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From slavery to Congress. 10 Robert Smalls facts you may not know, but these Beaufort students do

This summer, Roberts Smalls International Academy will be demolished, and along with it, the mural the community painted in 2018 to colorfully line its walls and honor the school’s namesake.

But, the new building’s walls won’t be bare for long.

This summer, staff will unveil a freshly designed mural, complete with a historical timeline of Robert Smalls’ life provided with information from the Robert Smalls Alumni group. The timeline will go past Smalls’ death in 1915 to describe the school’s history from when it was founded in 1925 as the only public high school for Black children in Beaufort County.

A section of the Robert Smalls mural at Robert Smalls International Academy taken as a panorama, which creates an illusion of a curve.
A section of the Robert Smalls mural at Robert Smalls International Academy taken as a panorama, which creates an illusion of a curve.

Today, little less than 50 percent of Robert Small International Academy students are Black, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

The mural will end in with the projected opening of the new building with the new name “Robert Smalls Leadership Academy” in 2023, funded with $345 million from a 2019 school bond referendum. Students and staff will move into the new school building in August 2023, and the campus’ new athletic facilities will be ready to use in January 2024.

The entrance area will have a map of the South Carolina coastline on the floor, according to Chief Operations Officer Robert Oetting. The map will note important spots in Smalls’ life, such as Beaufort and Charleston.

The school hosted meetings with the community and solicited feedback from students, parents and staff to support their decision to pay tribute to Smalls in this way.

“A common theme that we observed in all of our feedback was honoring our history,” 2020 Assistant Principal Davina Coleman said at one of the three community meetings. “To honor Robert Smalls two things developed.”

She said the first was the physical environment and the second was to “ensure his history is infused in the curriculum.”

A rendering of the new Robert Smalls Leadership Academy timeline exhibit.
A rendering of the new Robert Smalls Leadership Academy timeline exhibit.

Here are abbreviated versions of 10 historical facts that will be included on the Robert Smalls Leadership Academy mural:

1. He pretended to be a Confederate to gain his freedom

Smalls was born in Beaufort, SC in 1839 as an enslaved person for the McKee family. He then moved to Charleston and was hired out by the Mckee family as a sailor, becoming an expert on the South Carolina and Georgia coasts.

He was enslaved as a deckhand on a Confederate supply ship called the Planter, which carried supplies between forts and the Charleston Harbor.

One morning before dawn, while the Planter’s Confederate crew was ashore, Smalls took the ship with a small Black crew, picked up family members, and escaped through the Charleston Harbor on the Planter.

They passed five Confederate checkpoints with Smalls successfully pretending to be a Confederate. When they reached the Union blockade Smalls pulled down the boat’s Confederate flag and raised a white bed sheet. They also gave the Union maps of mine locations, shipping routes and Confederate ship schedules.

He was only 23 years old when he led the eight men, five women and three children to freedom.

2. He is a major reason Black people could fight in the Union army

The same year Smalls gained his freedom he traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with President Abraham Lincoln

He requested that Lincoln allow Black volunteers into the Union Army, and Smalls left with a letter in hand authorizing him to enlist Black troops.

For the rest of the Civil War, Robert Smalls went on speaking tours to tell his story and recruit free Blacks to the Union Army.

Robert Smalls conducted 17 missions in and around Charleston during the war.

3. He was the first Black captain of a U.S. Vessel

In 1863, the Planter was caught in an intense battle. The captain of the ship hid below deck while Smalls took command of the ship and guided it safely away from enemy fire. The captain was dismissed for cowardice and Smalls is promoted to Captain, becoming the first Black captain of a U.S. vessel.

A mock-up section of the Planter mural in the new Robert Smalls Leadership Academy building.
A mock-up section of the Planter mural in the new Robert Smalls Leadership Academy building.

4. He purchased his former enslaver’s home in Beaufort

After the Civil War, Smalls became a Brigadier General in the South Carolina militia. He was able to buy his former owner’s house in Beaufort. He also graciously took in some of the McKee family, his former enslavers, who were in need after the war.

5. Before U.S. Congress came his service to the Beaufort County school board

In 1867 smalls served on the Beaufort County School District Board. Followed by his election to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1868. At that time the 14th Amendment was ratified, officially making everyone born in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people, citizens. This law overturned the Dred Scott decision.

In 1874 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the the 44th, 45th, 47th, 48th and 49th Congresses.

6. The Robert Smalls School was founded as an African American school

In 1925, ten years after Smalls died of natural causes, Robert Smalls School was founded as an African American school for first through tenth grade students.

It was built on the western edge of Beaufort, bound by Ribaut Road and Boundary Street. For most of its existence, Robert Smalls was the only public high school for Black children in Beaufort County. Students would travel from as far as Daufuskie , Sheldon, and Orangeburg to attend.

A rendering of a section of the new Robert Smalls Leadership Academy timeline exhibit.
A rendering of a section of the new Robert Smalls Leadership Academy timeline exhibit.

During a time of segregation, the Black community in Beaufort County saw Robert Smalls School as a safe haven for their children.

The first principal of this school was Reverend Daniel W. Blythewood, pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church where Robert Smalls was buried.

7. The Roberts Small School was the first African American School with football lights in South Carolina

In 1938 Robert Smalls School fielded its first football team, and two years later the school became the first African American high school with a lighted football field in South Carolina.

8. The school had hosted many famous visitors

In 1955, One of the most celebrated singers of the 20th century, Marian Anderson, agreed to sing at Robert Smalls High School — after the school was split into elementary and high school.

Anderson refused to sing to segregated audiences. She was described as coming out on stage and first checking that the audience was integrated before performing.

Some other figures include Mr. Mordecai Johnson, Clara Ward Singers, Lionel Hampton and Orchestra, Roland Hayes, Paul Robeson, Joe Louis, Dr. Benjamin Mays, Dr. Howard Jordanand Dr. Benner Turner.

A section of the Robert Smalls mural at Robert Smalls International Academy.
A section of the Robert Smalls mural at Robert Smalls International Academy.

9. Beaufort County schools integrated in 1964

Integration sent students from Robert Smalls and St. Helena High School to Beaufort High School in 1970. This caused the school to become overcrowded and classes were split into morning and afternoon sessions. The Beaufort High red and white Tidal Waves became the Beaufort High green and white Eagles, taking the colors from Robert Smalls and the mascot from St. Helena.

A few years prior, Rowland and Craig Washington made history when they integrated the all-white Beaufort schools in 1964.

10. He is in the South Carolina Hall of Fame

Smalls was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2010.