Daniel R. Smith

Quick Facts

Significance:

US Army Medic and was the last person alive in the US born to an enslaved person

Place of Birth:

Winsted, Connecticut

Date of Birth:

March 11, 1932

Place of Death:

Washington, DC

Date of Death:

October 19, 2022

Daniel Robert Smith was born on March 11, 1932, in Winsted, Connecticut. He was the fifth of six children to Abram B. and Clara Smith. Abram Smith worked as a janitor at a local clock factory at the time.

During the 1930s Daniel Smith grew up listening to stories from his father. These stories were meant for his older brothers and sisters. They were stories of Abram Smith’s time enslaved in Virginia. Abram Smith was born enslaved during the Civil War in Virginia. He held onto the memories of the degradation and inhumane treatment of slavery. These were brutally vivid stories of bondage that included the lynching tree and whipping post. Smith recalled “My father cried as he told us these things.”

Abram Smith died at the age of 76 due to a car accident. Due to his father’s stories Daniel Smith developed a fierce pride and resilience that carried him through his life. He was always fiercely proud to be Abram B. Smith’s son. While growing up Smith had a growing love of animals. One of his early jobs was at a veterinary clinic. Because of this experience he began training dogs and even competed at the Westminster Kennel Club dog shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

When he enlisted in the Army he initially wanted to serve in the Army’s K-9 Corps. Due to segregation of the military at the time he was not permitted due to the color of his skin. He instead worked as an Army medic at a military hospital in Korea during the Korean War. After his time in the Army, he returned to his hometown of Winsted in 1955. He worked at a camp for the local YMCA.

In 1960 Smith graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts and worked in psychiatric social work before attending Tuskegee Institute’s veterinary school in Alabama. While in Alabama he decided he could contribute more by being a civil rights activist than a veterinarian. In 1963, he led an antipoverty program in Lowndes County, Alabama. The local church office he used for this program was burned to the ground. He persevered.

On 28 August 1963, Smith along with more than 200,000 demonstrators took part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in the nation’s capital. This was highlighted by the participation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. During this march Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The march was successful in pressuring the government to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in Congress.

On March 7, 1965, Daniel Smith marched with other civil rights leaders across the Edmund Pettis Bridge on what became known as ‘Bloody Sunday’. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate their desire to vote and highlight racial injustice. 

In 1968, Smith moved to the Washington DC area where he worked for federal agencies including the Health Resources and Services Administration. He ran a program called “Area Health Education Centers.” They were working to improve health care in underserved communities across the country. Due to this work he traveled to South African during apartheid. During his trip he met Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an anti-apartheid and human rights activist.

After he retired in 1994, Mr. Smith volunteered at Washington National Cathedral, where he escorted presidents including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush while serving as head usher. Shortly before his death he finished his memoir “Son of a Slave: A Black Man’s Journey in White America.”

Daniel R. Smith died on October 19, 2022, in Washington DC at the age of 90. Smith knew he was one of the last children born to an enslaved person in the U.S. He carried this pride with him wherever he went. When asked about his place in history Smith modestly said, “Quite frankly, I’ve just grown up and been busy, and I’ve never thought much about it.”