The Charles Sumner School, established in 1872, was one of the earliest schools for

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Named for the prominent

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 ...

and United States

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...

, the school became the first teachers' college for black citizens in the city and the headquarters of its segregated school system for African American students. It currently houses a small museum, a research room, art exhibits, and the archives of the

District of Columbia Public Schools The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for Washington, D.C. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter schools in the city. Compositi ...

Construction and naming

The Charles Sumner School was built on land that had previously been used as a school site by the

Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. government agency of early post American Civil War Reconstruction, assisting freedmen (i.e., former enslaved people) in the ...

, created after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

to provide support for freed

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. The school was named for Charles Sumner, a prominent abolitionist and United States Senator from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

who fought, among other things, for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and for the right of black citizens to use

streetcars A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

in that city. The building was designed by prominent Washington architect

Adolf Cluss Adolf Ludwig Cluss (July 14, 1825 – July 24, 1905) also known as Adolph Cluss was a Germany, German-born United States, American immigrant who became one of the most important, influential and prolific architects in Washington, D.C., in the lat ...

, a task for which he would receive a design award at the 1873 Vienna Exposition. The school opened in 1872.

Use as a school

Act of Congress An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

in 1862 had required the creation of schools for black children in Washington, D.C. However, it was not until 1873 that the responsibility for administration of the schools was removed from federal agencies and placed in local hands. At that point, separate superintendents were appointed to administer the education of white and black children in the city. Charles Sumner School was one of the first schools in this new school system, housing

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

classes as well as the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

that eventually became Dunbar High School, graduating its first high school students in 1877. That same year, the school was renamed the Myrtilla Miner Normal School and became the District's first teacher's college for African Americans. In addition to its role as a school, the building served as headquarters of the Superintendent and Board of Trustees of the separate school system for black students.

Use as a museum

By the 1980s the building had fallen into disrepair. Led by Richard Hurlbut, citizens of the district raised the $5 million necessary to renovate the building, a project that lasted two years, from 1984 to 1986. The newly renovated building, renamed the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives, was used to house a museum, of which Hurlbut himself was

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, as well as the District of Columbia Public School Archives and associated reading rooms and meeting space. The D.C. Women's Hall of Fame is also located at the Charles Sumner School. It is also used for exhibit space by local artists and organizations. The building was added to the

District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites The District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites is a register of historic places in Washington, D.C. that are designated by the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), a component of the District of Columbia Govern ...

in 1978, and to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979.

References

External links

Charles Sumner School Museum & Archives Facebook page, with visiting information

Archived Tumblr Page

Twitter Page

Instagram Page
{{Authority control School buildings completed in 1872 African-American museums in Washington, D.C. Defunct schools in Washington, D.C. Defunct universities and colleges in Washington, D.C. District of Columbia Public Schools Educational institutions established in 1872 Historically black universities and colleges in the United States School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Romanesque Revival architecture in Washington, D.C. Education museums in the United States Historically segregated African-American schools in Washington, D.C. 1872 establishments in Washington, D.C. African-American history of Washington, D.C.

Construction and naming

Use as a school

Use as a museum

See also

References

External links