A Contradictory Timeline of Education, Slavery, and Liberation for African Americans in Early New York City
(1626-1870)
This poster and timeline help put into context the contradictory forces of educational access, abolition movements, and the legal status of black freemen and former slaves during the time of the New York African Free School (1787-1835). When the New York African Free School (NY AFS) is first opened, slavery is still legal and New York state is the last northern state to abolish slavery in 1827 -- almost 30 years after the 1799 Emancipation Act.
What do you notice about the timeline and the relationship between the founding of the New York African Free School and the legal status of slavery and abolition in the United States?
Compare the left side history and dates with the right. Where is there alignment and where is there a contradiction?
Established in 1785, The New York Society for the Manumission of Slaves held an important role in the polarized and antagonistic negotiations surrounding abolition efforts happening state by state during the formation of the United States after the Revolutionary War and the assertion of freedom from the British. These conversations were informed by economic and political investments in the institution of slavery, as well as deeply entrenched racialized ideologies, cultural beliefs, and social and religious hierarchies. The stubborn refusal to abolish slavery and see all members of the newly established ‘free’ America, were also deeply contradictory to the beliefs described in the 1776 Declaration of Independence which states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The original Manumission Society was formed by a few dozen friends, many of whom were slaveholders at the time. Society members were all White, male, wealthy, and influential, reflecting the status of early White political leadership and the foundations of many of our political, social, and educational institutions still in place today: John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, Daniel Tompkins, Henry Rutgers, John Murray, George Clinton, John Jay, and James Duane. These names are still visible in New York City institutions and public spaces. Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves by their owner - in contrast to efforts to create legal abolition and legal status at the state and federal level. While the Manumission Society was one of the most active organizations promoting the (gradual) abolition of slavery in New York at the time, many members also believed in re-colonizing former slaves to Liberia. This position was deeply antagonistic to many abolitionists and especially to the free Black community who were fighting for full citizenship and legal status in the United States.
How does the history of the White ‘founding fathers’, the role of charity, and the establishment of public educational institutions in early America connect to the notion of White savior complex and continued institutionalized racism and segregation in US schools?
Learn more: "White Saviors and Black Resistance"
The Manumission Society opened the New York African Free School (NY AFS) in 1787. NY AFS was the first 'nonreligious' free school funded by charitable donations and specifically by Manumission Society donors. The one-room schoolhouse opened for 40 Black students - all boys who were the children of slaves and free men and women. The school was located at 65 Cliff Street (near Beekman Street) in downtown Manhattan, just south of Brooklyn Bridge in what is now the Seaport District. The Cliff Street school remained in service until December 1813, when it was destroyed by fire.
At the time, the Black population had reached 10,000 and New York City was the center of free Black life in North America. Simultaneously, the fight for liberation is still controversial as New York passes a gradual (instead of immediate) emancipation law in response to the federal Emancipation Act of 1799. Children of enslaved mothers would be born free, but were required to have lengthy periods as indentured servants - until 28 years of age for men and 25 for women - before being legally and socially free. At the time, there were still 33,000 slaves statewide.
In 1815, a new NY AFS building opened at 245 Williams Street (near Duane Street) and remained in use until 1833. At its peak, five hundred students were enrolled in this building, known as African Free School No. 1. By 1820 the NY AFS had expanded and enrollment was nearly 700 students. The school expanded to 135 Mulberry Street (between Hester and Walker streets) in what is currently Little Italy/Chinatown and established African Free Schools No. 2 and 4. This location is four blocks north of where the Draft Riots of 1863 will ignite racial tensions and violence will ravage the Black communities across the city. African Free School No. 3 opened in 1831 on 19th Street near 6th Avenue but after objections from whites in the area, it was relocated to 120 Amity Street (near Sixth Avenue). During this time of expansion for the NY AFS, slavery is still legal and it is finally in 1827 when New York is the last of the Northern state to abolish slavery.
