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The Black Revolutionaries
Crispus Attucks (c. 1723 – March 5, 1770) was an American slave, merchant seaman and dockworker of Wampanoag and African descent. When people think of the patriots who fought for the United States' freedom, most are unaware that the first patriot to die was an African American man. Crispus Attucks was killed by the British in the Boston Massacre of 1770. Attucks was the first but not the only African American patriot. More than 5,000 fought in the Revolutionary War--although the liberty they fought for would be something only their descendents would enjoy. In Virginia, dozens froze, starved and died; the 1st Rhode Island Regiment was made up entirely of 250 African Americans. British General Cornwallis was completely fooled by double agent James Armistead, the African American man who stood by General Lafayette's side when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.
Little is known for certain about Crispus Attucks beyond that he, along with Samuel Gray and James Caldwell, died "on the spot" during the incident. Two major sources of eyewitness testimony about the Boston Massacre, both published in 1770, did not refer to Attucks as a "Negro," or "black" man; it appeared that Bostonians accepted him as mixed race. Historians disagree on whether Crispus Attucks was a free man or an escaped slave; but agree that he was of Wampanoag and African descent.
While the extent of his participation in events leading to the massacre is unclear, Attucks in the 19th century became an icon of the anti-slavery movement. He was held up as the first martyr of the American Revolution along with others shot dead. In the early 19th century, as the Abolitionist movement gained momentum in Boston, supporters lauded Attucks as a black American who played a heroic role in the history of the United States Because Attucks had Wampanoag ancestors, his story also holds special significance for many Native Americans.
Legacy and honors
• 1858, Boston-area abolitionists, including William Cooper Nell, established "Crispus Attucks Day" to commemorate him.
• 1886, the places where Crispus Attucks and Samuel Gray fell were marked by circles on the pavement. Within each circle, a hub with spokes leads out to form a wheel.
• 1888, a monument honoring Attucks and the other victims of the Boston Massacre was erected on Boston Common. It is over 25 feet high and about 10 feet wide. The "bas-relief" (raised portion on the face of the main part of the monument) portrays the Boston Massacre, with Attucks lying in the foreground. Under the scene is the date, March 5, 1770. Above the bas-relief stands a female figure, Free America, holding the broken chain of oppression in her right hand. Beneath her right foot, she crushes the royal crown of England. At the left of the figure, is an eagle. Thirteen stars are cut into one of the faces of the monument. Beneath these stars in raised letters are the names of the five men who were killed that day: Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, and Patrick Carr.
• Although that year leaders of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the New England Historic Genealogical Society opposed the creation of the Crispus Attucks memorial, since the 20th century both organizations have acknowledged his role and promoted interest in black history and genealogy.
• 1998, the United States Treasury released "The Black Revolutionary War Patriots Silver Dollar" featuring Attucks' image on the obverse side. Funds from sales of the coin were intended for a proposed Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial in Washington, DC.
• 2002, the Afrocentrist scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Crispus Attucks as among the 100 Greatest African Americans.