An Underground Railroad conductor who was martyred for his work. A congressman born into slavery. A senator who broke barriers and defeated Democrat machinations. The first black actor to receive an Academy Award. These are just a few of the underrated U.S. heroes who fought for abolition and civil rights against all odds.
Martin Luther King Jr. was undoubtedly a powerful speaker, an influential leader, and a history-shaping figure. But since he also had very severe moral issues, including serial plagiarism and adultery, I think we should take today’s holiday as an opportunity to rediscover some of the more virtuous but under-appreciated heroes of America’s civil rights history.
There were numerous black heroes of the Underground Railroad, among them the Railroad’s “General Superintendent,” Elijah Anderson, an Indiana blacksmith whose daring work helped over 800 fugitive slaves reach freedom. Anderson was relatively light-skinned, since he was mixed race, and often managed to pass himself off as a white slaveowner during his rescues. He would rescue whole groups of slaves at a time, and even used his blacksmith shop as part of his operation, hammering out coded messages on his anvil to assist fugitives. Sadly, he was eventually arrested on the charge of “kidnapping” a slave and sentenced to prison. On the day set for his early release, Anderson was found dead in jail under suspicious circumstances.
Hiram Revels (pictured) was born a free man in 1827, but because he was black, he could not enjoy some of the rights of citizenship for the first few decades of his life — especially in Democrat/Confederate-run North Carolina. Revels was an African Methodist Episcopal Church minister and a secret assistant to runaway slaves, according to his U.S. Senate biography. He was a chaplain with the Union Army during the Civil War and helped both to recruit soldiers and to establish schools for freed slaves.
After the war, he settled in Natchez, Miss., where he entered politics. In February 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment achieved ratification, ensuring voting rights regardless of skin color or previous enslavement (since the Constitution hadn’t restricted voting by race, this primarily overruled state restrictions). Less than a month later, Hiram Revels entered the U.S. Senate Chamber to applause, to take his oath of office as the first black man ever to serve in Congress. Revels almost didn’t get to take office because several Democrat senators campaigned against him on the assertion that he hadn’t been a citizen long enough. Fortunately, their bid to block him failed. While in office, Revels worked to promote the education of black Americans and to fight segregation and Jim Crow policies.
Unlike Revels, Joseph Rainey was born into slavery, though his father managed to buy the family’s freedom in the 1840s, according to his U.S. Congress biography. Rainey had no formal education, but he raised a family while working as a barber. During the Civil War, he was forced into hard labor by the Confederates, but he and his wife escaped and, for a while, ran businesses in Bermuda. They returned to South Carolina in 1866, where Rainey helped establish the state Republican Party.
Rainey was first appointed to fill a resigning congressman’s seat, but won an election against a Democrat in November 1870. He was the first black man to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. He advocated for veterans, Native American Indians, and freedmen. Rainey was also an outspoken critic of the Democrat Party and its military arm, the KKK.
I have written about actor/singer James Baskett before and his legacy with Disney, including his historic starring role as Uncle Remus in “Song of the South,” a movie for which he also provided the voice of Br’er Fox. Despite what modern Disney would like you to believe, the 1946 movie made the case against racial and class prejudice, and gave the black stars equal billing. Walt Disney himself urged the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize Baskett’s achievements, and he received an honorary Oscar, becoming the first black man to receive an Academy Award.
Related: James Baskett: History-Making Actor and ‘Uncle Remus’
Spread the word about the heroism and originality of Anderson, Revels, Rainey, and Baskett not only on this holiday, but throughout this 250th year of America’s existence.
Editor’s Note: Support and follow PJ Media’s coverage of American history and key news in this new year. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
