South Carolina is preparing to put up its first individual statue for an African American on its Statehouse lawn, honoring a man who put on Confederate clothes in order to steal a slaveholder’s ship and sail his family and a dozen others to freedom during the Civil War.

South Carolina is preparing to honor Robert Smalls, a former slave who became a prominent political leader, by erecting the first statue of an individual African American on its Statehouse lawn. Smalls, famous for his daring escape during the Civil War, will be recognized for his broader contributions to racial equality and education.

Robert Smalls escaped slavery by stealing a slaveowner's ship and later became a South Carolina political leader, championing equal rights and literacy.

South Carolina is preparing to put up the first individual statue of an African American on its Statehouse lawn