TAMPA, Fla. — Over the next month, we will be highlighting the impact African Americans have had on the Tampa Bay area. You’ll hear about historical Black figures and places that helped to make the area what it is today.
Fred Hearns, a historian with the Tampa History Center, highlights the Black Union soldiers that freed Tampa’s enslaved black population on May 6, 1864.
“Some 36 Black Union soldiers – primarily from Maryland – came to Tampa along with the Union Army and the Union Navy to liberate the town,” said Hearns.
He said at least 100 enslaved Blacks lived in Tampa at the time.
“That was the day they got their freedom,” Hearns continued. “It was truly the day jubilee for those Black people who had known slavery – many of them – from birth.”
He said the Black people who were living here at that time had never seen Blacks in uniform, carrying guns with the authority of the federal government.
“And, so, of course, they were elated. They were excited. Many of them probably could not believe their eyes when they were told that you’re free, and some of the men who liberated them were Black men, Black soldiers,” Hearns explained.
Hearns said many of those formally enslaved African Americans went to look for family members who had been sold off. For many of them, seeing Black soldiers for the very first time was empowering.
This event isn’t just Black History; it’s Tampa Bay History.
