Simeon Jocelyn (1799 – 1879) was an American minister, abolitionist, and activist known for promoting educational opportunities and

civil and political rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

for

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, during the 19th century. He is also known for his attempt to establish the United States' first college for African Americans in New Haven, and for his role in the '' Amistad'' affair.

Abolitionism

Jocelyn served as the first pastor of the Black congregation at the new Temple Street Church in

. A former student at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, Jocelyn was also the leading advocate for the establishment of an African-American college in New Haven. At the time there was no such college in the country, or anywhere else in the English-speaking world. Save a few exceptional cases, no college accepted African Americans as students. A few years later, the short-lived

Oneida Institute The Oneida Institute ( ) was a short-lived Presbyterianism, Presbyterian school in Whitesboro, New York, United States, that was a national leader in the emerging Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist movement. Existing from 1827 to 18 ...

and the

Oberlin Collegiate Institute Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second-oldest continuously operatin ...

, predecessor of Oberlin College, decided to accept African Americans. The short-lived New-York Central College was the first to accept, from its opening day, both African Americans and women.

New Haven excitement

Working closely with both

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...

and

Arthur Tappan Arthur Tappan (May 22, 1786 – July 23, 1865) was an American businessman, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was the brother of Ohio Senator Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and nephew of Harvard Divinity School theologian ...

, he introduced his plan to create an African-American college to the New Haven community on September 7, 1831. Tappan offered a subvention of $1,000, if the local whites would raise $9,000 and the Blacks $10,000. Unfortunately, this coincided with the news of

Nat Turner's Rebellion Nat Turner's Rebellion, historically known as the Southampton Insurrection, was a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831. Led by Nat Turner, the rebels, made up of enslaved African Americans, killed b ...

of late August in Virginia—some newspapers put stories of the proposed college and the revolt side-by-side—heightening the fear of Blacks nationwide. Jocelyn's project was met with overwhelming opposition—the vote against it in New Haven was 700 to 4—and he eventually was forced to resign from his position as pastor of the African-American church. Jocelyn's plan was so controversial that his house was later attacked by a white mob. The mob also destroyed a black-owned hotel, a black-owned property, and Arthur Tappan's summer home. The

, replaced by the

, was the one college Blacks could attend. There was no college in the country just for African Americans until the black-owned Wilberforce University opened in Ohio in 1856. Even still, these events did not prevent Jocelyn from continuing to work as a conductor 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 ...

. In addition, Jocelyn also helped build a racially-integrated neighborhood in New Haven.

''Amistad'' affair

In 1839, several Cuban slave traders were transporting a group of 53 African captives to a Caribbean plantation. The Africans had been illegally abducted and traded by Portuguese slave hunters. En route to the Caribbean, the Africans rebelled against the captain of their ship and killed several of the kidnappers. The ship was eventually seized by the United States off the coast of

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, and the Africans were imprisoned in New Haven. Although they were acquitted of murder, a controversy erupted over the Africans' status: were they free, according to U.S. law, which did not permit the importation of slaves? Or should they be forcibly transported back to their owners in the Spanish colony of Cuba? This debate immediately attracted the attention of prominent abolitionists. Simeon Jocelyn founded the Amistad Committee with Lewis Tappan and Joshua Leavitt. The goals of the committee were to endorse the freedom of the Africans and to fund the Africans' legal and living expenses. With the help of Jocelyn, the Africans won the case, with the Supreme Court ruling that the United States government must allow the Africans to return to their homeland.

Legacy

Jocelyn Square, in New Haven, is named for him.

Abolitionism

New Haven excitement

''Amistad'' affair

Legacy

References

See also