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May 12^th, 1862. Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston Harbor.

"The Twister must be trying to stop Congressman Robert Smalls from speaking!" Miss Barbara exclaimed through the magnifying glass to her History Detectives. "You're right- don't come back to headquarters. Go stop The Twister! I'm sending the Time Coordinates now- July 15th, 1876, Washington, D.C., U.S. Capitol!"

"Thanks!" 12-year old Hope and 12-year-old Abraham said at the same time. Abraham brought out his magnifying glass. Hope took ahold of her 8-year-old sister Imani's hand. Prince, Hope's dog, barked as he had one paw on a magnifying glass- Imani's eyes grew wide as she looked at him.

"Take us to the time coordinates!" Abraham and Hope said.

As Robert Smalls drove away with the CSS Planter ship out of Charleston Harbor in 1862, a blue and gold light transported the kids - and Prince- to 1876.

They had just had a showdown with The Twister, a shape-shifting villain who twisted time to impede progress. After being foiled by the History Detectives, he time travelled to July 15th, 1876, Washington, D.C., U.S. Capitol. They knew where he had time travelled to because he had to say it out loud for his time travel to work.

***

July 15th, 1876, Washington, D.C., U.S. Capitol

Imani opened her eyes. She wasn't really a History Detective- but came on missions with her older sister and Abraham, and the dog - who were History Detectives. She had landed in Philadelphia in 1776, then on a boat, and now she looked around to see where she had ended up this time. They were in a big building this time.

Without waiting, her sister pulled her through the halls, until they stopped suddenly. As Prince growled, Imani looked. It was an older White woman. She had a scar on her right cheek. The woman wore a black hat and long black coat. Something about the woman made Imani's heart beat faster. Imani didn't know why Prince would be barking, even though the woman looked strange, like a ghost.

"You're too late!" The woman said, her voice echoed a bit in a strange way. The woman smiled evilly, and then ran off down the hall.

Hope stopped Abraham from running after the woman. "Abraham- look!"

Before them was an older looking version of the Black man they had just met back at Charleston Harbor. He was on the ground, coughing. An empty glass was on the floor beside him.

It was Robert Smalls. Years later after he stole a ship from the Confederacy and delivered it to the Union during the United States Civil War, he was now one of the first Black congressman. His eyes widened.

It had been 14 years since he had seen a strange White man appear, and then these exact kids come from a portal and battle him, somehow knowing of his plan to steal the ship. No one else had seen them, and he'd never told anyone. The kids looked like they hadn't aged a day! He had almost thought it had all been a dream. He tried to speak, but held his throat as he could not speak clearly.

He pointed at the glass on the ground, remembering these mysterious kids had helped him last time. Today was not the day to lose his voice- these kids must know this. They had known he was going to steal the ship 14 years ago. They must know that his fellow Congressman Joshua Rainey was going to help ensure the voices of 25 recently killed people would be heard. Joshua Rainey was a powerful voice in Congress. In 1875 he successfully passed a resolution to abolish the Committee on Freedmen's Affairs, stating that the four million people who were now free and no longer enslaved should no longer be treated as enslaved, but as American citizens who deserved a voice in Congress. Despite people trying to silence him, he also secured One Million Dollars from the federal government to ensure voting crimes were prosecuted and elections were fair. Many people didn't want Black people to vote, and Rainey insisted that the Constitution of the United States was designed to provide "protection to the humblest citizen, without regard to rank, creed, or color."

And today, that same Congressman Joseph Rainey, the first African-American lawmaker directly elected by voters to take his seat in Congress, was going to help force the Congress to hear Congressman Robert Smalls' voice.

Robert knew how to use his voice too. While serving in the South Carolina state legislature, Robert Smalls wrote and helped pass a bill making South Carolina the first state to offer free and required public schooling. Now, he had introduced a change to a bill that would bar removing federal troops in South Carolina, which was the only protection newly free Black people had from violence. And there had just been some very bad violence- the Hamburg Massacre. He had to speak clearly. He had to make them listen.

But now he couldn't speak. This strange old woman had given him some tea. He was thirsty, so drank it. It had been a trick! Now, that old woman had run off, and here came these 3 kids and a dog. The last time they appeared, there was a strange man who had tried to stop him. It couldn't be an accident. He pointed to the cup so the kids would realize why he couldn't speak.

Hope looked at the cup, and took out her magnifying glass. She took out a syringe from her belt and used it sucked up some of the liquid. She then shocked Robert when the syringe glowed and she spoke to someone on the other end of the magnifying glass. "Sam- quick!- what is this liquid?"

