Do It

CHAPTER 2The Burned

MEET LEWIS LATIMER

“How old are you, boy?” the Navy admiral aggressively asked young Lewis Latimer, while in line waiting to enroll for the Civil War.

“Eighteen years old, sir,” Lewis replied.

The truth was, Lewis was only 16. He was lying about his age so he could enroll in the Navy to help provide for his mother and siblings. He was the youngest of four children born to George and Rebecca Latimer, both of whom had escaped enslavement and fled to the North.

Lewis's father, who had once been a superhero to Lewis, was no longer around to provide for the family. He walked out years earlier when his family needed him the most. Even though no one knew of his exact whereabouts, Lewis was told his father ran away to escape being sent back to the South following the Dred Scott decision in 1857. But young Lewis couldn't decipher the difference; all he knew was that his father abandoned him.

Lewis's siblings pushed Lewis forward, against his will, pouring their hope into him. Lewis had a fatal flaw that would continue to rear its head and bite him: gullible trust. Throughout his childhood, Lewis always saw the best in people, wanting to believe he could depend on them. But every time he allowed himself to trust, he got burned. And the burns by his family left the deepest scars.

“Okay, boy, get on the ship. And I don't want a word out of you,” ordered the admiral. Lewis nodded his head and shuffled onto the ship where he would spend the next year at sea. “Why does ...