth. Not only the stories of Cain, Noah, and Joseph were very powerful stories of redemption and new beginnings, they taught me about hope and God’s providence. I have hope for the African people. I am convinced that God has a plan to set up protection mechanisms around the African people. The story of Joseph makes it clear that African Americans are God’s chosen instruments to set up protection mechanisms around the African people. God never fails.

This book is about helping African Americans understand that civil wars cannot be the norm in Africa and that political unrest, debt, diseases, and drought cannot persist and obstruct Africa’s future.

This book follows the natural outline of Joseph’s walk with God, built in by the writer of the book of Genesis in the Old Testament.

This book will show that African Americans are a type of Joseph. African Americans will discover that their journey from the coast of West Africa to America mirrors Joseph’s journey from his native land of Canaan to Egypt. I am convinced God gave African Americans the same mission he gave Joseph, which explains why the similarities between them are so striking. The story of Joseph is telling African Americans to join together in following his example. They must embrace him as their model and point of reference keeping their eyes on Joseph who lived a blameless life. Joseph is the role model African Americans must emulate. The similarities between Joseph and African Americans starts with their respective motherlands.

Chapter 1

The Motherland and the Ancestors

In Genesis 37:1, we read:

Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

The first verse in the story of Joseph establishes that Joseph’s father, Jacob and Jacob’s father lived in the land of Canaan. Joseph’s ancestors stayed in the land of Canaan. The following Bible verses helped identify Joseph’s ancestors. We read in Genesis 23:1-2 that:

Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old.  She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

Then we read in Genesis 35:27 that:

Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.

From reading these Bible passages, we clearly see that Kiriath Arba is Hebron and that Hebron is Canaan. They all represent the same geographic area. We also see that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob- the three patriarchs of Judaism had lived in the land of Canaan. This led me to conclude that Canaan was Joseph’s motherland. His great grandfather Abraham, his grandfather Isaac, and his father Jacob had all lived in Canaan. Canaan was also the land of Joseph’s birth, the place where he grew up and started his journey. Canaan was very important to the Hebrews.

To establish where African Americans come from, we must first describe the region in Africa where their ancestors had lived. The majority of African Americans originated from an area in western Africa known as the Western Sudan. Three great and wealthy black empires controlled that area from about the A.D. 300’s to the late 1500’s. They were—Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. These empires were composed of what is now Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Angola, Mozambique, and parts of Tanzania and Madagascar. African Americans have numerous ancestors who lived and ruled Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

Kaya Magan Cissé or Kaya Maghan (c. 700) was a Soninke king of Wagadou (Ouagadou). He was the founder of the Cissé Tounkara dynasty which later dominated the Ghana Empire from the 8th century CE.

Ghana Bassi was a leader of the Ghana empire from 1040 to 1062. Bassi was succeeded in 1062 by Tunka Manin.

Tunka Manin ruled the Ghana Empire from 1062 to 1076 C.E. Tunka Manin was one of the most eminent lords of Ghana. Soumaba Cisse was also ruler of Ghana from 1203 to 1235.

Osei Kofi Tutu was one of the co-founders of the Empire of Ashanti in Ghana, alongside Okomfo Anokye, his central cleric.

Sundiata Keita also known as Manding Diara, Lion of Mali, Sogolon Djata, son of Sogolon, was a powerful prince and founder of the Mali Empire. He reigned from 1235 to 1255. The famous Malian ruler Mansa Musa, who made a pilgrimage to Mecca, was his great-nephew. Sundiata was one of Mali’s most noteworthy legends; his life is described in griot narrating convention. The epic stories tell that he was brought into the world weak yet was relieved by a supernatural occurrence and later turned into an extraordinary tracker and warrior. Sundiata’s utilization of supernatural powers is said to have helped him rout his adversaries and structure the realm of Mali, which means, Where the ruler dwells.

Musa I or Mansa Musa was the tenth Mansa, which translates to sultan, conqueror, or emperor, of the wealthy West African Islamic Mali Empire. He ruled Mali for 25 years from 1312 to 1337. At the time of Musa’s rise to the throne, the Malian Empire consisted of territory formerly belonging to the Ghana Empire. Under his rule the fringes of Mali extended significantly into more trade routes. As an ardent Muslim, Mansa set out on a journey to Mecca, the heavenly city of Islam. It is said that he created a significant ruckus because of the huge number of chaperons and measure of gold he took on his voyage. When he went through Cairo, he gave such a great amount of gold to the people that the cost of the precious metal fell and the entire economy of the city was influenced.

Mansa Mahmud Keita IV (also known as Mansa Mamadou Keita II) was the last emperor of Mali.

Sunni Ali, also known as Sunni Ali Ber, was born in Ali Kolon. Sunni Ali was the first king of the Songhai Empire, located in Africa and the 15th ruler of the Sunni dynasty. He reigned from about 1464 to 1492.

The successor of Sunni Ali Ber, Askia Muhammad, was keener and more farsighted than Sonni Ale Ber ever demonstrated to be. Askia Muhammad was born Muhammad Ture or Mohamed Touré in Futa Tooro. He was later called Askia, also known as Askia the Great. He was an emperor, military commander, and political reformer of the Songhai Empire in the late 15th century. He was from the Soninke ethnic group. Askia Muhammad strengthened his empire and made it the largest empire in West Africa’s history. Askia encouraged learning and literacy, ensuring that Songhai’s universities produced the most distinguished scholars, many of whom published significant books and one of which was his nephew and friend Mahmud Kati. Askia Muhammad allied himself with the scholars of Timbuktu, ushering in a golden age in the city for scientific and Muslim scholarship. At its peak under his reign, the Songhai Empire encompassed the Hausa states as far as Kano (in present-day Nigeria) and much of the territory that had belonged to the Songhai empire in the west.

