For any folks who find it hard to believe that Stagolee was a black hero, I offer the story of "Roy" and "Nathan" as one possible explanation for Stagolee being a hero (other than my theory of the fight over the Stetson being symbolic of the fight for black freedom). Their story is told in the book Deep South: A Social and Anthropological Study of Caste and Class by Allison Davis, Burleigh Gardner, and Mary Gardner. "Roy" and "Nathan" were two black men who were executed for killing other black people in Natchez, Mississippi in 1934. As I point out in my article in the African American Folklorist, black individuals who killed other black people were normally sent to prison rather than executed, but the local white population perceived the killings by Roy and Nathan to be part of a black crime wave, and, feeling threatened by it, called out for making examples of the killers by executing them. Their case is summarized in James C. Cobb's book The Most Southern Place on Earth.

Cobb writes that "It was standard practice for condemned criminals (who were almost always black) to seek forgiveness for their sins publicly, and often ostentatiously. The condemned was actually requesting forgiveness not only from God but from whites for disturbing the order and sanctity of caste society. In essence, the repentant offender was condoning the punishment he was about to receive for breaking laws made and enforced primarily for the benefit of whites."

The local authorities tried in various ways to coax both Nathan and Roy into participating in this ritual, including having a preacher talk to them. Nathan "got religion" and participated, but Roy refused to do so. On the day of his execution, Roy stood calmly at the rope, defiant until the very end. He was the living incarnation of Mississippi John Hurt's Stack O'Lee "standin' on the gallows, his head way up high."

After the executions, the black community viewed Nathan to be a coward. But Roy was seen as a hero for his courage in the face of death and defiance of white authority. A mythology quickly developed about him, including a threat he supposedly made of breaking down the door to Hell and breaking off the devil's horns.


The URL of my article in the African American Folklorist is below
http://theafricanamericanfolklorist.com/2020/11/29/twoblackfreedomsongs/