On today's episode. If I didn't know, maybe you didn't either. I want to tell you about a hero you probably won't find in most history books. His name was Charles Jackson French, and in nineteen forty two, during World War Two, he did something that movies are made of. But the crazy thing is most people don't even know his name. I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. Now, before I get into it, let
me ask y'all, who remembers the Montgomery brawl. Yeah, y'all remember that viral moment when Buddy was on the dock in Montgomery threw his hat up in the air and did the black signal, and then black folk came through with them chairs and beat the wheels off them white folk. Y'all remember that one black dude they called Aquamaine because
he swam across the water ready to throw them hands. Well, imagine a real life version of that, except wasn't no chairs, and instead of swimming to a fight, the man was swimming to say lives well. Charles Jackson French, he was the original black aquaman. Picture this. He was just twenty years old. He was a US Navy sailor on a ship called the USS Gregory, and then the Japanese forces attacked it. They tore that ship up. Sailors were left stranded in the middle of the ocean, some of them wounded,
floating on a life raft. Now this is where French's story gets legendary. He didn't panic, he didn't run. He grabbed a rope, tied it around his waist, and then started swimming. And I'm not talking about for a couple of minutes. I'm talking hours. He pulled that life raft full of injured men through dangerous open water. And to make it even more insane, these waters were known for
having sharks, hell of them. Think about that. Imagine swimming in the dark, exhausted your arms and legs, burning, knowing at any moment something could be lurking right up under you, and still he kept going. French wasn't just fighting off sharks. He was dodging the enemy too. Japanese forces were patrolling, searching for revolvers to capture or kill the men on the life Rapper was telling him stop, begging them to let him go, but he refused. He swam until they
made it to safety. Now you think someone that brave, that selfless will be celebrated like a hero, right, But back then America wasn't exactly handing out medals to black men, no matter how heroic they were. His story almost got drowned, but we're here today to make sure his name is remembered. Charles Jackson French showed us what real courage looks like. He ain't wait for someone to save him. Nah, he became to save you. And if it's anything you're gonna
take from this story, let it be this. When it's your time to step up, don't hesitate. Be the hero, even if nobody's watching, even if it's hard, even if you don't get the credit. Do what's right. Because history may not always recognize you at first, but the truth never fades. So today, let's remember Charles Jackson French a real one, a legend, a hero, someone that I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either,