"All Will Be Equalized!": Georgia's Freedom Seekers of the Swamps, Backwoods, and Sea Islands 1526-1890

by Andrew Zonneveld, Modibo Kadalie (Foreword)

Since the early 1500s, the land we now call Georgia has been a site of dynamic social struggle, where generations of freedom seekers have fought back against the inhumanities of slavery and colonialism. From rebellious Afro-Indigenous and Seminole communities of the Sea Islands and Okefenokee Swamp, to inter-racial networks of anti-Confederate resistance during the U.S. Civil War, these are the stories of oppressed peoples of African, Indigneous, and European descent who lived and fought together for their collective liberation while building multi-racial and directly democratic communities within Georgia's most remote and secluded natural landscapes.

"Zonneveld's work [. . .] reclaims the remote and excluded corners of Georgia’s formative centuries, spanning almost four hundred years from the pre-colonial period until the emergence of Jim Crow apartheid."
— From the foreword by Modibo Kadalie, author of Intimate Direct Democracy: Fort Mose, the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Human Quest for Freedom.

"Historian Andrew Zonneveld, in his brilliant new volume, shatters our understanding of colonialism, race, and the resistance to oppression that followed Europe's violebt invasion of North America."
— Janis Coombs Reid, retired professor of English and former Vice President of Academic Affairs, Atlanta Metropolitan State College.

"A charming, engaging history from below of 'rebellious ancestors' who joined together in multiracial solidarity to 'turn the world upside down.' A timely read for all freedom seekers against the backdrop of today’s fascist landscape, and a beautiful reminder that small-scale resistance and self-emancipation among so-called ordinary people was—and is—is possible under the worst of forms of bondage, whether colonialism or slavery, nation-states or capitalism."
— Cindy Barukh Milstein, author of Anarchism and its Aspirations and editor of Deciding For Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy

“I have always been drawn to stories in history of perseverance and especially resistance to oppression. Seldom do you see it taught in schools and when something comes along to fill in the holes we should take to it. 'All Will Be Equalized!' does that, showing that there was a cross section of people from different cultures and lands who did not simply lay down for a dominating ruling class, but instead pushed back against it in the name of a freedom they were sorely lacking. It is a powerful read and anyone who does will learn that it is truly right to rebel!”
— Daryle Lamont Jenkins, Executive Director, One People’s Project.

“'All Will Be Equalized!' is the perfect place to begin an exploration of Georgia’s largely ignored 'history from below.' Writing in engaged and passionate prose, historian and activist Andrew Zonneveld tells the fascinating stories of the region’s people’s movements, from the era of early colonization through the end of the nineteenth century and beyond. This book will surely inspire new generations of 'freedom seekers' in their quest for social justice."
— Robert H. Woodrum, Associate Professor of History, Perimeter College of Georgia State University, and author of "Everybody Was Black Down There": Race and Industrial Change in the Alabama Coalfields.

Genres: History

Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book - I’m very glad that critical history books like this are being written more and more. My grandparents are from the US Southeast, and I came to learn of this book through my attempt to understand that region’s under-known radical history. Early American history has long interested me as well - it seems to be a period before the class and racial hierarchies of our country were solidified, and rebellion often looks like attempts to forge a distinct social contract in distinct places. In high school, I did a club project on the Battle of Negro Fort, an under-examined story of multiracial rebellion, so reading a book that deepens an explicitly radical analysis of maroon history in the Southeast (and references Negro Fort) was very rewarding.

Zonneveld writes well and weaves a strong historical narrative through the at-times unfortunately scant sources on this topic, as this is certainly not a story of the victors (those who write history) - it is a story of people who often did not have access to writing, let alone outlets to tell their stories. Zonneveld’s work reveals that a period seen as led by major White political figures and (in)famous generals such as Andrew Jackson and characterized by racial segregation was in fact influenced by multiracial communities of rebellion. Understanding this history can help us all to reject the present-day ills of hierarchy that influence our nation with the knowledge that multiracial, directly-democratic community is a historical fact and a future imperative.

[Jules Woudenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so so masterfully researched, written, and crafted into an exciting and delightfully readable little book. So glad that I randomly heard about it in a chat gpt signal group (good people thinking, people answer your questions instead of chat gpt). And I ordered it to my grandpas house for my week in Florida. It was so meaningful to have some geographical context to the weird world of old people development southern Florida and in the week. And when we went to visit the museum on one of the seminole reservations (somewhat) nearby, I felt already a lot more primed with knowledge to better understand things there. Thank you Andrew, also for weaving in the timeliness of modern struggles like stop cop city and save the okefenokee wetlands which are one of the last intact freshwater ecosystems in the world, which are being mined for a mineral that they wanna use to white toothpaste and paint. Wtf?!