He was a freed slave and the first man to die at the Boston Massacre. It can be argued that he was the first man to give his life in the Revolutionary War. I’d support that. More Americans need to know their history.
My point was that he wasn’t the first to die. Half a dozen others died at the same time. He certainly deserves to be honored, but not any more than the others who died that day—yet their names don’t make the history books. Pointing out that one of the first to die was a black freedman is fine. Making him out to be the first to die is just wrong.
Did you know that the British put the soldiers on trial for the shooting? Did you know that John Adams was their defense attorney and got them acquitted (except for two who were given ‘benefit of clergy’ and branded on the thumb).
As for changing a name that has been a part of our history for over 200 years; that’s absurd.