A True Story of Freedom and the Fight for the Vote

Some stories stay with a family for generations.

They are told in pieces at the table, at gatherings, in quiet moments when someone decides it is time to remember.

The story of my great-great-grandfather, Smallwood “Small” Ackiss, is one of those stories.

He was born into slavery in Virginia. He lived through a time when freedom was uncertain, and the future was not promised. But he endured. He worked. He believed in something more.

When the Civil War came, he joined the United States Colored Troops and fought for that freedom.

After the war, he returned home and built a life rooted in faith, family, and hard work. And in 1867, he stood in line and voted for the very first time, claiming a right that had once been denied to him.

That moment matters. Because his courage did not end with him.

Generations later, his great-granddaughter, my mother, Evelyn Butts, took that same fight to the United States Supreme Court and helped end the poll tax, a barrier that had kept so many from voting.

This is the legacy I come from.

And it is the story I wanted children to understand.

I wrote Small’s Big Journey because I believe children deserve to know that history is not just something that happened long ago, it lives in families, in choices, and in the courage passed from one generation to the next.

I also wrote it because some parts of our history are not always fully recorded. For those born into slavery, details like exact birthplaces were not always preserved. But their lives, their strength, and their impact are no less real.

This book is my way of honoring that truth.

It is a story about freedom, about perseverance, and about what it means to stand for something, even when the path is difficult.

And now, I’m honored to share it. Small’s Big Journey is now available for preorder:

https://smallwoodcharlottepress.com/

Books will ship beginning May 1, 2026.

Thank you for being part of this journey.