Carl Cruz: Sheds light on history

By JOHN DOHERTY, Standard-Times staff writer

NEW BEDFORD MAN OF THE YEAR -- The official history of this city only scratches the surface of some of its most compelling stories.

Perhaps no stories have been more overlooked than those of the Cape Verdeans and African-Americans who shaped the city.

Carl Cruz has helped change that. By advocating for the inclusion of Cape Verdean and African-American contributions to the city, Mr. Cruz has opened eyes, and contributed to what some dare call a Renaissance in New Bedford.

For his ongoing work in local history and his assistance in understanding the stories of the minority communities here, Carl Cruz is New Bedford's 2001 Man of the Year.

"It's nice to think that someone is paying attention to what you're doing," said Mr. Cruz.

Attention has been the name of the game for Mr. Cruz for years -- not for himself, but for the lost nuggets of history he's been mining in libraries and attics.

His tours of New Bedford's Black heritage trail, his success with creation of the Massachusetts' 54th Regiment park and exhibits at the Whaling Museum and elsewhere have steadily changed how the city sees itself -- especially minorities.

Mr. Cruz discovered that the city's most famous black resident, Frederick Douglass, not only lived here, but had three children here. More significantly, it was the first community that allowed him to add his name to voting rolls.

Mr. Cruz has helped identify more than 300 members of the New Bedford community who served during the Civil War. The Probate Court probation officer was also among those seeking greater recognition of Lewis Temple, an African-American blacksmith who invented the toggle harpoon. The latter allowed the whaling industry to become powerful -- and generated the wealth that went to others.

"He dies penniless and yet we have all these great captains' mansions here," said Mr. Cruz.

A founding member of the New Bedford Historical Society, Mr. Cruz has helped illuminate the past for residents who grew up and then left New Bedford, never knowing the true role their community played in history.

A few years back, Mr. Cruz was among those organizing an oral history at the Whaling Museum.

"I had this one Cape Verdean whaler, a guy in his 80s, say, 'This is the first time I've ever sat down somewhere and told these stories,'" said Mr. Cruz.

For today's youth, knowing there was a vibrant, active and well-off black community here can be an eye-opener, said Mr. Cruz.

"We did not all come here as slaves," he said. "Knowing that can have a big impact on people."

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