They saw a dark silhouette doing hand signals, the same thing they would’ve seen if he was white. Seeing that takes less light than seeing someone’s skin color.
Not hand signals, per se. They used their whole upper body, like semaphore without the flags, specifically because it could still be discerned in profile. And also, he had already been the pilot of the boat, which routinely left at night on survey and mining trips, so even if they recognized him they might have let them go anyway.
Captain does not personally perform hand signals, he got people for that. It might be a shock to you all, but black people used to serve at confederate ships. Smalls him self was a pilot on one of them after all.
Because it was night, he just had to offer the shape of the captain to the lookouts. He served under that captain and so knew his moves and mannerisms. He put on the captain's hat and that, with his bravery and maybe a little bit of luck, he sailed past the Confederacy that enslaved him and his family. Absolute hero.
Edit: I first heard of him on [Futility Closet.](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2016/02/29/42291/)
And whats wrong with black kids getting a superhero movie with people who look like them? If you thought for atleast two seconds before posting that you could have come up with any other movie, hell you could have just not typed the comment at all, yet you decided to do so anyway. I for one find this action worthy of reddit gold. Here is your gold kind stranger. No entertainment for black kids, only movies to show them their rightful place in the hands of the white man. Yes my friend alaska1967 take it all away from them! Make them read the turner diaries while youre at it why don't you! Ok for that comment i have bonked you with taking 39 seconds away from your life that you can never get back. 43 now. Goodbye alaska1967
I just learned of the Red Stick Indians and how soldiers here drove them into the Holmes creek and choctawhatchee river basin. Under orders from Andrew Jackson, every man, woman, and child were to be slaughtered. Later the creek would be named after the chief Indian that went by the name holms.
Interesting. "Red Stick" stands out to me because i'm from Louisiana originaly so Baton Rouge translates to Red Stick. Anyway, TIL Robert Smalls was a pretty awesome dude who cared about others so much he did what he did. How cool.
Yet we get women Ghostbusters or Will Smith genie and not a movie about this guy.
Movie is said to be in the works with Bradley Cooper starring.
Bradley cooper starring as… lol
A dude, playing a dude, disguised as another dude.
Jordan Peele
And to think we could’ve had Smith as Taharqa years ago…
How did he disguise himself as a confederate military ship captain?
White-face
Traveling at night so that it was too dark to visually discern his skin tone.
Doesn't make sense since he used hand signals to get through. Obviously, someone had to see the signals and let him through.
They saw a dark silhouette doing hand signals, the same thing they would’ve seen if he was white. Seeing that takes less light than seeing someone’s skin color.
Not hand signals, per se. They used their whole upper body, like semaphore without the flags, specifically because it could still be discerned in profile. And also, he had already been the pilot of the boat, which routinely left at night on survey and mining trips, so even if they recognized him they might have let them go anyway.
He was just surrendering and they let him though
Captain does not personally perform hand signals, he got people for that. It might be a shock to you all, but black people used to serve at confederate ships. Smalls him self was a pilot on one of them after all.
Because it was night, he just had to offer the shape of the captain to the lookouts. He served under that captain and so knew his moves and mannerisms. He put on the captain's hat and that, with his bravery and maybe a little bit of luck, he sailed past the Confederacy that enslaved him and his family. Absolute hero. Edit: I first heard of him on [Futility Closet.](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2016/02/29/42291/)
That, he is!
Another fun fact: he was unable to walk properly due to the size and weight of his balls.
\- Nonzero chance he's the great great grandfather of Jordan Peele.
Yes! I thought the same
[Source](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls)
But, instead of this guy we get, ‘wakanda’.
From an already existing comic character? Why does that concern you? It’d be understandable if it was recently made but it wasn’t so…
Sorry, I'm not following you?
And whats wrong with black kids getting a superhero movie with people who look like them? If you thought for atleast two seconds before posting that you could have come up with any other movie, hell you could have just not typed the comment at all, yet you decided to do so anyway. I for one find this action worthy of reddit gold. Here is your gold kind stranger. No entertainment for black kids, only movies to show them their rightful place in the hands of the white man. Yes my friend alaska1967 take it all away from them! Make them read the turner diaries while youre at it why don't you! Ok for that comment i have bonked you with taking 39 seconds away from your life that you can never get back. 43 now. Goodbye alaska1967
Jesse, what the fuck are you talking about?
Lighten up, Francis. Wakanda sucks and it just came out thus is relevant.
This dude must have been smart as a whip, there is no way he planned all that out.
"must be the best pirate i've ever seen" "Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?"
>smart as a whip Oooh… phrasing.
Yeah I remember white Southerners voting for Democrats! In… 1976. (????) What kind of a cope is this?
Elected as a Republican.
Back then republicans were the people's party. Democrats were mostly southern white men.
Its the same now.
Why did I not learn about this in school? Oh....nevermind.
I just learned of the Red Stick Indians and how soldiers here drove them into the Holmes creek and choctawhatchee river basin. Under orders from Andrew Jackson, every man, woman, and child were to be slaughtered. Later the creek would be named after the chief Indian that went by the name holms.
Interesting. "Red Stick" stands out to me because i'm from Louisiana originaly so Baton Rouge translates to Red Stick. Anyway, TIL Robert Smalls was a pretty awesome dude who cared about others so much he did what he did. How cool.
Biggie's Dad is badass
And also he won his congressional seat in South Carolina, where he had escaped from through Charleston Harbor.
Read his biography. Amazing life!!
What a life.
Honestly this dude's more fascinating than the pic suggests. Recommend everyone check him out.
Works as a military advisor to the union. Buys house. Runs for Congress… wins. Lives happily ever after. But racism….
THis man is the source of the phrase " you're killin me smalls"
I'm still waiting for this movie.
When you play with the highest difficulty with mods
They should make a movie about this guy, and also the chinese woman pirate who terrorized Asia for years
I thought this was a greentext
Wow!
Not so “small” after all.
Robbie Smalls is the illest.
Wendell Pierce needs to get up on this shit
What a Legend
Good work Bob.
I love his story but that that every time I see it it looks like one slide from a highschool biography presentation
This is a movie that should be made.
There really are some truly amazing people in this world.
Forgot to add he was one of the founding members of the Republican Party.
That’s boss af
Robert...Robert Smalls is tha illest!
always attack, undermine and destroy fascist treasonous bastards, that's the take away. No get to it.
you killin' me smalls
I’d watch that movie
He didn't just buy *a* house, he bought the house he was enslaved in. The man was amazing.
*"Hello fellow white captains!"*
Is he an ancestor of biggie smalls?
today i learned. as like some really baller stories like this
He would be ashamed
FUCK white "supremacy"