By Herb Frazier, Charleston City Paper | A portrait of a Black Reconstruction-era state senator and Civil War hero sat in a Statehouse closet for 13 years before finally being put on display Thursday in the Senate chamber without a public ceremony.
From the blood-soaked sands of Morris Island during the Union Army’s assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, Stephen Atkins Swails became the first black U.S. Army officer. Following the war, Swails gained prominence as a Williamsburg County businessman, newspaper editor and the first black man to serve as the Senate’s president pro tempore. He served in the state Senate from 1868 to 1878.
S.C. Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, this week told the Charleston City Paper that the portrait was hung in a private ceremony after the newspaper questioned where it was. Malloy said he spoke to Senate President Harvey S. Peeler, R-Cherokee, who he said “is a friend, and he is conscious of these issues.” He declined to detail his conversation with Peeler.
Meanwhile Thursday, the specter of race raised its head when S.C. Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, commented on Swails’ fair complexion. In an email with a “what’s up” emoji that she sent to Senate Clerk Jeffrey Gossett and all of the state’s senators, she wrote: “That sure is the whitest-looking black guy I’ve ever seen.”
In an interview today, Senn said she didn’t mean the comment as a slight to Swails, but she thought she was sent a picture of the wrong portrait.
“I think this whole thing got blown way out of proportion,” she said. “I didn’t ever, ever intend for any kind of slight to this man. I think some good is going to come out of this. More attention is going to be brought to his significant and extraordinary history. Nothing I said is derogatory toward him. The good news is even if it is going to be at my expense, this gentleman will get some overdue recognition.”
In an interview with the City Paper, Malloy said: “I have no words to respond to comments like that.”
- Read the full story in our sister publication, the Charleston City Paper.
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