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Robert Smalls – Stealing Freedom

Published

5 years ago

October 30, 2020

Robert Smalls. Public domain photo.

Robert Smalls (1839–1915) met Hannah Jones at age 16. The two soon married, moved in an apartment in Charleston, S.C., and worked at a nearby hotel. Despite their union, Smalls’ greatest fear was that his family, at any moment, would be sold away from him. By 1862, this threat had become a reality.

The asking price for Hannah and the children had been set at $800. Anticipating that day, Smalls, having worked several odd jobs in Charleston, had put money away. But saving was difficult. For every $15 earned, he was only able to keep $1. The remaining monies went to his owner.

Smalls then took on additional jobs. It still wasn’t enough. When he made an offer to purchase his family, he only had $100. Knowing that no matter how many additional jobs he worked his family would be sold, he had to move quickly. Smalls devised a plan to make his job on the CSS Planter work to his advantage.

It was May 13, 1862. Smalls, along with a crew of fellow slaves, boarded a cotton steamer off the dock. At a set rendezvous point, they picked up family members. With Smalls as captain, the steamer found its way through the harbor. Having worked as a pilot on the steamer, he knew exactly what to do.

Smalls responded to coded signals at Confederate checkpoints. Once cleared, he set out for the open seas. Once beyond Confederate waters, the CSS Plantar surrendered to the blockading Union fleet. On that day, the unimaginable took place: An enslaved Black man commandeering an armed Confederate ship, delivered 17 Black passengers to freedom, including Hannah and his children.

The New York Daily Tribune reported: “If each one of the generals in our army had displayed as much coolness and courage as [Smalls] did when he saluted the Rebel flag and steamed past the Rebel fort, by this time the rebellion would have been among the things that were [past].”

A few weeks after surrendering the CSS Plantar, Smalls and his crew received half of the ship’s value from the U.S. Congress. In addition, Smalls was awarded $1,500 and an audience with Pres. Abraham Lincoln. After the meeting, he joined the U.S. Navy. Blacks, at that time, had not been allowed to join.

During his military service, Smalls’ mission aboard the USS Plantar was to reveal locations of enemy mines. He also recruited about 5,000 Black soldiers. He fought battles not only at sea but also for civil rights.

In 1864, Smalls boarded a whites-only streetcar while traveling in Philadelphia. Well known in civil rights groups, he gathered others to protest segregation of public transportation. After three years of protest, Philadelphia’s streetcars were integrated.

After the Civil War, Smalls was commissioned as a brigadier general, served five terms in Congress, and helped found the state Republican Party.

Smalls died in 1915 at what is now called the Robert Smalls House, a historic home at 511 Prince St. in Beaufort, S.C. He’d purchased it from his former owner after the war.

Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thrilling-tale-how-robert-smalls-heroically-sailed-stolen-confederate-ship-freedom-180963689/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/which-slave-sailed-himself-to-freedom/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Smalls_-_Brady-Handy.jpg

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Uncategorized

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

5 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

9 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

10 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.