“It may be the first week of Black History Month but...
another blackface scandal turning Virginia into crisis.”
It’s Black History Month, which may have got buried under the
plethora of daily blackface stories that we are seeing
recently or the ever so timely release of Esquire’s latest
profile highlighting the overlooked young white male in society.
Because what better way to kick off the only month of
the year dedicated to raising black voices, right?
Well, going against the grain of those mentioned
above, I thought it’d be cool to highlight
some stories perhaps one you’ve heard
of or one you haven’t.
This one, actually my mum brought to my
attention way back in Scotland.
Today I’m going to talk about Robert Smalls.
“This is the story of robert smalls.
Someone who bet everything he had,
and everything he was, on everything he dreamed of.”
Born into slavery on a South Carolina plantation,
as a youngster Smalls worked at the docks in
Charleston harbor, sending his earnings
of course back to his master But while
he gave up what he earned, he managed to
get the most he could out of this
time spent working around ships.
He studied them, how they came and went from the port.
The signals the captains used as they entered the dock, or left.
And after such rigorous study,
by the time the Civil War came around
Smalls was a pretty experienced seaman, so he was
assigned to steer a Confederate Navy vessel called the Planter
which consisted of mostly white officers and a number of slaves.
Impressing others with his competency as a seamen,
and the lengths he would go to in
order to demonstrate how trustworthy he could be,
Smalls was able to maneuver his way around the vessel,
but little did those confederate soldiers actually know,
he was hatching an elaborate plan to escape
from slavery and deal a blow to the Confederacy
- and he’d also secretly recruited most
of the enslaved crew to join his plot.
So, on one particular night when
the Planter had docked in Charleston
stacked with a shipment full of heavy weaponry, Smalls decided
to enact the plan he’d been cooking up.
So when these officers went ashore for
the evening and left the ship in the
care of the enslaved crew, Smalls led this crew in
hijacking the vessel.
They made one stop at another set of docks
to pick up the families of Smalls and other crew members,
who waited in hiding after
being notified of the scheme in advance.
“Smalls knew these waters like the back of his hand,
but he also knew the risks that lay ahead.”
With Smalls at the helm, they navigated the
waters with their destination being, of course, freedom.
But they weren't in the clear yet
as they still had to sail past a number of Confederate
checkpoints on their way to freedom.
But this is where Smalls’ past studying
would play a crucial role.
All those years he watched the ship captains,
learning their hand signals and
the particular ones used at the checkpoints.
So he strapped on the captain's uniform
and trademark straw hat, and he guided
the Planter past five Confederate harbor forts by
impersonating the captain and displaying the correct hand signals.
By the time anyone realized the Planter had gone missing,
it was too far gone to catch.
Once in the clear from the confederate checkpoints,
he had his crew replace the Confederate flags
aboard the ship with white ones,
which again would prove to be another
crucial decision, seeing as they
were soon intercepted by a Union vessel
with their fingers on the trigger.
once they saw the white flags, the northern ships
withdrew their weapons.
The Union sailors, most likely baffled
at the sight of an all-black crew,
most likely remained suspicious until
Robert Smalls came forward and,
according to history records, shouted,
"Good morning, sir! I've brought you
some of the old United States guns!"
He then asked the Union sailors to
give him a United States flag to raise on the Planter.
As far as a story goes, this one should be
well on it’s way to Hollywood,
if somebody’s not wrote it yet, i will.
But it still gets better.
Because of his bravery, Smalls was promoted
to captain himself, becoming one of the
highest ranking and highest paid black officers in the Civil War.
After being celebrated for his immense bravery, Smalls then
turned to activism after his military career drew to a close.
He used everything he’d learned to educate former slaves,
and later, realizing he still wasn’t finished, Robert Smalls
entered politics, serving in the South Carolina legislature,
becoming one of the first black people
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1874.
And he remained active in public life
into the 20th century; one prominent case brought up in
regards to smalls was in 1913, he prevented the lynching of two
black men accused of murder in his town by warning the mayor
that the local black population would burn the city to the
ground if the mob was not stopped.
And then one last final gesture Smalls
purchased the plantation where he’d grown up a slave,
and lived there until his death in 1915.
Inscribed on the the monument at his grave is the quote:
"My race needs no special defense,
for the past history of them in this country proves them
to be equal of any people anywhere.
All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life."
And the thing I realized about this story
since hearing it and immediately sharing it
with anyone who would listen is that, not surprisingly,
most don’t know it.
Everyone knows about Columbus, or Jefferson -
hell, more people are familiar with Stonewall Jackson’s
favorite meal than this story.
Which is partly one of the reasons why I’m
so perplexed as to why only one month a year is
dedicated to highlighting these stories and
highlighting black history in general.
They should be taught daily, absorbed and
highlighted in every school across the country.
I want to thank Jason Rains
For his post that captured me mum's attention,
and then mine.
I hope this post helps amplify Robert Smalls’ story.
For more on this come over to my instagram @francismmaxwell 136 00:05:37,037 --> 00:00:00,000 and support independent media here tyt.com/join.