As the page has turned on celebration of Black History Month, perhaps it’s time to properly recognize Delaware's unsung hero — patriot John Dickinson. 

As background, in front of the Smyrna Town Hall is a large, beautiful bronze statue of seven-term Smyrna mayor George C. Wright, Jr. purchased by the state of Delaware. There is also a George C. Wright Jr. Park in Smyrna. 

In addition, Mayor Wright was employed as the second highest-ranking federal employee at Dover Air Force Base.

As fully-deserved as Mayor Wright’s honors are, there is someone else Delawareans should honor as well.

The state of Delaware has never allocated funds to erect a statute to John Dickinson, Dover's colonial patriot and "Penman of the Revolution."

Dickinson, who owned a plantation south of the current Dover Air Force Base, was notable as a patriot who freed his Black slaves between 1777 and 1786.

During this year's legislative session, our Delaware lawmakers could pass a law to fund and commission the creation of a bronze statue to commemorate John Dickinson. 

And then, on July 4, 2027, our 251st Independence Day, a proper ceremony could dedicate John Dickinson’s statue located in a renamed John Dickinson Park on Mirror Lake near Dover, Delaware's ironically named Division Street.

Dave Graham, of Smyrna, was a candidate for governor in the 2020 Republican primary. A member of the Delaware Sons of the American Revolution, in his youth Mr. Graham served in the U.S. Army as a three-stripe sergeant with the First Armored Division in Germany.

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