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They, Too, Bleed Red:
They served in the Continental Army and in state and local militias, fighting in major battles of the American Revolution or performing other duties requiring bravery. Between 5,000 and 10,000 blacks, both enslaved and free, men, women, and children, participated in the War for Independence, yet no memorial honors them. For the most part, their names are unknown, identified only by skin tone. |
Designed by sculptor, David Newton -
www.davidsnewtonsculptor.com/gallery.html |
Because of one man’s mission, there is hope that a memorial will actually be built to commemorate the courageous service of these patriots, those who fought for freedom for a nation that had mostly not granted freedom to them. That man? Maurice Barboza.
Maurice Barboza is a proud American of African, Portuguese, Cape Verdean, native American, and Caucasian ancestry. He grew up in Plainville, Connecticut, around loving relatives who told him stories about his ancestors and who encouraged his curiosity. His Aunt, Lena Santos Ferguson, is quoted in a newspaper article she wrote in the Washington Afro-American on August 9, 1997, about her family.
Her sister, Maurice’s mother, Margie, “drilled lessons into Maurice and showed him the pictures and told him the stories (his great grandmother Rosa) had shared with her.” Maurice’s Aunt Lena continued, “He spent many summer afternoons under my mother’s weeping willow trees, quietly absorbing the boisterous conversations that sometimes drifted to speculation about our family’s peculiar roots.”
In the article, Aunt Lena reminisces what her father, Maurice’s grandfather, Ovedio, used to say, “Stand up for your rights! Vote! Be good citizens!”
But that haunting photograph hanging in his grandmother Ida Gay Santos’ home of a white Civil War soldier holding a bayonetted rifle always intrigued Maurice. That soldier, he would later learn, was his great, great grandfather - John Curtis Gay - who was killed in the battle of Cold Harbor only a few miles from his grandmother’s birthplace near Richmond, VA. Another of his great, great grandfathers - Thomas King, a black man - is thought to have served on the side of the Union, yet Maurice has found no records indicating such service.
As a young student in Plainville, Maurice says he often felt out of place, sometimes being “the only black kid in class.” He recalls feeling shame in history class while studying the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Maurice remembers the only people who looked like him in history textbooks from junior high to high school, and throughout his college years, were disheveled men wearing torn clothing. Some had scars on their bare backs – they were the enslaved ones.
“Comparing those images to the ones of the elites, I felt there was something about my background that was shameful,” he lamented.
Maurice poignantly elaborates on how the textbook images made him feel. “It made me feel separate and apart. A child doesn’t have the capacity to see through those seemingly demeaning pictures and recognize the strength and dignity beneath the tattered clothing.”
One history teacher, Miss Ann Grant, supplemented the history lessons with excerpts of contributions by black Americans, Maurice says. Thankfully, today’s history curricula are more positively inclusive, recognizing black Americans and other minorities for their impact on America’s greatness.
To no one’s surprise, the curious student, Maurice Barboza, became a lawyer and was working on Capitol Hill as a congressional lobbyist in the 1970s. Having access to the troves of archives in Washington, D.C. at his disposal, Maurice further researched his family’s history. He already knew of his family’s participation in the Union Army during the Civil War and, as he dug deeper, he discovered that another relative of his great, great grandfather - John Curtis Gay - had fought in the Revolutionary War.
He traced his ancestry to Jonah Gay, a Revolutionary War patriot from Union, Maine.
“I traced (my grandmother’s) ancestry to the Revolutionary War and the family's arrival in 1630. Then a black genealogist suggested that I join a heritage society. I proposed to (Aunt) Lena that she join DAR (The Daughters of the American Revolution). She anticipated what would happen. I thought that our shared Revolutionary War heritage, common to millions of Americans, would form the basis for camaraderie through shared history and principles.”
