Before Becoming A Martyr for Freedom, He Freed Himself

illustration of crispus attucks
Adé Hennis
June 25, 2024

At 6 feet 2 inches with a stocky build, Crispus Attucks was a hard man to miss.  And as someone who had just escaped enslavement in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1750, his name and description were posted everywhere. So the 27-year-old set his sights on the ocean, hoping to be just one of the 20,000 Black seamen on American vessels.

Attucks worked as a crew member on whaling ships, a dockworker, and a rope maker. Equipped with a small boat, harpoon, and a fake name of Michael Johnson, he was great at any job he took on and especially at avoiding detection.

Still, Attucks was never completely safe.  In addition to the constant fear of recapture, Attucks had to worry about being forcibly conscripted into the British Navy. He also had to compete for work when underpaid British soldiers sought to supplement their wages.

On March 5, 1770, Crispus Attucks was killed in the Boston Massacre, counted as the first to die for the freedom of the U.S. from Britain. But over his lifetime, he evaded recapture and re-enslavement for more than 20 years.

Attucks’ resourcefulness and spirit of resistance demonstrate that we don’t need to wait for our liberation. As we resist, remember we have always been able to make a way out of no way.

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