In the third episode of our African American Passages podcast, John W. Kluge Center Distinguished Visiting Scholar and Georgetown University history professor Adam Rothman tells the story of Robert Pinn, Medal of Honor winner and sergeant in the 5th United States Colored Troops. Like many soldiers in the Civil War, Pinn lost the use of his right arm during battle. In 1866 he submitted an autobiographical essay to a left-handed penmanship contest organized by a newspaper editor to promote the cause of disabled veterans.
Rothman discusses Pinn’s life story and the double discrimination he faced as a disabled African American with Library of Congress Manuscript Division historian Michelle Krowl, and Civil War historian Chandra Manning.
Rothman will be discussing 19th century black lives at the Library of Congress today at 4pm with award-winning journalist and novelist Jesse J. Holland. Holland is the author of “Black Men Built The Capitol: Discovering African American History in and Around Washington, D.C.” as well as the first novel featuring comics’ most popular black superhero: “Black Panther: Who Is The Black Panther?” Get your free tickets and more information here.