Philip Reid Saves the Statue of Freedom

44 Pages·2013·6.087 MB·English

by  Steven Sellers Lapham,Eugene Walton,R Gregory Christie

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To William C. Allen, former architectural historian for the Architect of the Capitol in Washington, D.C.;
and to Eleanor Holmes Norton, delegate to the U.S. Congress for the District of Columbia.
—E.W.
To Loretta Carter Hanes, an advocate for educating children about Emancipation Day, April 16, 1862,
in the city of Washington, D.C.; and to John A. Stokes, a lifelong elementary school educator
and a young leader of the 1951 high school student strike in Prince Edward County, Virginia.
—S.S.L.
For Patricia “Tish” Curtis. Thank you, I could not have survived Georgia without you.
—R.G.C.
The authors would like to acknowledge the following:
Individuals
Felicia Bell, Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia
John Philip Colletta, Historian, Washington, D.C.
Leslie T. Fenwick, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
C. R. Gibbs, Historian of the African Diaspora, Washington, D.C.
Peter Hanes, Editor and Historian, Washington, D.C.
Michael Shapiro, Director, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
Carol Swann-Wright, Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia
David Taft Terry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Institutions (in Washington, D.C., unless otherwise stated)
Architect of the Capitol
California Foundry Museum, El Dorado Hills, California
Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
Howard University
Library of Congress
Middleton Place, Charleston, South Carolina
National Archives and Records Administration
National Council for the Social Studies, Silver Spring, Maryland
National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Museum of American History
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, Baltimore
United States Capitol Historical Society
United States Census Bureau
White House Historical Association
Text Copyright © 2014 Steven Sellers Lapham and Eugene Walton
Illustration Copyright © 2014 R. Gregory Christie
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner
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brief excerpts in critical reviews and articles. All inquiries should be addressed to:
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www.sleepingbearpress.com
Printed and bound in the United States.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data • Lapham, Steven Sellers, author. • Philip Reid saves the statue of freedom • Written by Steven Sellers Lapham
and Dr. Eugene Walton ; Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. • pages cm • ISBN 978-1-58536-819-8 • 1. Reid, Philip, approximately 1820---Anecdotes--Juvenile
literature. • 2. Crawford, Thomas, 1813 or 14-1857. Freedom--Anecdotes--Juvenile • literature. 3. Foundry workers--United States--Anecdotes--Juvenile • literature.
4. African Americans--Anecdotes--Juvenile literature. I. • Walton, Eugene, author. II. Christie, R. Gregory, 1971- illustrator. III. • Title. • E340.R45L37 2013 •
973’.0496073--dc23 • 2013002586
PHILIP REID
Saves the
STATUE of FREEDOM
Steven Sellers Lapham & Eugene Walton
Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
PUBLISHED BY SLEEPING BEAR PRESS
hilip learned how things

P
work from Jim, an old
man. Jim showed young
Philip how clay softens as you add
water and work it with your hands.
How wax and metal soften with heat.
How wood cuts more easily after it has
dried for a year in the sun.
Jim learned these things as a boy
in West Africa, where Yoruba artisans
were famous for their skill in casting
brass statuettes and fancy gold jewelry.
7
Jim was now enslaved in the United States. Philip
was born into American slavery before the Civil War.
Philip learned about people from his mother,
Betsy. One day, when he was ten years old, she said,
“We are enslaved. But even so, there is a moment
for speaking the truth.” Betsy also advised him,
“Be patient. On this Earth, all things change. One
day, slavery will end. Then you will be a free man.”