Maurice joined the Sons of the American Revolution without opposition and found camaraderie. But, when Lena applied for membership in several DAR chapters in the Washington D. C. area, beginning in 1980, she was rejected time after time. It looked as though the DAR was still stuck in its antebellum past of denial that black Americans are patriots too.
“I wanted my ancestor recognized for serving during the American Revolution,” she told a Washington Post reporter in 1983, adding that she wanted to assist other African-Americans in learning more about their patriotic forebears. Ms. Ferguson’s quotes appear in chapter five of Simon Wendt’s The Daughters of the American Revolution and Patriotic Memory in the Twentieth Century.
Lena must have been transported back to her childhood, hearing her father’s emboldening words echoing in her head, “Stand up for your rights! Be good citizens!”
So, in 1984, Lena sought out The Washington Post again to help her expose DAR for their blatant discrimination. The Washington Post published a front-page article on Ms. Ferguson and her unsuccessful bid for membership in DAR which brought unwelcome attention and pearl-clutching fear to the powers-that-be in DAR leadership. Losing their tax-exempt status was on the line, not to mention their reputation.
Maurice Barboza is a proud American of African, Portuguese, Cape Verdean, native American, and Caucasian ancestry. He grew up in Plainville, Connecticut, around loving relatives who told him stories about his ancestors and who encouraged his curiosity. His Aunt, Lena Santos Ferguson, is quoted in a newspaper article she wrote in the Washington Afro-American on August 9, 1997, about her family.
Her sister, Maurice’s mother, Margie, “drilled lessons into Maurice and showed him the pictures and told him the stories (his great grandmother Rosa) had shared with her.” Maurice’s Aunt Lena continued, “He spent many summer afternoons under my mother’s weeping willow trees, quietly absorbing the boisterous conversations that sometimes drifted to speculation about our family’s peculiar roots.”
In the article, Aunt Lena reminisces what her father, Maurice’s grandfather, Ovedio, used to say, “Stand up for your rights! Vote! Be good citizens!”
But that haunting photograph hanging in his grandmother Ida Gay Santos’ home of a white Civil War soldier holding a bayonetted rifle always intrigued Maurice. That soldier, he would later learn, was his great, great grandfather - John Curtis Gay - who was killed in the battle of Cold Harbor only a few miles from his grandmother’s birthplace near Richmond, VA. Another of his great, great grandfathers - Thomas King, a black man - is thought to have served on the side of the Union, yet Maurice has found no records indicating such service.
As a young student in Plainville, Maurice says he often felt out of place, sometimes being “the only black kid in class.” He recalls feeling shame in history class while studying the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Maurice remembers the only people who looked like him in history textbooks from junior high to high school, and throughout his college years, were disheveled men wearing torn clothing. Some had scars on their bare backs – they were the enslaved ones.
“Comparing those images to the ones of the elites, I felt there was something about my background that was shameful,” he lamented.
Maurice poignantly elaborates on how the textbook images made him feel. “It made me feel separate and apart. A child doesn’t have the capacity to see through those seemingly demeaning pictures and recognize the strength and dignity beneath the tattered clothing.”
One history teacher, Miss Ann Grant, supplemented the history lessons with excerpts of contributions by black Americans, Maurice says. Thankfully, today’s history curricula are more positively inclusive, recognizing black Americans and other minorities for their impact on America’s greatness.
To no one’s surprise, the curious student, Maurice Barboza, became a lawyer and was working on Capitol Hill as a congressional lobbyist in the 1970s. Having access to the troves of archives in Washington, D.C. at his disposal, Maurice further researched his family’s history. He already knew of his family’s participation in the Union Army during the Civil War and, as he dug deeper, he discovered that another relative of his great, great grandfather - John Curtis Gay - had fought in the Revolutionary War.
He traced his ancestry to Jonah Gay, a Revolutionary War patriot from Union, Maine.