In 1832 the school erupted in controversy when the White headmaster, Charles Andrews advocated that former slaves should be recolonized to Africa. At this time, the American Colonization Society had already established a colony in Liberia and Black community leaders were advocating for more radical abolition efforts in New York (counter to initial Manumission ideas) and against Colonization. African American NY AFS students and their families boycotted the school, leading to Andrews' dismissal. As a result of the uprising against Andrews, the Manumission Society, and school administration did end up hiring Black teachers to replace White teachers in each of the NY AFS school buildings. African American educator James Adams is hired to replace Andrews and enrollment again soars. With this increased matriculation, two more schools opened in 1832: AFS School No. 5 at 161 Duane Street under the direction of African American teacher Jane A. Parker and AFS School No. 6 at 108 Columbia Street (between Delancey and Broome streets) under the direction of African American teacher John Peterson.
What are examples of African American resistance, resilience, and radical imagination that ensure more equitable access to education and other resources that were denied to them during this time?
Learn more: "Black Community Support for Black Education"
However, this expansion quickly led to new concerns by the Manumission Society. Within a year of Andrews' departure, the Society was negotiating a transfer of its schools to a newly formed public school structure. In 1835, the Manumission Society closed the NYC AFS and chose to fold all of the schools into the Public School Society, which would eventually become the New York City Board of Education in 1842. While public education opportunities seemed to be expanding for White and Black students alike during this time, in 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act is passed by the federal government bowing to pressure from southern states who still rely on slavery and slave labor to sustain their wealth. This bill required that all escaped slaves, upon capture, be returned to the slaver and that officials and citizens of free states had to cooperate. This means that the parents of NY AFS students are again in jeopardy and the status of African American citizenship and freedom is drastically curtailed.
The African Free school reflects the potential of establishing public education for all, while still being caught in the racist politics built into the foundations of American social, political and economic life. This timeline ends with the year 1870, five years after the passing of the 13th Amendment to the constitution and the official federal abolition of slavery. When African Americans are finally given the right to vote in 1870 with the passing of the 15th amendment guaranteeing that the right to vote will not be denied by race, New York state does not willingly oblige. In 1870, 20 percent of the entire adult population was illiterate, while 80 percent of the African American population was illiterate, foreshadowing the racial oppression of later Jim Crow years and ongoing contradictions between educational access, literacy, and the fulfillment of our commitment to democracy.
How is segregation built into the very fabric of our schools in the United States and how does it continue to impact racial disparities in relation to the rights guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”?
REFERENCES
120 Years of American Education: A statistical portrait (Government report on the history of education in the US): https://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93442.pdf
Harris, L. (2001), ‘African-Americans in New York City, 1626-1863’ Emory University Department of History Newsletter, Online Edition: http://www.history.emory.edu/newsletter01/newsl01/african.htm
Hines, M. (2016), ‘Learning Freedom: Education, Elevation, and New York’s African-American Community, 1827–1829’ in History of Education Quarterly Vol. 56 No. 4, pp. 618-645
McCarthy, A. (2014), ‘Class Act: Researching New York City Schools with Local History Collections’, Milstein Division of U.S. History, Local History & Genealogy, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, October 20, 2014: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/10/20/researching-nyc-schools
New York Historical Society, Examination Days: The New York African Free School Collection: https://www.nyhistory.org/web/africanfreeschool/history/teachers-vs-parents.html
https://www.nyhistory.org/web/africanfreeschool/map/map-print.html
Ravitch, D. (1974). 'Early New York Social Conditions and School' in The great school wars : New York City, 1805-1973; a history of the public schools as battlefield of social change. Basic Books. pp. 3-19
Rury, J. (1983). ‘The New York African Free School, 1827-1836: Conflict over Community Control of Black Education’ in Phylon (1960-) , 3rd Qtr., 1983, Vol. 44, No. 3 (3rd Qtr., 1983), pp. 187-197