top of page

The Small and the Mighty

Dan Connors

The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement


“America has been just, and it has perpetuated injustice. We have been peaceful, and we have perpetrated acts of violence. We have been—and are—good. And we have done terrible things to people who didn’t deserve them. It has been the land of the free while simultaneously sanctioning oppression. Such is often the experience of any government run by fallible human beings. Sometimes we surprise ourselves in our capacity for greatness, and sometimes the weight of regret wraps around us like a chain.” Sharon McMahon


“History is made up of fragments and absences. What is left out is as significant as what is included.” Walter Benjamin


Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

Christopher Columbus discovered America

Abner Doubleday invented baseball.

History books are mostly accurate.


Wrong! All of these have been proven wrong. As hard as it is to get accurate information about what is going on in the present, it's even harder when you try to study history. The problem with history is that it is immense and complex, and humans like tidy little stories with good guys and bad guys. We prefer to leave out 99% of what happened in the past, partially because it conflicts with preferred narratives, and partially because keeping that many historical records of that many people is nearly impossible.


Writer Sharon McMahon has tried to delve into American history to elevate little-known people who made a big difference in her book The Small and the Mighty. McMahon is a writer, historian, and podcast host who's earned the nickname "America's Government Teacher." She has made it her mission to combat misinformation, and has attracted over a million followers that she fondly calls "Governerds."


While history classes talk about American presidents and the world leaders, this book dives deeper into the lives of more obscure people like Clara Brown, Katherine Lee Bates, and Inez Mulholland. The book details stories of these more obscure people and how each of them made a huge, lasting impact in life. Most of the stories revolve around education and racism, where misinformation is very common due to the nature of what happened.


One of the stories that struck me was the one about Claudette Colvin. Colvin was 15 when she was jailed for refusing to move from her seat of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This occurred in March of 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks became famous for refusing to do the same thing.


Even worse, Colvin was already seated in the negro only section of the bus, but because the white section was full, an entitled white woman demanded that she get to sit down while an entire row of black people had to move. Colvin was the only one who refused to move. The bus driver had to drag her out of the bus. She was arrested and shunned by some in her community for stirring things up. This was the first ever instance that someone had stood up to this law in Montgomery.


Rosa Parks, on the other hand was 42 when she did her defiant act in December of 1955. She had already been active in civil rights protests and had just attended a meeting on the brutal slaying of Emmett Till in Mississippi just a few days earlier. Parks was connected with local NAACP leaders and her trial led to the successful Montgomery bus boycott.


So why did Parks become famous why Colvin remained obscure? Objectively, as a teenager and being the first to act, Colvin's acts were much more risky and impactful. But it was decided that Parks would make a better symbol for the struggle because she "fit the part". Colvin was a dark-skinned teen, and Parks was a lighter-skinned adult that they thought would be a better symbol of the struggle. Colvin has since moved to New York city and remains alive and obscure while Parks has had several statues of her made, including one in the nation's capital.


It's history lessons like this that make me realize just how little I know and understand about historical events. There are so many stories that never get told. And there is also a vested interest in people telling and hearing stories that confirm their pre-existing biases. Books like this show that not all heroes make it into the history books, but still the bravery of the small and the mighty can make huge differences that we remain blissfully unaware of.



8 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


©2019 by Dan Connors. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page