Amerian Civil Rights Fighter & Activist, Daniel Smith, Dies at 90

Daniel Smith is recognized as on of the last son of enslaved Americans, Abram, and his second wife Clara.

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At age 90, activist Dan Smith passed away.

Dan Smith, an American civil rights fighter and the descendant of a former slave, passed away on Thursday at the age of 90, his wife told AFP. Loretta Neumann reported that he passed away on Wednesday night at a hospice facility in Washington. His son Rob and daughter April were standing by his side.

With Martin Luther King Jr., Smith marched on Washington and attended the inauguration of Barack Obama, the first Black president. Smith’s remarkable life story also included escaping the clutches of the Ku Klux Klan in the Deep South.

He also served as the last link to the nation’s worst episode because Smith was only one generation removed from slavery thanks to his father Abram, who was born in Virginia in 1863 and temporarily owned by a white man.

On March 11, 1932, Daniel Smith was born in Winsted, Connecticut, the fifth of Abram’s six children with his second wife Clara. He remembers getting out of bed and placing his ear to the door as his father enthralled his older children with the tales he had heard as a boy in an interview with AFP in 2020.

He described how two slaves who had attempted to flee were killed at the “hanging tree.” In the depth of winter, a slave owner made a tenant farmer lick a wagon wheel as his family looked on as punishment. When he was eventually permitted to rip it off, he had to leave some of his tongues behind since it had become frozen to the icy steel.

Interview with AFP

In an interview with AFP, Smith expressed his “petrification” at the prospect of then-President Donald Trump rolling back years of racial progress and urged people to embrace the Black Lives Matter movement. He recalled being the target of prejudice since a young age, but he nevertheless secretly dated some white students at his school, much to the horror of his mother, who feared the worst if their families learned.

He was drafted into the army after graduation and served in Korea as a doctor. Upon his return home, he saved a truck driver in 1955 by diving into a river that had been flooded by a hurricane. He paid for his own college tuition with the help of the military, and a group of students of various races voted him president of the student body.

He also went through a catastrophe during this time that would affect him for the rest of his life. When Smith, a summer camp counselor, led his young campers to explore an ancient reservoir, he heard the disturbance and saw that a girl had gotten too far out into the water and was lost.

Smith discovered a distinct pulse when she was eventually hauled ashore. But as he approached the white girl to start mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, he overheard a policeman exclaim, “She’s already dead!”Smith stopped when he understood the officer would prefer to see her die than have a Black guy help her.

Daniel Smith Age, Family, and Early Life 

Daniel Smith was 90 years old at the time of his passing. Smith, the fifth of Abram’s six children with his second wife Clara, was born on March 11, 1932, in Winsted, Connecticut.

In an interview with AFP in 2020, he recalled jumping out of bed and putting his ear to the door while his father charmed his older children with the tales he had heard as a boy.

Daniel Smith Career, What was his Profession?

He was drafted into the army after graduation and served in Korea as a doctor. Upon his return home, he saved a truck driver in 1955 by diving into a river that had been flooded by a hurricane.

He paid for his own college tuition with the help of the military, and a group of students of various races voted him president of the student body.

He also went through a catastrophe during this time that would affect him for the rest of his life.

In 1968, he moved to Washington, where he started working for the government and founded a national training program for family doctors that is still in operation today.

In the 1990s, Smith retired. At the Washington National Cathedral, where he worked as an usher, he got to know Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama.

Which school and college did she go to?

As the early life details of Daniel  Smith is very limited, unfortunately we aren’t able to find details on the high school he attended or the university he graduated from. He most probably was a well-educated man.

The only available information regarding his education background is he had to pay for his own tuition fees for college.

However, if we gain any further details on his education background we will surely update this article.

Daniel Smith Net Worth, How much does he earn?

The exact facts on the net worth and the earnings statistics of Daniel Smith are not available. We can assume he earned an amount enough for him to live a quality life with his family.

Also Read: Former Kentucky Court of Appeals judge, Tom Emberton, dies at 90

Daniel Smith Wife, What is his relationship?

Daniel Smith was a married man. He had a family of his own with his wife Loretta Neuman and the family had 2 children named, Rob and April.

Is he available on any social media platforms?

Daniel Smith no longer is active on any social media platforms.

FAQs about Daniel Smith.

Physical Appearance of Daniel Smith’s Height, Weight

Interesting facts about Daniel Smith’s which should be known