“I traced (my grandmother’s) ancestry to the Revolutionary War and the family's arrival in 1630. Then a black genealogist suggested that I join a heritage society. I proposed to (Aunt) Lena that she join DAR (The Daughters of the American Revolution). She anticipated what would happen. I thought that our shared Revolutionary War heritage, common to millions of Americans, would form the basis for camaraderie through shared history and principles.”
Maurice joined the Sons of the American Revolution without opposition and found camaraderie. But, when Lena applied for membership in several DAR chapters in the Washington D. C. area, beginning in 1980, she was rejected time after time. It looked as though the DAR was still stuck in its antebellum past of denial that black Americans are patriots too.
“I wanted my ancestor recognized for serving during the American Revolution,” she told a Washington Post reporter in 1983, adding that she wanted to assist other African-Americans in learning more about their patriotic forebears. Ms. Ferguson’s quotes appear in chapter five of Simon Wendt’s The Daughters of the American Revolution and Patriotic Memory in the Twentieth Century.
Lena must have been transported back to her childhood, hearing her father’s emboldening words echoing in her head, “Stand up for your rights! Be good citizens!”
So, in 1984, Lena sought out The Washington Post again to help her expose DAR for their blatant discrimination. The Washington Post published a front-page article on Ms. Ferguson and her unsuccessful bid for membership in DAR which brought unwelcome attention and pearl-clutching fear to the powers-that-be in DAR leadership. Losing their tax-exempt status was on the line, not to mention their reputation.
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Lena Santos Ferguson in 1985 holding the photograph of her great grandfather, John Curtis Gay, a descendant of her white ancestor, Jonah Gay, who had fought for the United States in the American Revolution. Ferguson’s activism forced the Daughters to allow more African-American women to join the DAR. Photo © Associated Press. Photographer: Scott Stewart. |
Maurice’s Aunt Lena knew she could have sued the organization and destroyed it, yet, like Rosa Parks, she decided there was a better way forward. “I wanted (DAR) to change and make up for its past.” And that is exactly what happened. Through Lena’s persistence and determination, and legal representation, DAR agreed to allow her full membership, to adopt a new rule preventing racial discrimination in its chapters, to support a federal bill to honor black soldiers’ service in the Revolution, to reach out to prospective members of color, and to research and publish the names of the Continental Army’s African- American soldiers.
During the ordeal with the DAR in the 1980s, Maurice read about there being “a handful of African-American soldiers” who served in the War for Independence. He pursued the matter further by reading Dr. Benjamin Quarles’ book, The Negro in the American Revolution. That was the inspiration Maurice needed to begin what would become a 40-year endeavor to honor the black American revolutionaries.
Maurice recalls reading that there could have been 5,000 black participants in the war. He spoke with Dr. Quarles himself. “I called Dr. Quarles and asked what he thought of the worthiness of a memorial. He said he thought it was a fine idea and justified by his research. His observations 41 years ago about the tough path ahead I would have were clairvoyant.”
Dr. Benjamin Quarles ominously warned Maurice, “Justice is a slow fruit.”
With the two stories being inextricably linked - Lena’s struggle with DAR and Maurice’s quest for a memorial - he contacted congressional leaders in an effort to end DAR’s discrimination which led to a resolution being passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan.
The Resolution, honoring the contributions of black Americans in the War for Independence, was passed by Congress in 1984. Maurice Barboza and his Aunt Lena Ferguson then began their campaign for a memorial to those black men and women ‘who fought for a country that considered them property – all with the hope that this “independence” would one day extend to them.’
Part of the 1984 Resolution states “the Congress extends thanks to the descendants of free blacks and slaves who participated in the Revolution and acknowledges the contributions of these courageous men and women who, in aspiring to freedom, helped bring about American independence and set in motion events that contributed to the attainment of equal rights for blacks, particularly in recent decades;”
During the ordeal with the DAR in the 1980s, Maurice read about there being “a handful of African-American soldiers” who served in the War for Independence. He pursued the matter further by reading Dr. Benjamin Quarles’ book, The Negro in the American Revolution. That was the inspiration Maurice needed to begin what would become a 40-year endeavor to honor the black American revolutionaries.
