Biographical
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Robert Smalls
In 1864, Smalls was evicted from a segregated Philadelphia streetcar; a mass protest followed that led to the integration of the city's public transportation.
During Reconstruction, Smalls became a powerful political leader on the South Carolina Sea Islands. He represented Beaufort in the constitutional convention of 1868, published a local newspaper, and was elected to five terms in Congress.
In 1895, he was one of six black delegates to the state constitutional convention, where he protested against the decision to deprive blacks of the right to vote.
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Until 1913, he held office as collector of customs at Beaufort.
In a 1913 letter to Booker T. Washington, Smalls wrote:
"During the twenty odd years I have held the position of Collector, I have succeeded to so manage affairs that when I leave it, I will do so with credit to myself, my family, and my race . . . When we go out of office we go clean. So when the excellent history of the Tuskegee and the Negro shall be written, the Customs House at Beaufort, while conducted by colored men, can be easily attached to the top or bottom, for whatever inspiration it may be to the Race."