The first king and founder of the Kingdom of Kongo was Lukeni lua Nimi who was born in 1380 and died in 1420. These leaders shaped the African nations and the characters of the African people from which African Americans sprang up.

Kaya Magan Cissé, Ghana Bassi, Tunka Manin, Soumaba Cisse, Osei Kofi Tutu, Sundiata Keita, Mansa Musa, Mansa Mahmud Keita IV, Sunni Ali, Askia Muhammad, and Lukeni lua Nimi are among the most prominent and powerful African historic figures and leaders. They are the ancestors of African Americans. They had a lasting impact on African history. African Americans should know their names and accomplishments because their leadership and vision shaped the roots of Western Sudan as a dominant civilization.

The story of Joseph is primarily about the importance of one’s ancestry. Jacob is the embodiment of the Jewish ancestry. He is the immediate ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel. His life and Joseph’s life were intertwined. Africans are bound together by their ancestors. Now that we know where Joseph came from and where African Americans originated from, let’s reveal the similarities between great cities such as Gao, Timbuktu, and Djenné that were part of the Songhai Empire with Canaan.

Western Sudan and Canaan were active commercial hubs. Canaan corresponds roughly to present-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel. Canaan was a narrow strip, 130 kilometers wide, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, the Arabian Desert to the east, Egypt to the south, and Mesopotamia to the north. Canaan was located between the great Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures and served as a thriving trading center for caravans between the Nile Valley and the Euphrates and as a cultural entrepot. The clash of cultures and the diverse commercial activities gave Canaan a dynamic spiritual and material creativity.

Before Joseph’s ancestors entered the land, Egyptian and Mesopotamian hostility, continuous invasions of hostile peoples, and Canaan’s varied topography had resulted in frequent fighting and general instability. Canaan was a very busy trading center which led to cultural clashes because of the constant movements of goods and people. Gao is located on the Bani River on floodlands between the Bani and Niger conduits, 220 miles (354 km) southwest of Timbuktu. Djenné was set up in the thirteenth century near the site of Djenné-Jeno, an out of date city by then in ruins, and formed into an entrepôt between the traders of the central and western Sudan and those of Guinea’s tropical woods. The city benefitted both from its quick relationship by conduit with Timbuktu and from its condition as the pioneer of the trade routes to the gold mines of Bitou ( in Côte d’Ivoire), to Lobé, and to Bouré; it was equally a huge entrepôt for salt. By the mid-seventeenth century, Djenné was esteemed as a point of convergence of Muslim learning. Expressions such as trading center, cultural entrepot, commercial activities, and dynamic spiritual and material creativity are used to describe Canaan, Gao, Timbuktu, and Djenne. Joseph and African Americans were brought up in similar environments where trading and learning were extensive. I saw cultural diversity in Canaan and Western Sudan, but I also saw diversity in Jacob’s family structure and in the composition of the African kingdoms of Western Sudan. Joseph had many brothers and African Americans came from African kingdoms made of multiple tribes and ethnic groups. We read in Genesis 35:23-26, that:

Jacob had twelve sons:

The sons of Leah:

Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,

Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.

The sons of Rachel:

Joseph and Benjamin.

The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah:

Dan and Naphtali.

The sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah:

Gad and Asher.

Jacob married two sisters, Rachel and Leah. He also had two concubines who were the maidservants of his two wives. Twelve sons were born to Jacob. Talk about a blended family!

Also, in Genesis 37:2, we read:

This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Diversity was not just in the number of children and wives but also in the character of the children Jacob brought into the world. The brothers had different temperaments, priorities, and responsibilities within the family unit. Joseph told on his brothers and reported on their bad behavior on the job. Joseph was part of a family of shepherds and seems to be acting as leader. We will see that some brothers were cold, but others were hot-tempered. Some were passive, but others were aggressive. Some brothers were vicious and cunning, but others were reliable and loyal. They were constantly involved in acts of violence or betrayal. The diversity of Joseph’s family added to the complexity of their relationship with each other. The African tribes of the Western Sudan had a complicated relationship as well. The African kingdoms were made up of thousands of ethnic groups. Just like any diverse family, the African kingdoms were walking on dangerous ground. The different African kingdoms were a blend of 45 distinct ethnic groups. Of the 45, the ten most prominent, according to slave documentation of the era, are listed below:

The BaKongo of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola

The Mandé of Upper Guinea

The Gbe speakers of Togo, Ghana and Benin (Adja, Mina, Ewe, Fon)

The Akan of Ghana and Ivory Coast

The Wolof of Senegal and Gambia

The Igbo of southeastern Nigeria

The Mbundu of Angola (includes both Ambundu and Ovimbundu)

The Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria

The Chamba of Cameroon

The Makua of Mozambique

The people of Africa belong to a wide variety of ethnic groups with different languages, traditions, arts, and religions. Over the centuries the different groups have interacted and influenced one another at different levels. This interaction enriched the people and the culture. Joseph came from a family of shepherds, and African Americans came from tribes well acquainted with rural activities including shepherding, metal working, weaving, and farming. Some African tribes were also adept at warfare. Joseph’s family and the various African tribes of Western Sudan were talented and dynamic but divided.

Chapter 2

The Rivalry among Brothers

Dissension in the family led to confrontation among the brothers. Tension and internal conflicts affected Jacob’s family and the African tribes of Western Sudan. These conflicts would soon break their already weak family bond. The will to dominate or ascend to the throne was at the root of many conflicts. In Genesis 37:3-7, we read:

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them,