Charlie Smith, The Last Former Black Slave to Die

On October 2, 1979 the last former black slave, Charlie Smith died. He claimed to be America's only living former black slave and he lived to an unbelievable age of 137 years old. Smith stated that he had been born in Liberia in 1842 and kidnapped to the United States at age 12 and sold into slavery in Louisiana to a Texas rancher. His mind remained lucid on his personal life, slavery, and black history until his death.