Maurice recalls reading that there could have been 5,000 black participants in the war. He spoke with Dr. Quarles himself. “I called Dr. Quarles and asked what he thought of the worthiness of a memorial. He said he thought it was a fine idea and justified by his research. His observations 41 years ago about the tough path ahead I would have were clairvoyant.”
Dr. Benjamin Quarles ominously warned Maurice, “Justice is a slow fruit.”
With the two stories being inextricably linked - Lena’s struggle with DAR and Maurice’s quest for a memorial - he contacted congressional leaders in an effort to end DAR’s discrimination which led to a resolution being passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan.
The Resolution, honoring the contributions of black Americans in the War for Independence, was passed by Congress in 1984. Maurice Barboza and his Aunt Lena Ferguson then began their campaign for a memorial to those black men and women ‘who fought for a country that considered them property – all with the hope that this “independence” would one day extend to them.’
Part of the 1984 Resolution states “the Congress extends thanks to the descendants of free blacks and slaves who participated in the Revolution and acknowledges the contributions of these courageous men and women who, in aspiring to freedom, helped bring about American independence and set in motion events that contributed to the attainment of equal rights for blacks, particularly in recent decades;”
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Maurice Barboza and his Aunt Lena Santos Ferguson attend President Ronald Reagan’s signing of the 98th Congress Joint Resolution Honoring the contribution of blacks to American independence. Photo from Maurice Barboza’s National Liberty Memorial slides. |
The Resolution precipitated more congressional hearings.
Maurice says that “Dr. Benjamin Quarles was among several witnesses who testified at the first House hearing in 1985. This discovery transformed my understanding—from thinking there were just ‘a handful’ of black Revolutionary War participants to realizing there were thousands whose service had been systematically overlooked. My aunt’s settlement with the DAR eventually led to the publication of research identifying nearly 6,000 forgotten patriots, whose names are now available to help descendants reconstruct family ties.”
By 1986, Ferguson and Barboza won congressional authorization to honor African-Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War with a monument on the National Mall. They raised enough money to fund a design but not enough to build the memorial.
Lena Santos Ferguson remained an active member of the DAR for more than 20 years. DAR offers scholarships in her name supporting students of color in the Washington, D.C. community studying nursing or physical therapy. Lena passed away in 2004, yet her legacy lives on. A tribute plaque in her honor was placed in the Memorial Garden at DAR National Headquarters in 2023.
The DAR finally published "Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War," in May of 2008, which names 5,000 black soldiers and an additional 1,600 soldiers who were Native American.
“Barboza certainly deserves credit for tenacity, for all the years spent trying to bring an elite White-women-only organization, founded in 1890, into the 21st century. Largely because of him and Ferguson, the DAR membership now includes black women capable of carrying on her legacy,” wrote The Washington Post in 2022.
In a 2023 article, in the Hartford Courant, Maurice wrote of his late aunt’s unrelenting perseverance to change DAR into an institution that would finally recognize our shared principles of the Revolution. “She made sure that other black women would have a way to mend family ties that slavery had broken off and to prevent the erasure of black Americans from history. As many as 10,000 forgotten soldiers await recognition. So, too, do the countless men, women, and children who performed patriotic acts.”
Maurice says that “Dr. Benjamin Quarles was among several witnesses who testified at the first House hearing in 1985. This discovery transformed my understanding—from thinking there were just ‘a handful’ of black Revolutionary War participants to realizing there were thousands whose service had been systematically overlooked. My aunt’s settlement with the DAR eventually led to the publication of research identifying nearly 6,000 forgotten patriots, whose names are now available to help descendants reconstruct family ties.”
By 1986, Ferguson and Barboza won congressional authorization to honor African-Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War with a monument on the National Mall. They raised enough money to fund a design but not enough to build the memorial.
