[Ads-l] "Promised Land" (Refuge for Black Americans, Not in OED): Possible Evidence from Unexpected Source

[Ben Zimmer]

Please, please, please do not use ChatGPT or other LLM for this type of
research, as hallucinations are extremely common. None of these citations
are legitimate, as a quick Googling confirms. There's nothing to be gained
from posting spurious results, except as a cautionary tale about the state
of generative AI.

--bgz


On Wed, Dec 10, 2025 at 7:32 AM Shapiro, Fred <
00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> OED does not have a specific entry for the term "Promised Land" meaning a
> refuge for Black Americans.  I have possible early evidence for this term,
> from an unexpected source.  I asked chatgpt for earliest evidence that it
> could summon up.  I did not have any expectations of getting good info for
> this kind of query from chatgpt.  Below is what it sent me.  This could all
> be hallucination, but it looks pretty good.  I have not attempted any
> verification.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
> ________________________________
> ✅ 1. The African Repository and Colonial Journal (the official publication
> of the American Colonization Society), 1825
> In early ACS promotional writing, Liberia was repeatedly framed as a “Land
> of Promise.”
> A recorded example appears in The African Repository, Vol. 1 (1825), p.
> 14, describing Liberia as a destination for free Black Americans:
> “To the people of color of the United States, Liberia opens as a land of
> promise, where the oppressions of this country are unknown.”
> This is one of the earliest printed uses of the phrase connected
> specifically to Liberia.
> ________________________________
> ✅ 2. The African Repository, 1827 – Sermon by Rev. R. R. Gurley
> A sermon reprinted in the 1827 volume (Vol. 3) includes this passage
> urging Black Americans to consider Liberia:
> “We call upon them to look to Africa, that promised land prepared for the
> redemption of her scattered children.”
> This shows clear religious framing—Liberia as a divinely prepared
> destination.
> ________________________________
> ✅ 3. Letters from early settlers (1820s)
> Several emigrant letters published by the ACS use similar language. One
> example is from a settler letter printed in The African Repository (1824,
> Vol. 1, p. 196):
> “We have reached this land of promise, and though trials surround us, we
> believe God has led us here.”
> Though individual letters vary in tone, this theological metaphor appears
> multiple times in emigrant correspondence.
>
>
>

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