What Black Lives Matter Has to Do with the Movie "Glory"

On the anniversary of a famous Civil War battle we reflect on Black dignity

Join me TONIGHT (7/18) for a screening of “Awakening to Justice” a short documentary about interracial abolition. Panel discussion to follow.

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July 18 marks the anniversary of the battle at Battery Wagner in 1863 during the Civil War.

If the name of the battle doesn’t ring a bell, you’re probably familiar with the 1989 film “Glory” where the climactic scene depicted the dramatized battle at the battery.

The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was comprised of Black soldiers and their white commander, Colonel Robert G. Shaw.

About forty percent of the regiment died in the battle including Shaw. It was a bloody defeat for the Union, and it cost the lives of many Black troops.

What happened to the 54th Massachusetts regiment at Battery Wagner is tied to the sentiment behind the statement: Black lives matter.

During the Civil War racial prejudice prevailed, even among Union forces.

White people broadly doubted Black people’s ability to be good soldiers. They held myths that Black people would be cowardly in battle, that they were not intelligent enough to fight or lead, and that they were not true patriots.

As a result, Black people were not even allowed to join Union forces officially until the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863.

Even then, Black soldiers could only join the Union Army on a segregated basis and the War Department created the U.S. Colored Troops in May 1863 to oversee the new recruits.

Black soldiers could not command white soldiers. They were shuffled into segregated all-Black units with white commanders. They received less pay than their white counter parts. And they were often relegated to the most menial and backbreaking labor such a building fortifications and cooking food.

Black people had to not only fight for their freedom, they even had to fight for their right to fight.

The courage and even eagerness of many Black soldiers to engage in a futile assault on Battery Wagner was partly fueled by their desire to demonstrate their mettle as fighters and their worthiness to be full citizens.

After the battle, their exceptional bravery won Black soldiers some measure of respect.

The National Park Service notes,

The heroic efforts of the 54^th Regiment inspired the nation to begin mass recruitment and mobilization of Black soldiers. The 54^th paved the way for more than 180,000 Black men joining the United States forces, which ultimately helped turn the tide of the war.

But why should gaining basic civil and human rights as well as decency and respect require Black death?

The phrase Black lives matter came about after the acquittal in 2013 of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood vigilante who killed unarmed, Black teenager, Trayvon Martin the year before.

In response to the verdict, Alicia Garza, a Black activist and writer in Oakland, California, wrote a phrase on Facebook that would become a rallying cry for the modern Black freedom struggle—“Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.”

Her friend and fellow activist, Patrisse Cullors, responded to the post with the words,

“Declaration: black bodies will no longer be sacrificed for the rest of the world’s enlightenment. i am done. i am so done. trayvon, you are loved infinitely. #blacklivesmatter.”

Garza and Cullors understood that Trayvon Martin’s murder was a senseless tragedy that demonstrated the disposability of Black life in the United States.

Photo Credit: Robin Jonathan Deutsch

Many tried to use Martin’s unjust killing as a wake up call to a nation that had ignored the daily and deadly effects of anti-Black racism. His name became hashtag used “for the rest of the world’s enlightenment.”

But it shouldn’t take Black death to teach us to value Black lives.

The same principles were at play in the tragic loss of life among the Black soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts.

They fought harder and endured relentless hardship simply to prove they were equal to white people. It cost many of them their lives.

Black people have been laboring for people to recognize our basic humanity from the time of enslavement, through the Civil War, and up to the present day.

The time is long overdue to recognize that Black lives matter, and no more Black lives should be lost to make that point.

What incident or season really made you think about the value of Black lives and your role in promoting racial justice? Share in the comments.

I have a whole chapter on the Civil War in “The Spirit of Justice” and I go into much more detail about how Black troops were treated and how they resisted. Pre-order now!