Hope was talking to a Black girl, Sam, who was on the other end of the magnifying glass. Sam was a STEM prodigy.STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. She was the History Detectives' Headquarters head engineer and scientist. Sam held up her own syringe, which slowly filled with the same liquid. She prepared and examined it under a microscope. "Hope- this liquid has lidocaine spray diluted in water. This causes temporary numbness- though it's normally used in only by doctors. It should wear off in 60 minutes, or one hour."

Congressman Smalls panicked- he had to speak soon! Abraham noticed and looked at Hope's magnifying glass. "Sam- we don't have that long!"

"Well some warm tea would help the effects wear off sooner- at about only 15-20 minutes for clear speech!" Sam said.

"Huh?" Imani looked as Congressman Smalls had written something on a piece of a paper he had taken out of his pocket.

"Anna Murray Douglass." Imani read slowly. "Hey, Hope, Abraham- he wrote this note." She handed it to them.

"Oh! Anna Murray Douglass!" Abraham said. "That's Frederick Douglass' wife. She doesn't live far from here. Most women during this time, especially Black women, know how to make healing herbal tea!"

"Anna Murray Douglass." Hope said in her magnifying glass. "I'll be right back! Imani, stay here!" Hope disappeared in a portal suddenly. After a few minutes, she returned with some tea. "Drink this!" She handed the tea to Congressman Smalls.

He drank it, and felt his throat become less numb. After about 20 minutes, he could speak clearly again. "Thank you-" He went to thank the kids, but where had they gone? He decided he once again could tell no one- except maybe Anna Murray Douglass.

Now, it was time for his voice to be heard. He rapidly moved down the hallway to the well of the Congress, where Congresspeople gave speeches. His voice would change hearts, minds, and policies.

By: Caitlyn Arnwine (formerly Caitlyn Cobb and her daughter, Hope Grace. This was written in 2026 with a complete source list at the bottom.



© 2026 Transformative Justice Coalition. All rights reserved.

© 2026 Caitlyn Arnwine and Hope Cobb. All rights reserved.

Feel free to publish on your social media outlets and teach these lessons, with credit given to the Transformative Justice Coalition. Please let us know if you do share the series so we can publicly recognize and thank you. Be sure to send any publications to carnwine@tjcoalition.org so we can repost!

We encourage everyone to share this series to your networks and on social media under the hashtag #VRABlackHistory and to use this series for school projects. You can also tweet us @TJC_DC to share your own facts or connections to this history.

Others can sign up for the daily articles at VotingRightsAlliance.org. 

HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH!

We hope you enjoy our #VRABlackHistory Series 2026

From the Transformative Justice Coalition and the Voting Rights Alliance



Please note, if you'd like to opt out from only the upcoming daily Black History Month Voting Rights Alliance #VRABlackHistory series, please email carnwine@tjcoalition.org. Unsubscribing at the bottom of this email unsubscribes you to all Transformers, not just from this special February Series.

INTRODUCING: History Detectives

The Transformative Justice Coalition and the Voting Rights Alliance, in honor of Black History Month, are continuing the annual tradition of our daily special series devoted to sharing the legacies and stories of the sheroes, heroes, and events in the fight for Black suffrage. This series was created in 2017 and will introduce all new original articles this year- with a twist.

The 2026 #VRABlackHistory Series will center around the United States’ 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It will also center around teaching kids the Black History voting rights advocacy that surrounds the United States Constitution and its amendments, as well as different forms of government, with a new children’s series: “History Detectives”. This will be a series parents, guardians, teachers, and siblings can read to the children in their lives, with a lesson guide which includes what each story will cover as well as a short fun quiz. 

The “History Detectives” Series follows three kids, Hope – aged 12-, Abraham – aged 12-, and Imani- aged 8-, as well as their dog Prince, as they work in a secret kid detective agency aimed at helping figures or events in history stay on track anytime there’s an anomaly caused by “The Twister”, a villain who twists time with the goal of impeding progress, like a tornado tearing through and erasing history.

The “History Detectives” article draft attached has not only been put through the Dale-Chall Readability Test, giving an average of a 4th through 6th grade reading level; but, has also been tested with children, and is made with input from the author's soon-to-be 14-year-old daughter to ensure it’s engaging for kids. And did you know the author is also pregnant, due in February?! That makes this series all the more timely!

But we didn't forget about the adults! Each of the “History Detectives: Voting Rights Unit” articles (aside from this prologue) will also be paired with a counterpart article for adults to read. The adult counterparts will filter out the children’s story, and dive deeper into the historical figures or events the “History Detectives” article covered.

In addition to these daily newsletters all February long, this series also incorporates daily social media posts; an interactive calendar; and, website blog posts to spread the word broadly.

References