The African Called Carr

In April 1866, Charles Carr entered the Freedman’s Savings and Trust in Savannah, Georgia, to open an account. With the help of an agent, he completed the commonly asked questions on the application. His answers were most intriguing, and, in at least one regard, perhaps like none other. According to Carr, he was born in the Congo and, like his father and sister, arrived in the United States aboard the slave ship Wanderer—a vessel that illegally transported more than four-hundred Africans to America in 1858, in full defiance of federal laws.

The African Called Carr tells Charles Carr’s story—a sojourn filled with passion, disappointments, setbacks, and determination. Through documents held in the National Archives, Thomas discovers Carr and his community and reveals his account of the Middle Passage, the wisdom and courage of women in his free community, and the pride in the voices of hard-working Black men free from the yoke of bondage. Thomas traces Carr and his descendants as they walk a lonesome path, butting against a system that refuses to yield. In many ways, Carr’s story is the story of being Black in America, and serves as a reminder to today’s African American community of the victories of the past and battles yet to be won.