Abiel Smith School, founded in 1835, is a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

located at 46 Joy Street in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, United States, adjacent to the

African Meeting House The African Meeting House, also known variously as First African Baptist Church, First Independent Baptist Church and the Belknap Street Church, was built in 1806 and is now the oldest black church edifice still standing in the United States. It ...

. It is named for Abiel Smith, a white philanthropist who left money (an estimated $4,000) in his will to the city of

for the education of

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

children. The city constructed the school building with Smith's funds. Designed by

Richard Upjohn Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-born American architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to su ...

as his first public project, this was the first public school for free blacks. In 1835, all black children in

were assigned to the Smith school, which replaced a basement school in the

next door. It is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

and a site on the Boston Black Heritage Trail and is part of the Museum of African American History. It is part of the Boston African American National Historic Site. SmithSchool BelknapSt Boston HomansSketches1851

SmithSchool BelknapSt Boston HomansSketches1851

History

African-American parents organized a school for their children in 1798; it was first held in the home of

Primus Hall Primus Hall (February 29, 1756 – March 22, 1842) was born a slave. He was the son of Prince Hall, an abolitionist, Revolutionary War soldier and founder of the Prince Hall Freemasonry. In 1798 he established a school for African American childre ...

. After the

was constructed, the school was moved there to a first-floor classroom. The African-American community worked to gain support from the city for their school as a public school, and the city started to contribute some funds in 1812. Abiel Smith, a white philanthropist, left money (an estimated $4,000) in his will to the city of

for the education of

children. The city used part of his legacy to construct the school building next to the African Meeting House,Boston African American National Historic Site: Abiel Smith School
National Park Service commissioning

as architect, in his first public project.Kathryn Grover and Janine V. da Silva, ''Boston African American National Historic Site: HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY''
31 DECEMBER 2002, p. 8 He later became well known for his church projects. When the school was completed in 1835, all black children in

were assigned to it, replacing the basement school next door. The north side of Beacon Hill was then the residential center of the black community. Parents continued to press the city to improve services, as conditions at the school were less than in white public schools. Thomas Dalton was elected president in 1834 of the Infant School Association created to support the new Abiel Smith School for colored children built on Belknap Street (now Joy Street). He helped organize the colored citizens of Boston to elect supportive School Committee members. "Resolved, That to secure the blessings of knowledge, every possible effort should be made by us … to secure such persons as we know to be favorable to the elevation of the people of color to their natural, civil, political, and religious rights, and are interested in the education of our children." He was among those signing a petition to the School Committee of the City of Boston for improved schools for Boston children of color. He was instrumental in the long fight to integrate the schools of Boston. In 1849, the

Massachusetts Supreme Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously functi ...

ruled that segregated schools were allowed under the state's constitution ('' Roberts v. City of Boston''). Integration of Boston's schools was achieved in 1855 after parents withdrew their children for a time from the Smith School and Benjamin F. Roberts helped bring the issue to the state legislature. The Smith School was closed the same year as schools in Boston were desegregated. In the 1870s, many people migrated to the South End where new schools and churches were founded.

Legacy

The former school, designated as a

, is a site on the Boston Black Heritage Trail and is now part of the Museum of African American History. With a renovation project completed in February 2000, it serves, in part, as the administrative offices for the Museum.The Abiel Smith School: A Multimedia Learning Experience
It is also within the Boston African American National Historic Site.

Alumni

William Cooper Nell William Cooper Nell (December 16, 1816 – May 25, 1874) was an African-American abolitionist, journalist, publisher, author, and civil servant of Boston, Massachusetts, who worked for the integration of schools and public facilities in the s ...

References

Bibliography

Bower, Beth Ann. "The African Meeting House, Massachusetts: Summary Report of Archaeological Excavation, 1975–1986." Museum of African American History, Boston, MA. Jacobs, Donald M. ed. ''Courage and Conscience: Black and White Abolitionists in Boston''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press for the Boston Anthenaeum, 1993 Kendrick, Stephen and Kendrick, Paul. ''Sarah's Long Walk: The Free Blacks of Boston and How Their Struggle for Equality Changes America''. Boston: Beacon Hill Press, 2004. Wesley, Dorothy Porter, and Constance Porter Uzelac, eds. ''William Cooper Nell, Nineteenth-Century African American Abolitionist, Historian, Integrationist: Selected Writings, 1832–1874''. Baltimore: Black Classic Press, 2002.

External links

Abiel Smith School
– Museum of African American History
Museum of African American History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Abiel School African-American history in Boston Historically black schools Schools in Boston Educational institutions established in 1835 Museums in Boston Abolitionism in the United States History of Massachusetts Underground Railroad locations Slavery in the United States

African-American museums in Massachusetts Beacon Hill, Boston Education museums in the United States History museums in Massachusetts 1835 establishments in Massachusetts Antebellum educational institutions that admitted African Americans