Lena Santos Ferguson remained an active member of the DAR for more than 20 years. DAR offers scholarships in her name supporting students of color in the Washington, D.C. community studying nursing or physical therapy. Lena passed away in 2004, yet her legacy lives on. A tribute plaque in her honor was placed in the Memorial Garden at DAR National Headquarters in 2023.
The DAR finally published "Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War," in May of 2008, which names 5,000 black soldiers and an additional 1,600 soldiers who were Native American.
“Barboza certainly deserves credit for tenacity, for all the years spent trying to bring an elite White-women-only organization, founded in 1890, into the 21st century. Largely because of him and Ferguson, the DAR membership now includes black women capable of carrying on her legacy,” wrote The Washington Post in 2022.
In a 2023 article, in the Hartford Courant, Maurice wrote of his late aunt’s unrelenting perseverance to change DAR into an institution that would finally recognize our shared principles of the Revolution. “She made sure that other black women would have a way to mend family ties that slavery had broken off and to prevent the erasure of black Americans from history. As many as 10,000 forgotten soldiers await recognition. So, too, do the countless men, women, and children who performed patriotic acts.”
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Maurice Barboza and his Aunt Lena Santos Ferguson. Photo from the Op-ed in the Hartford Courant from April 30, 2023. |
With Maurice presiding as the founder and CEO, The National Mall Liberty Fund DC was established in 2005 to complete the unfinished work and build the memorial.
Congress unanimously authorized a site for the memorial in 2014 – an area that includes the northeast corner of 14th Street and Independence Avenue, a main gateway to the city, in what is currently a surface parking lot next to the Department of Agriculture. So far, that is the preferable site location. President Barack Obama signed the authorization into law. The National Liberty Memorial was formally approved for placement on the Mall.
The National Park Service took over the project in 2015 and the bipartisan National Liberty Memorial Preservation Act was passed in 2022 to construct the memorial “in advance of the U.S.’s Semiquincentennial.”
Congress unanimously authorized a site for the memorial in 2014 – an area that includes the northeast corner of 14th Street and Independence Avenue, a main gateway to the city, in what is currently a surface parking lot next to the Department of Agriculture. So far, that is the preferable site location. President Barack Obama signed the authorization into law. The National Liberty Memorial was formally approved for placement on the Mall.
The National Park Service took over the project in 2015 and the bipartisan National Liberty Memorial Preservation Act was passed in 2022 to construct the memorial “in advance of the U.S.’s Semiquincentennial.”
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October 19, 2014 – Maurice Barboza standing in the proposed spot for the National Liberty Memorial. Photo from The Washington Post/Tom Jackman Sarasota Herald Tribune. |
The next steps for the Memorial are the submission of an environmental assessment, the approval by federal land agencies, finalizing a design, and funding it.
As published on Maurice Barboza’s slide presentation, The National Liberty Memorial will strive to:
Maurice’s grandfather would be proud as would his entire family who came before him.
As Maurice so eloquently says, “This is not a war memorial – This is a memorial to the struggle for Freedom. African-Americans refused to accept enslavement as permanent or America as permanently flawed.”
Maurice’s mission continues, ever so slowly . . . like justice. A grateful nation awaits.
As published on Maurice Barboza’s slide presentation, The National Liberty Memorial will strive to:
- Commemorate the known and nameless soldiers from every state that made conscious choices to serve
- Recognize the contribution of women and their active guidance and participation
- Demonstrate the strength of the family unit and their presence and sacrifice in the building of this country
- Help people see themselves in a history that is representative of all, whether through common heritage, similar appearance, or perseverance
Maurice’s grandfather would be proud as would his entire family who came before him.
As Maurice so eloquently says, “This is not a war memorial – This is a memorial to the struggle for Freedom. African-Americans refused to accept enslavement as permanent or America as permanently flawed.”
Maurice’s mission continues, ever so slowly . . . like justice. A grateful nation awaits.