Thomas Wiggins was a pianist with a success story for the ages — he performed at the White House for President James Buchanan and earned the equivalent of $12 million in today’s money through cross-continental tours and sheet sales (more than any pianist at the time). Yet, as a Black, blind and (presumably) autistic man, this success was all too easily stolen from him.
Wiggins’ life is the latest subject of “American Masters: Renegades,” a documentary series showcasing the lives and cultural contributions of little-known historical figures with disabilities. Each short is 12-minutes long and shines the spotlight on one individual. The crew telling these stories come with the background of being disabled, too, adding a layer of authenticity and a palpable sense of passion for bringing justice to these forgotten icons.
Born into slavery in Georgia in 1849, Wiggins and his family were bought at auction by James Neil Bethune. Even when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln in 1863, declaring the freedom of all enslaved people, Wiggins was not let go of Bethune’s hold. Wanting to continue profiting off his musical talent, Bethune had Wiggins prosecuted under an “inquisition of idiocy,” which took the form of a guardianship that remained for the rest of Wiggins’ life. It also ensured that he never saw a single penny earned from his music career.
The documentary shined the spotlight on the theme of exploitation. “From birth to death, [Wiggins] was not only seen as property but as ‘other’ by the enslavers around him and by society,” said Diane J. Wright, writer of this episode who also is an alumna of Disability Belongs™’ 2021 Entertainment Lab. “Today, autistic people still bear these stigmas. Through a disability justice lens, I worked to present him in a way that fosters reverence for his talents and humanity.”
“I see his othering as my othering and the othering of my peers,” Wright continued, speaking from her experience as a Black autistic woman. “In general, we are either valued for our abilities and the wealth we can produce or seen as burdens, if we are seen at all. We are regularly infantilized, presumed incompetent, and discounted. Whether we are running massive corporations or living in supportive care, autistic people share each other’s experiences as ‘other.’”
One of the main successes of the episode is its ability to depict Wiggins with the full humanity he deserved some 200 years ago. As one historian points out in the episode, we have little information from Wiggins himself, but what we do have is his music, and reports of what he did on stage at concert halls. The team behind “American Masters: Renegades” invited musicologists and performers to play Wiggins’ compositions. Doing so not only honors his legacy, but also brings his work to new ears.
It’s said that Wiggins first snuck into the Bethune’s parlor to play the piano at the age of two or three. Soon, his talent was discovered and his popularity skyrocketed. He was billed as “Blind Tom,” the self-taught prodigy. He played prominent venues across the U.S. and Europe, and at the age of just 11, he became the first Black artist to perform at the White House.
Toward the end of his music career, Wiggins would sometimes go on stage and refuse to perform further. Even though so much of his agency was stripped, this is a clear example of him standing up for his own wants and needs. In the case of Wiggins, it is very apparent that Bethune had ulterior motives in filing to be his conservator, something that continues to occur today.
In 2018, a National Council on Disability Report estimated that there are 1.3 million active conservatorships, also known as guardianships. Guardians are a court-ordered representative who makes financial or healthcare decisions for someone deemed incapable of caring for these things themselves. Most conservatorships are for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people who have had a traumatic brain injury, and the elderly. There is a rising movement to change this flawed system.
Many of those 1.3 million are people who could make financial or healthcare decisions with the support of a trusted individual rather than having their self-governance so entirely stripped away. At one point in the documentary, Lydia X.Z. Brown – called “one of our community’s treasures” by Diane J. Wright – makes the comparison between Wiggins and Britney Spears, another popular musician who had a public guardianship battle.
At 59 years old, Wiggins had a stroke that paralyzed his right hand, taking away his ability to play the piano. Three weeks later, he died of a heart attack alone on the Bethune’s property in New York. “It did not come as a surprise to me that soon after [the stroke], he passed away,” said the episode’s director and producer Marsha Hallager. “There’s much to be said about a person living with a disability suddenly having the one thing that brings them joy snatched away. It’s as if he died two deaths.”
Today, grave markers stand both in his hometown of Columbus, Georgia and in New York near where he passed away.
As for Wiggins’ musical legacy, the impact he had should not be understated. Pianist John Davis sums up his contributions in a larger context, calling Wiggins “a very important person on a continuum of early American pianists that eventually led to the creation of jazz, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues.”
To contrast, a music professor from Columbia comments on his uniqueness and continued individual appeal: “A lot of the stuff he did 125 years ago, people are starting to rediscover that and say ‘Wow, we didn’t know music could be like that.’ Particularly not in the 19th century.” From the jarring cluster chords in “Battle of Manassas” to the light, melodic fluttering of “Sewing Song,” Wiggins drew from the world around him to create masterpieces that were pleasant to listen to again and again.
One last element of the crew bringing humanity to Wiggins’ story was through interviewing a family descendant. The ending of the episode, where the descendant reads a letter written to her by someone who descended from the line of James Niel Bethune—Wiggins’ slavemaster—is both an interesting and powerful choice. “Because of the millions of dollars and earnings that they stole from Tom… having one of the descendants apologize for what his ancestor did, I felt that was really a good choice that completed his story,” said the episode’s producer, Tameka Citchen-Spruce, who also is an alumnus of Disability Belongs™’ 2021 Entertainment Lab.
It has been long overdue for Wiggins’ story to get the attention it deserves, but the release of this episode feels extra timely. “I know there has been a major pushback on Black history… Through books; through even teaching it in the curriculum,” said Citchen-Spruce. “Our stories [are] under attack by some groups of people. To be able to unapologetically tell his story is very timely and very imperative.”
Wiggins’ legacy can’t be stated in a single sentence, though many interviewed for the episode grasp at it. What everyone can agree on, however, is that he deserves to be known for all that he is. “Every person deserves to be seen for who they are, not only for what they produce or only for what their perceived differences,” Wright said. “Wiggins was erased, while his contemporaries live on in history. We aimed to shift his narrative from spectacle to legend— deservedly so.”
View the full piece on Wiggins on the PBS website. The crew for this film included Marsha Hallager (director/producer), Tameka Citchen-Spruce (producer), and Diane J. Wright (writer), with original artwork by Adriano Araújo dos Reis Botega. The series creator and senior producer is Day Al-Mohamed, with executive producer Charlotte Mangin, series producer Amanda Upson, and producer Ryan Camarda.
“American Masters: Renegades” premiered on PBS on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, and aired a new episode every Tuesday throughout the month. The episodes are available on PBS.org, the PBS app, and the American Masters YouTube channel. Each episode includes audio descriptions, open captions, and on-screen ASL interpretation.
