Alexander Hamilton:
Profiles in Courage for Black History Month
Born out-of-wedlock in the West Indies to a bi-racial mother, Rachel Lavien and a Scottish businessman, James Hamilton, we end the month with Alexander Hamilton. The belief that Hamilton was mulatto probably arose from the incontestable truth that many, if not most, illegitimate children in the West Indies bore mixed blood. At the time of Rachel's birth, the four thousand slaves on Nevis outnumbered whites by a ratio of four to one.
His exact birth date is still in question because he did not have a birth certificate, but it was either January 11, 1755 or 1757. Statesman, politician, soldier, writer, lawyer and passionate abolitionist, Hamilton was a super nova of brilliant thought and action.
Abandoned by his father at an early age and orphaned when his mother died when he was in his early teens, Hamilton rose to be one of our most renowned Founding 
Fathers.
Being an eye-witness to the ravages of slavery in the Islands, Hamilton developed an abiding passion for the abolition of slavery. One of his biographers, Ron Chernow writes that Hamilton espoused this position on African Americans, “The contempt we have been taught to entertain for the blacks makes us fancy many things that are not founded neither in reason nor in experience.” Black author Lawrence Aaron writes: “As much as I thought I knew about Alexander Hamilton, the first treasury secretary, nobody ever told me he was black. Yes. You heard it here first folks.” Although it is still argued as to Hamilton’s genetics, Aaron writes of the importance of knowing, “The message for black youngsters is that African Americans were present at every stage of the United States’ development, and that one of the founding fathers was in fact African American.”
In addition to laying the groundwork for the American economy, Hamilton founded the First Bank if the United States. Then he founded the Federalist Party, the first political party in the United States. He co-authored the Federalist Papers with John Jay and James Madison.
During the Revolutionary War, Hamilton joined with the rank of lieutenant-colonel and became the private secretary of General George Washington. Although Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler, he formed romantic attachments to soldiers, most notably John Laurens. His letters to Laurens portrayed a loving relationship filled with longing as revealed by this excerpt: “I wish, my
dear Laurens?it might be in my power, by action rather than by words, [to] convince you that I love you.” John Laurens was eventually killed in battle. Hamilton died from wounds in a duel with Aaron Burr on July 12th, 1804 in New York City.
For his courage in fighting for the abolition of slavery, for his passion regarding his heart’s desire, NBJC salutes Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton. Be proud the next time you see a $10 bill and know that a same gender loving man of Americans of African descent was so honored.
This concludes the Profiles in Courage as disseminated by NBJC. We encourage all of our readers to continue to investigate and discover all of the contributions by our contemporaries and our ancestors. Some of those profiled may have been obscure, may have been speculative, may have been circumspect, but all are meant to encourage, enlighten and increase dialogue and conversations about the “invisible” leaders in our community. We hope you have learned as much as we have and that you will continue to seek the truth that has often been erased.
