Attucks, Crispus

ATTUCKS, CRISPUS (c. 1723–5 March 1770), an American whaler, sailor, and dockworker of African and Native American (Wampanoag) descent, generally known as the first martyr in the Boston Massacre and thus the first American killed in the Revolution. In major sources such as the Pennsylvania Gazette, Attucks was described not as “Black” nor as a “Negro,” but as a “Multattoe man.” Given his heroic role in American history, Attucks has become an icon of anti-slavery and abolitionist movements. Nineteenth-century Black Americans, in particular, sought a notable past in which to incorporate their distinctive history and heritage with an uncompromising claim to full American citizenship. By 1850, the name began to play a significant role in Black affirmations of Americanness. Since that time, American schoolchildren have generally encountered the name fairly early in their introduction to the American Revolution, its heroes, and its myths. And Attucks’ death on March 5, 1770, has come to signify African American patriotism, military service, sacrifice, and citizenship. Crispus Attucks has ultimately become lionized as a Black patriot and founder, not only devoted to the cause of liberty but a hero willing to sacrifice his life while protecting the nation from external threats. The production of a heroic Crispus Attucks attests to the power of collective memory and the importance of asking who and what is remembered and how, as well as who and what is forgotten and why.