Robert Smalls Is 1st Black Person With Statue At SC State Capitol

Throughout President Trump’s second term, there has been a concerted effort to erase the accomplishments of Black people from national monuments and museums. Surprisingly, South Carolina, of all places, is taking a step in the opposite direction as Robert Smalls will become the first Black man to receive a statue outside of South Carolina’s State House.

According to CBS News, Jamaican-born artist Basil Watson is sculpting the statue of Smalls. “It’s an honor to get to put this piece on the state Capitol in South Carolina,” Watson told CBS News. Currently, all of the statues outside the South Carolina House are of white men, many of whom were instrumental in upholding Jim Crow laws and segregation. Watson’s statue has Smalls elevated by a stack of books to convey his journey from illiterate slave to civil servant.

When installed, the statue will have Robert Smalls staring down former Governor Ben Tillman. Tillman was a segregationist, white supremacist, and a noted adversary of Smalls. In 1895, Tillman led the charge on drafting a new constitution for South Carolina that stripped Black people of the right to vote and reversed many of the gains Smalls had made during his time in the state House. Tillman’s constitution is still being used in South Carolina to this day. 

“I will fade into the background, but I want them to remember is Robert Smalls, what he did, and to understand where African Americans are coming from,” Watson told CBS News. 

Robert Smalls quickly became one of my favorite historical figures after reading a book about his life. Robert Smalls took his freedom by commandeering a Confederate ship and piloting it all the way to Union waters. This was no easy effort and came after a long period of preparation. He memorized the mannerisms of the Confederate captain and the steam whistle signals used to cross through checkpoints. He kept quiet about his plan until it was time to execute to prevent any of his fellow slaves from selling him out to the Confederate crew. 

Robert Smalls’ escape is a perfect example of white hubris, as none of the Confederates realized the ship was stolen because they refused to entertain the idea that a slave could successfully pilot a ship.

The ship he stole was reconfigured into a Union warship, and his actions were instrumental in convincing President Abraham Lincoln to allow Black soldiers into the Union army. After his successful escape, Robert Smalls joined the Union army as a ship pilot and used the information he gained as a slave against the Confederate army. 

After the Civil War, Robert Smalls returned to South Carolina and founded the South Carolina Republican Party. He was elected as the first Black member of South Carolina’s House of Representatives in 1868 before going on to serve in Congress in 1882. 

I don’t know if you can tell, but Robert Smalls is a sincere inspiration for me. The man had the deck stacked against him from birth, yet he found a way to overcome those obstacles to forge himself into a great man and a force for good. He is, without a doubt, one of the best men South Carolina has ever produced and is long overdue for this honor. 

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