(photo via the Library of Congress)
So we’re back with Can’t Let it Go for 2025, hoping to get on a more regular cycle this year. As the snow falls here in Greenville, here are a few stories we’ve been thinking about this week.
A Civil War hero gets his due
JASON: I’ve been mildly obsessed with Robert Smalls for a long time. How he hasn’t received the Hollywood treatment is beyond me (especially if you grab a fictionalized version, since I’m sure the facts of his early life on plantations are sketchy at best). Last year, the SC General Assembly took a good step in authorizing a statue of him on the Statehouse grounds. This week, the commission set up to approve the statue selected a design and location.
The story is really amazing and worth your time to read up on his exploits during the Civil War. Then, if any of you know a Hollywood producer or writer, let’s get the movie made.
A modern day spy
NIKKI: I’ve always had a thing for espionage stories. I blame my Grandfather’s love of James Bond, and my probably too early exposure to the movies. While we often think of espionage in the Cold-War setting, this story from the New York Times proves its more alive than ever. From average citizens to an aid of New York’s Governor, China has been increasingly using espionage to monitor Chinese-dissenting groups in the United States to prevent a fall similar to the fall of the Soviet Union.