Humor as resistance

Interlude

Photo by Alex Alvarez on Unsplash

Authoritarians, oppressors, enslavers, dictators. They don’t like to be made fun of. And they’ll use their power to silence those who do. We’ve seen this recently. Whatever you think of the late night television hosts who recently lost their jobs, this is part of their job description. At least it should be. Regardless, Colbert and Kimmel have nothing on Thomas Smallwood.

Smallwood was born into slavery in Maryland, but secured his freedom at age 30 and became a shoemaker. As chronicled in the book Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery’s Borderland, Smallwood, along with a young white northerner named Charles Torrey, began organizing slave escapes in and around Baltimore and Washington D.C. Torrey, a white abolitionist who actually participated in the process of liberation (as opposed to just funding or supporting) and Smallwood worked together to plan escapes from this dangerous slave-holding region. While it may be true that the conditions of slavery in the Upper South weren’t as severe as they were in the Deep South, the “cotton boom” meant that because of the demand for labor many enslavers were selling their “property” further south—which often meant eliminating opportunities for freedom. So enslaved folks in this area faced a certain desperation: to get out while they were still within striking distance of the Mason-Dixon line.

When Torrey returned north to Albany, NY, Smallwood continued the operation on his own. And Torrey began to share Smallwood’s reports of the escapes in the local abolitionist newspaper. These “reports” (signed under a pseudonym) were mocking satires directed at enslavers—copies of which were sent to the enslaver mentioned! He would respond to runway notices with his own explanations of what happened. In response to a reward notice written by enslaver Thomas A. Scott, Smallwood writes in part:

“Pretty accurate description Mr. Scott! only quite exact as to the clothing—Poor fellow, he couldn’t take all the clothing you speak of, from his haste! I half suspect you to describe so much clothing merely to give northern people the idea that you clothed him well, when you know that he had to buy for himself, and that it was your cruelty to him, that made him disappear by that same ‘under ground rail-road’¹ or steam balloon, about which one of your city constables was swearing so bitterly a few weeks ago when complaining, that the ‘d—d rascals’ got off so, and that no trace of them could be found! Very true! … By the way! Just to show you how great fools your constables are, I will add for your instruction and consolation, that Mr. Hawkins was one evening, some time after he fled, in Dr. Hall’s room in the medical college, standing behind the door, when the puppies wanted to come in, but couldn’t ‘cause the ‘Doctor didn’t allow folks to come into his room when he wasn’t there.’ Narrow escape, wasn’t it! The way Henry laughed when he told it, showed his want of teeth about which your advertisement speaks, and for which such a humane man as you ought to be able to account in a man so young, or will be grievously suspected of knocking them out.”—(p. 279-280)

In another response—this time to a Martha D. Allen, Smallwood makes it clear he knows where she lives, and also calls out her description of her escaped “property,” suggesting a “secret” paternity:

“Mrs. Allen! Mrs. Martha D. Allen, corner of 11th and L streets, I’m ashamed of you! ‘HENRY CLAY’ run off, and you only offer five dollars for him! Oh! I see; it is the young one! Allow me to note a few points in your very entertaining advertisement. 1. ‘Negro.’ Why you say he is of ‘a light copper color’! Had you said ‘nearly white, long face, high narrow forehead,’ it would have suited quite well.' 2. Will you tell us why he is ‘commonly called Henry Clay,’ of all the Henry’s in the world? Is it from the general understanding about his FRATERNITY? How does the idea correspond with the ‘tolerably straight black hair,’ and the other features of resemblance to his namesake! Why, exactly! But remember madam, I advise you to drop no hints on this subject, as it might hurt Mr. Clay’s political prospects, and would the feelings of his ‘whig abolition' friends, if you are not very careful what you say.”—(p. 280)

These are just a couple of the dozens of scathing responses to enslavers written by Smallwood in Albany newspapers. The fact that he knew so much about the escapees and their situations must have annoyed and even terrified the enslavers. They must have felt that they were being watched.

It may be a unique way to fight injustice and oppression—some might even say trivial. The important part, after all, was that enslaved people escaped their oppression. Why bother with the rest? And that’s absolutely true. The important part is the liberation of the oppressed. But shaming and mocking the enslavers may have helped Smallwood get through those times. I can’t imagine the cruelty he would have seen while sneaking around a society dependent on forced labor. And the amount of his own labor that went into planning and assisting escapes would have been exhausting. Maybe he just needed to laugh a little. Maybe in another life he would have been a comedian and he was living out that dream in the only way he could. Maybe he thought mocking and shaming enslavers by revealing the autonomy and humanity of those they enslaved would change their hearts and minds. Although, in another newspaper piece he seems to imply that doesn’t seem to be the case:

“My information from the capital warrants me in saying that my comments on the two legged property converted into humanity, greatly disturbed those gentle loving spirts, ycleped slave holders. Somehow, these modern metamorphoses, more strange than any that Ovid ever knew or sung, become more and more frequent every day. I cut from a single number of the National Intelligencer, (which is the slave trader’s and man-hunters’ principle advertising sheet in that region,) a whole column of notices of walking property walked off!”—(p. 181)

So even if his humor had little affect on those who held their fellow humans in bondage, perhaps it at least brought some joy to the enslaved who, once free, were able to read Smallwood’s words. It was a reminder to them that they were human—regardless of what their former enslavers thought.

Torrey eventually rejoined Smallwood in the South for one last escape mission. It failed, and both narrowly escaped. Authorities were beginning to figure out their identities, so Smallwood decided to give up his side-job and move with his family to Canada where he lived until his death of old age. Torrey continued helping the enslaved escape for a short while longer, but was captured and died in prison in Baltimore at age 32. The two had helped hundreds escape slavery, with Smallwood doing much of the “on-the-ground” work and planning.

I know there are limits to humor. It’s possible to go to far. But sometimes we just need to laugh at all the ridiculousness. Especially now. And even if it serves no other purpose than to remind ourselves that we’re human.

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1. This is the first time the term “underground railroad” is used!