From the recent exhibition at the New York Historical Society, "Crafting Freedom". Commeraw's work was already known and well regarded, but it was only a few years ago that records were uncovered revealing that he was a Black New Yorker and had been politically active, including leading a tragically failed colonization effort to Sierra Leone.
I learned about Commeraw from one of the curators of the exhibition, Allison Robinson, whom I interviewed for my podcast. His story is absolutely fascinating and just as complex as you would imagine.