Charles Bennett Ray (December 25, 1807 – August 15, 1886) was a prominent African-American minister and
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.
The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...
who owned and edited the weekly newspaper ''
The Colored American''. Born in Massachusetts, he spent most of his career and life in New York City.
Early life and education
Born a free man in
Falmouth, Massachusetts
Falmouth ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. T ...
, Ray was the son of mail carrier Joseph Aspinwall Ray and his wife Annis Harrington. He attended
Wesleyan Seminary in
Wilbraham, Massachusetts
Wilbraham is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb of the City of Springfield, and part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,613 at the 2020 census.
Part of the town comprise ...
, studying theology. In 1832 he enrolled as the first black student at
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
in
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...
, although his enrollment was revoked less than two months later. White students protested his admission.
Move to New York and ministry
Ray moved to New York City in 1832 and opened a boot and shoe store.
He became a Methodist minister and later a Congregational minister.
Ray served as pastor of two predominantly white churches in New York City,
Crosby Congregational Church and Bethesda Congregational Church.
Ray was a strong supporter of the
temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...
, and was a member of the
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...
, the African Society for Mutual Relief, and co-founded the
Society for the Promotion of Education Among Colored Children.
Abolitionism
In the early 1830s Ray became involved in the abolitionist movement, and became a prominent promoter of the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
. He was also co-founder and director of the
New York Vigilance Committee and a member of the
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist society in the United States. AASS formed in 1833 in response to the nullification crisis and the failures of existing anti-slavery organizations, ...
, assisting refugee slaves.
Ray was also active in the Society of the Promotion of Education Among Colored Children.
''The Colored American''
In 1838 Ray and
Phillip Alexander Bell became co-owners of ''The Colored American'', the fourth weekly periodical published by African Americans. In 1839 Ray became the sole owner and editor.
''The Colored American'' promoted "the moral, social and political elevation of the free colored people; and the peaceful emancipation of the slaves."
Ray traveled throughout the North giving speeches condemning prejudice against African Americans. In 1840 he became a supporter of the newly founded
Liberty Party, the only publicly pro-Abolitionist political party.
Family
Ray married twice: first in 1834 to
Henrietta Green Regulus, who died two years later in childbirth. He married again in 1840, to
Charlotte Augusta Burroughs. They had seven children together, including
Charlotte E. Ray, who became the first female African-American attorney; Florence Ray, who also became an attorney; and
Cordelia Ray, who became a poet and known for her 80-line ode, "Lincoln".
Charles B. Ray died in New York City and is buried in
Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Charles Bennett
1807 births
1886 deaths
19th-century American journalists
19th-century American male writers
19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
Academics from Massachusetts
African-American abolitionists
American abolitionists
19th-century African-American academics
19th-century American academics
African-American Christian clergy
African-American publishers (people)
American Congregationalist ministers
American male journalists
Temperance activists from New York (state)
Congregationalist abolitionists
Colored Conventions people
Underground Railroad people
Wesleyan University alumni
19th-century American clergy
African-American temperance activists