His Early Life Benjamin F. Randolph (1820 – October 16, 1868) was born free in Kentucky and moved to Ohio where he would go on to start his career. As a free Black man, Randolph was able to earn an education at Oberlin College in 1854 -1857 while other Black people were not allowed to read. While there, he learned the classics. Randolph went on to become one of the first Black senators in American history. In addition to his life in politics, he was a minister and educator in the Black community.
By 1863, Randolph served in the 26th Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored Troops at Rikers Island. Randolph was a Chaplin responsible for healing the wounded. The 26th fought in the Battle of John’s Island, the Battle of Honey Hill, and the Battle of Tulifinny. These battles took place in South Carolina where Randolph would go into politics.
Reconstruction in South Carolina
After the Civil War, the south was decimated for the better, making way for prospective Black politicians to lead the charge for racial progress and equality. Sherman’s army wrecked havoc through the western and middle parts of the state. According to the New York Times, in 1865 nearly every plantation on or near the coast had either been deserted, or confiscated and passed into the hands of Northern strangers. The state was a political mess. South Carolina democrats called on the Red Shirts to encourage white terror towards free Black people. So South Carolina, like many southern states, required the military to keep order.
White Violence Toward Black People
White terror was a constant problem that Radical Republicans did not
solve. The KKK dressed in white and the Red Shirts, who dressed in red,
prevented free Blacks from voting, lynched people, terrorized homes and
committed many other acts against freed people. These terrorists groups
wanted to restore democrats to power and ultimately, they did. By 1880,
white supremacist democratic leaders regained control of the state.
Democrats Benjamin Tillman and Ellison D. Smith were proud to be
associated with the Red Shirts, and through the constant state of
terror, the Black Codes and segregation were instated.
Randolph, Education and the Freedman’s Bureau
After the war, Randolph stayed in South Carolina and worked with the Freedmen’s Bureau. He was an assistant superintendent for education in Charleston. When he applied for job Randolph wrote:
Randolph in the Senate
In the 1867 senate of South Carolina, Black delegates dominated the state’s political scene, to the dismay of white supremacists and democrats. Many of these white supremacists supporting the racist ideologies of the South Carolina’s democrats had no wealth or land. According to the University of South Carolina School of Law, Randolph was elected both to the state senate by Orangeburg County and chair of the State Central Committee of the Republican Party by the party’s membership. As chairman of this committee, he actively represented the party across the state. When Randolph was elected into the senate, he authored laws granting white and Black men the right to vote regardless of their land ownership. He also created laws for public education
Randolph, Education and the Freedman’s Bureau
After the war, Randolph stayed in South Carolina and worked with the Freedmen’s Bureau. He was an assistant superintendent for education in Charleston. When he applied for job Randolph wrote:
“I am desirous of obtaining a position among the freedmen where my qualifications and experience will admit of the most usefulness. I don’t ask position or money. But I ask a place where I can be most useful to my race. My learning and long experience as a teacher North, and my faithful service as Chaplain demand that I seek such a place. If you should obtain for me some responsible position in the Freedmen’s Bureau…you would never regret it.”Education was very important to him. Immediately, he began to set up schools on former plantations to teach the newly freed people. He recruited teachers and built and visited schools in Charleston, Columbia, Camden, Darlington, Cheraw, and Marion, SC. By 1867, Randolph created the Charleston Advocate as a resource for Freedmen. At the same time, he began to get back involved with the church.
Randolph in the Senate
In the 1867 senate of South Carolina, Black delegates dominated the state’s political scene, to the dismay of white supremacists and democrats. Many of these white supremacists supporting the racist ideologies of the South Carolina’s democrats had no wealth or land. According to the University of South Carolina School of Law, Randolph was elected both to the state senate by Orangeburg County and chair of the State Central Committee of the Republican Party by the party’s membership. As chairman of this committee, he actively represented the party across the state. When Randolph was elected into the senate, he authored laws granting white and Black men the right to vote regardless of their land ownership. He also created laws for public education
Political Weakness and Self-Destruction
In retrospect, Reconstruction was a bureaucratic disaster. The real
reason it failed to work in the south was largely contributed to racist
propaganda and extreme terror. The political ad above reveals the racial
tensions of the times. Democrats were interested in keeping white
supremacy at all cost. If it meant abandoning good legislation, they did
it. If it meant widening the economic chasm that existed after
Reconstruction, they allowed it to happen. In South Carolina, President
Rutherford B. Hayes ordered the removal of the Union Army from the state
on April 3, 1877. Hayes’ weak leadership led to the undoing of all the
good work Reconstruction Republicans accomplished. This “political
compromise” happened all across the south.
Randolph and His Legacy
Randolph traveled across the state to ramp up recruitment and support fellow Republicans. On Oct. 16, 1868, Randolph was changing trains when he was shot by three white men in Abbeville, South Carolina. In hearings held to investigate the violence, several witnesses identified William K. Talbert, John Wesley Talbert, and Joshua Logan as the gunmen. W.K. Talbert later testified to a congressional committee that he and the other two men were in fact the assassins. After Randolph was murdered, another Black politician, James Martin, was assassinated in just a matter of days.
The Black politicians in South Carolina were replaced with five years of rule by white Democrats. By 1880, voting was restricted and lynching and segregation ruined the idea that Black people could be treated as equal citizens in the United States.
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Courtesy: How Africa
Randolph and His Legacy
Randolph traveled across the state to ramp up recruitment and support fellow Republicans. On Oct. 16, 1868, Randolph was changing trains when he was shot by three white men in Abbeville, South Carolina. In hearings held to investigate the violence, several witnesses identified William K. Talbert, John Wesley Talbert, and Joshua Logan as the gunmen. W.K. Talbert later testified to a congressional committee that he and the other two men were in fact the assassins. After Randolph was murdered, another Black politician, James Martin, was assassinated in just a matter of days.
The Black politicians in South Carolina were replaced with five years of rule by white Democrats. By 1880, voting was restricted and lynching and segregation ruined the idea that Black people could be treated as equal citizens in the United States.
Leave your comment below and dont forget to share.
Courtesy: How Africa
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