No Caricatures and Stereotypes Allowed

By W. F. Twyman, Jr.

Before my story this evening, I read a disturbing tale of suppression of speech. The perpetrator was Ted Talk. Or, more precisely, some black affinity group of racialized employees emboldened by someone named Adam Grant out of the Wharton School. So annoying. Ted Talk is supposed to be sharing new, fresh ideas, creative ways of being in the world. Alas, some open-minded “black folks” at Ted found Coleman Hughes’s talk about the virtues of colorblindness disturbing, “racist,” “dangerous and irresponsible.” Did you notice the slogan word racist right out of the gate? As for Adam Grant, what does he know about black culture and consciousness?

Seriously, as I will not refer to Grant’s race as I don’t do caricatures and stereotypes. But still…. I am pretty sure the estimable Adam Grant, arbiter on skin color and Blackness and colorblindness, did not grow up in the AME church like I did, live in an all-black world until the age of eight as I did, did not become Black reading Black Enterprise like I did at Grandma’s home. Maybe, the esteemed Wharton School professor with book learning about black people should worship in a black church or live in a black home or attend a segregated all-black school before having his work suppress the voice of a leading black intellectual.

I was annoyed that a professor alien to the lived experience of black culture and consciousness would dilute a gifted, young black intellectual. I gather Adam Grant wanted more cow bell, I mean, more slogan words like Oppression and Systemic Racism in Coleman’s Ted Talk. My mouth dropped as I read about the cancel culture lite.

Why Is TED Scared of Color Blindness?

I am an unabashed fan of Coleman Hughes. He is the way of the future, not the dogma of the past.

My readers will never get caricatures and stereotypes from me. If there are over 40 million black Americans, there are over 40 million different life stories, perspectives and experiences. I will never impose dogma on people due to race. Nor will I view people as avatars for a racial group. We are all individuals, dang it. Professor Adam Grant could learn much from me and my way in life. So could the black folks in the safe space at Ted Talk.

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Having read about Coleman’s difficulties, I am well-primed to share a story that goes against all caricatures and stereotypes. Thanks Coleman, Ted Talk sloganeers, and the estimable Professor Grant who knows more than I do about race and Blackness and colorblindness/sigh.

Tonight, welcome to a dashing figure from the Louisiana past. I pride myself on my knowledge of Black History but I only discovered this character last summer while on vacation in Hawaii. I was captivated by his life story. I hope you will be too.

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Remember the young, upstart Governor Henry C. Warmouth from last night? Well, Warmouth’s political career was boxed in and influenced by the three most powerful black politicians in the state. The first thorn in Governor Warmouth’s side was Lieutenant-Governor P.B.S. Pinchback. The second irritant was Lieutenant-Governor Oscar Dunn who was possibly poisoned at a state dinner and died in office. The Wild, Wild South! The third was a black man unknown to me until I turned to page 331 of Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution 1863 - 1877 by Eric Foner.

The unsung presence in Louisiana was the one-of-a-kind Francis E. Dumas. Dumas does not fit the narrative, and I love it!

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Born in France, Dumas’ father was white and mother was a quadroon or 1/4 black. Dumas became one of the largest slave owners in Louisiana from inheritance of a sugar plantation. So often in the public square, blacks who owned slaves are ignored and dismissed. Well, one can close their eyes to history but it is what it is. There is more to American history than the 1619 Project but I state the obvious.

(Some may know my in-laws are the descendants of four generations of free black slave owners in Charleston, South Carolina. Slaves were owned in this free black family from 1790 to 1865. The names of the slave owners were Mitchell, two generations of Holloways, and Shrewsbury. Slaves were also owned on the white side of the family but white ownership of slaves doesn’t counter the narrative. And I feel like taking apart the narrative this evening/smile.)

Dumas treated his slaves well. Id. at p. 332. During the Civil War, he served as a Union officer under General Butler F. Butler. Dumas urged his slaves to enlist as well. Dumas valued defeat of the Confederacy more than ownership of over 100 slaves. He freed his slaves.

After the Civil War was over, Dumas threw himself into Republican politics. He aimed for the very top out of the gate. He would run for Governor!

Ambitious as befitting a man of wealth, Dumas at the state convention came up hard against a young white man, Warmouth. Who would win?

Many freedmen could not forget that Dumas had owned slaves. And who can blame them? Pinchback, a wheeler-dealer type, saw an opportunity. Warmouth needed a block of votes and Pinchback controlled a fair number of free black voters. Pinchback sized up the situation, the lingering resentment against the former slave owner Dumas, and threw his support behind Warmouth.

When the first ballot votes were counted, Dumas led in the count by a slim margin.

Warmouth needed every vote he could get. Arguably, Pinchback’s support put Warmouth over the top on the second ballot. Warmouth was selected as the Republican nominee for Governor. In return, Pinchback now expected payback from Warmouth, should the 26-year-old be elected Governor in the general election. As he was.

What’s that phrase…The Wild, Wild South.

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A switch of a few votes at the Republican nominating convention and Dumas would have become the Republican nominee for Governor. If so, Dumas stood a great chance of becoming the first black Governor in American history. As events played out, Pinchback would become the first black Governor.

As for Dumas, he lived a long life for the time period and outlaw nature of the times.

I suspect Dumas lost his love for politics and public service after the rise of his opponents Warmouth and Pinchback. Dumas was nominated for Secretary of State of Louisiana but he withdrew from consideration before the general election. On April 21, 1869, President Grant appointed Dumas Minister Resident/Counsel to Liberia. Dumas declined the appointment.

How should we remember Dumas?

On the surface, Dumas could live a comfortable and accomplished life. He was worth a quarter of a million dollars in 1860. That comes out to around $9.24 million dollars in today’s currency. He spoke five languages, including French and Spanish. Dumas had the resources, and fluency, to live a global lifestyle. He had already made his mark in history, becoming the highest ranking black officer in U.S. History as a major in the 2nd Louisiana Native Guards.

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Conclusion: The life of Dumas runs counter to type. Was he black or a trans racial between black and white in Louisiana? If we adopt the one-drop rule prevalent during Dumas’s place and time, then Dumas was a black man. Does it matter that he was native to France? And, if so, how does it matter to his identity? Should we perceive Dumas as a Black immigrant, a French immigrant, both or neither? Was he essentially Native to America since he grew up on his family’s sugar plantation in Louisiana?

How do we reconcile black identity in 1860 with ownership of over 100 slaves? Did slave ownership inform Dumas’ sense of self? And, if so, how so? Dumas was a man of means. He may well have been one of the wealthiest black men in America in 1860. How does great wealth in the antebellum South influence Dumas’ sense of self?

Did it matter that Dumas bore faint physical traits of his African heritage? You decide, dear reader, and as you consider my questions, remember this. There was only one Francis E. Dumas in this world. There was only one P.B.S. Pinchback in this world. Every black person in this world can say the same — There Is Only One Me!

http://www.frenchcreoles.com/CreoleCulture/famouscreoles/francis%20e%20dumas/dumas.jpg

Major Francis E. Dumas 2nd Louisiana Native Guards