SOUTH CAROLINA: Former Slave and S.C. Rep. Will Soon Have State House Monument
At 23-years-old, Robert Smalls won freedom for himself and his family. The Beaufort County man went from slavery to pilot during the Civil War before being elected to Congress.
He is the embodiment of a true hero, said members of the Robert Smalls Monument Commission on Wednesday. Soon, his legacy will be cemented onto state house grounds.
At a commission meeting Wednesday, 10 members of the South Carolina Senate and House discussed the logistics of design, location and fundraising for the monument. The legislature passed a bill in the 2023-24 session that created the commission after the state’s moratorium on new monuments on state house grounds.
State Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, one of the bill’s sponsors, said it was a monumental time for the state. Malloy emphasized the need for the historical perspective to not be “lopsided” and show what Smalls meant to the state. “It should be a true picture of South Carolina and an American hero,” Malloy said.
State Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, said it was past time and overdue for Smalls to get the recognition he deserved.
“I think probably the best way to sum up Robert Smalls life is it was a fight for freedom as a slave, as a pilot and as a statesman. And those three different arenas, his life was best described as a fight for freedom. And he knew that his freedom would only endure through law,” Campsen said, adding his fight for education as well.
Smalls was born in Beaufort and escaped from slavery in Charleston. He was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives during Reconstruction era, and then served in the state Senate. In 1874, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
“He’s someone that all South Carolinian’s can and should respect. He had a lot that he could be bitter about, but he did not. He set a course for the remainder of his life to try to make South Carolina a better place for all people of all races,” Campsen said.
Smalls’ monument will be the first of a single African-American figure on state house grounds. It currently holds more than 30 monuments, including one dedicated to the history of slavery and Black history in South Carolina.
Earlier this year, University of South Carolina unveiled a monument of the first three Black students to register for classes after desegregation. The monument is at the “heart” of campus, Dorn Smith, USC board member and former board chair, told to The State, which reported that the board hand-picked its location so everyone visiting campus will walk past and enjoy it.
The commission set a Jan. 15 deadline for the statute’s design and location. The commission is also planning a website for donations.
“This is pretty cool. This is pretty neat. There aren’t a whole lot of statutes that we need to add to the state house grounds, but I think that Robert Smalls is worthy,” said Sen. Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield.
Massey said some members of the state Senate weren’t familiar with Smalls. Massey said they want people to be educated and honor Smalls’ accomplishments.
Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, who attended the meeting by Zoom, and said he once lived across the street from Smalls house in Charleston. He learned about Smalls’ impact 40 years ago because of the schools, monuments and streets dedicated in his name.
“I learned very quickly who he was and what he meant to South Carolina and how it exemplifies the very best of what South Carolina stands for,” Davis said.
State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland, said it is often said that it’s a “great day in South Carolina,” but Wednesday was “truly an extremely fantastic, great and amazing day in South Carolina.”
Johnson said the school system doesn’t always teach about “these historical figures.” Think of the many field trips and education that will come from it, he said.
“I’m really looking forward to the day where I get to bring my children and my grandchildren up here to the state house grounds,” Johnson said about what he would tell them. “This is the soil that you have come from here. These are the kind of heroes I want you to look up to and exemplify.”
–thestate.com
