In the early hours of May 13, 1862, while the white officers of the CSS Planter slept ashore in Charleston, South Carolina, an enslaved man named Robert Smalls made his move.
He fired up the ship's boilers, picked up his family and a dozen other enslaved people, and sailed the Confederate military vessel straight past five rebel checkpoints, flashing the correct signals at each one, and delivered it to the Union Navy.
He was 23 years old.
From Enslaved to Congressman
What happened next is just as wild. The Union Navy was so impressed that Smalls became the first Black captain of a U.S. military vessel. He went on to serve five terms in the U.S. Congress, representing South Carolina.
After the war, he bought the house where he had been enslaved, and when his former enslaver's wife fell ill with nowhere to go, he let her live there until she passed.
That's not just strength. That's grace.
Why Stories Like This Matter
Robert Smalls' story isn't in most history textbooks. And that's exactly the problem. There are thousands of moments like this, bold, brilliant, and overlooked, that shaped America.
That's why I created the Imani Oliver word search puzzle books. Each book is packed with names, events, and cultural touchstones from Black history, the kind of stories that deserve to be remembered, celebrated, and shared.
Because learning history should be fun. And it starts with knowing the stories.
A new Black history fact every day. Follow along and never stop learning.