The Capitol Insurrection Revived The Story Of A Legendary Abolitionist

By Steve Kraske,

Published January 19, 2021 at 6:25 PM CST

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Imacon Color Scanner — On January 6, 2021 a pro-Trump rioter carried a Confederate flag past this portrait of U.S. Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts that hangs in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

The namesake of Sumner Academy in Kansas City, Kansas, was almost killed on the U.S. Senate floor for his "Crime Against Kansas" speech in 1856. Now, a photo from the insurrection this month has people remembering U.S. Sen. Charles Sumner's story.

I'm sure by now many of you have seen this photo captured by Mike Theiler of Reuters, but many of my fellow Kansans may not know that we have a special connection to this breathtaking image. pic.twitter.com/g1Q3eVAhDZ
— GrantMayfield (@G_T_Mayfield) January 9, 2021

The irony of a Confederate flag being carried past one of the most ferocious abolitionists to serve in the U.S. Senate was not lost on those who recognized the subject of the portrait. Sumner served during a period of partisanship in the Congress that can be compared to the atmosphere in the nation's capital today.

Manisha Sinha, professor at the University of Connecticut and historian of slavery, abolition, the Civil War and Reconstruction
Grant Mayfield, Johnson County resident and progressive organizer