Benjamin Singleton

Activist

• Born: 1809
• Birthplace: Davidson County, Tennessee
• Died: 1892
• Place of death: St. Louis, Missouri

A former slave, Singleton became an activist and social reformer on behalf of African Americans before, during, and after the Civil War. His efforts inspired countless former slaves to leave the South to forge their own communities, commerce, and independence.

Early Life

Benjamin Singleton was born in 1809 in Davidson County near Nashville, Tennessee. He was born into slavery to a white father and an enslaved black mother. As a young boy, Singleton was trained as a carpenter but was never formally taught to read or write. Throughout his early years, he made several attempts to run away but was unsuccessful until 1846. He initially made his way north via the Underground Railroad to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, where he lived for a year before relocating to Detroit, Michigan. In Detroit, he worked odd jobs to support his efforts to help other escaped slaves find their way to Canada, including operating a secret boardinghouse for fleeing slaves.

Once the Civil War began, Singleton left Detroit and returned to Nashville, which was under Union Army occupation by 1862. During this time, Singleton lived in a Union camp for fugitive slaves along the riverbank in the town of Edgefield, Tennessee. To support himself, he built and sold cabinets and coffins to the locals. While promoting his work, Singleton began to preach to the hundreds of former slaves about relocating to the West to start new lives. His message struck a chord, especially for many who dreamed of owning land.

At the conclusion of the Civil War, Singleton along with thousands of freed slaves realized that the racial climate in the South had not truly changed; in some regards, racial violence and political corruption became even more common. In 1869, angered by broken political promises, Singleton joined forces with Columbus M. Johnson, an African American minister from Sumner County who realized that black social and economic change could only occur through relocation and separation from the South.

Life’s Work

In 1874, Singleton and Johnson founded the Edgefield Real Estate Association with the goal of helping African Americans obtain land near Nashville. However, white landowners were unwilling to bargain with freed slaves. In 1875, Singleton began to explore the idea of creating all-black colonies in the West. His real estate group held rallies in African American communities, raised funds by charging for gatherings, and published newsletters to publicize a proposed black migration. Because Kansas had become famous for the abolitionist efforts of John Brown, Singleton believed the state could be ideal for an all-black colony. Thus, in 1876, Singleton and Johnson traveled to Cherokee County, Kansas, to scout potential sites. Hopeful about securing land, Singleton returned to Nashville and began recruiting settlers.

Viewing Kansas as the biblical Canaan and himself as a “Black Moses,” in the summer of 1877, Singleton led a few dozen freed slaves to Cherokee County. However, upon their arrival, the freedmen could not afford the land because of the discovery there of lead. Singleton immediately began looking for government land, which his settlers could purchase. He eventually located property on the former Kaw Indian Reservation near the town of Dunlap, Kansas, an area that became known as the Dunlap Colony.

Between 1879 and 1881, a “Great Exodus” of more than fifty thousand freed slaves known as “Exodusters” migrated from the South to escape poverty, racism, and violence. Besides Kansas, they also migrated to Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. Many who came after Singleton had no direct connection with his organized movement; however, without the pioneering efforts of Singleton, this larger exodus might never have occurred. Many whites in Kansas were outraged by the migration of African Americans to their state, and Singleton was asked to testify in front of the U.S. Senate regarding his involvement in the mass exodus. In 1880, Singleton testified that the continued oppression of African Americans by southern politicians had motivated the migration.

Singleton returned to Kansas as a nationally acclaimed spokesman for freed slaves. However, the arrival of so many poor African Americans placed a major financial burden on his Dunlap Colony and by late 1880, the Presbyterian Church had taken control of the settlement. Soon after, Singleton cut all ties with his colony. Singleton died in 1892 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Significance

A former slave himself, Singleton became a prominent abolitionist, community leader, and spokesman for African American civil rights. Singleton believed that African Americans would never achieve full economic and social equality in the white-controlled South. After the Civil War, he organized and inspired the movement of thousands of former slaves to all-black settlements in Kansas and throughout the Midwest. His pioneering efforts altered the course of African American history.

Bibliography

Athearn, Robert G. In Search of Canaan: Black Migration to Kansas, 1879-80. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas, 1978. This text provides a complete historical overview of the Great Exodus of former slaves to Dunlap County, Kansas. Index.

Entz, Gary R. “Benjamin ’Pap’ Singleton: Father of the Kansas Exodus.” In Portraits of African American Life Since 1865, edited by Nina Mjagkij. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 2003. This edited volume offers a comprehensive look at the life and work of Singleton, including a chronicle of his early life.

Hickey, Joseph V. “’Pap’ Singleton’s Dunlap Colony: Relief Agencies and the Failure of a Black Settlement in Eastern Kansas.” In African Americans on the Great Plains: An Anthology, edited by Bruce A. Glasrud and Charles A. Braithwaite. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009. Detailed history of Singleton’s resettlement efforts, the Great Exodus, and the development and decline of the Dunlap Colony.

Painter, Nell Irvin. Exodusters: Black Migration to Kansas After Reconstruction. New York: W. W. Norton, 1992. Chronicles Singleton’s efforts that inspired the mass migration of thousands of former slaves to the Midwest.