In the celebration of African Heritage Month, BMCC looked into its past and discovered that beginning in 1832, within just a few blocks of the campus, at 161 Duane Street, stood one of five African Free Schools of New York City.
What Are the African Free Schools?
In 1787, at a time when slavery was crucial to the prosperity and expansion of New York, the New York African Free Schools were created by the New York Manumission Society, a group consisting of all influential and wealthy white males dedicated to advocating for African Americans. They began as a single room located at 65 Cliff Street, near South Street Seaport. Over the years five schools popped up in various locations of Manhattan, all below 19th street.
“The schools were designed to educate the newly freed African American children of New York, and specifically targeted ‘respectable’ children for education,” said Kathleen Hulser, who will be at BMCC’s Richard Harris Terrace from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, to make a presentation on the history slavery in New York City. It’s free, and open to anyone.
“Both boys and girls attended but studied different curricula. The schools ran from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon, with a two-hour lunch break. Students learned reading, writing, mathematics, penmanship, astronomy, geography and composition. Older students taught the younger ones in a system of peer education. Stress was put on teaching correct morals to the young ones,” she said.
The one most proximate to BMCC was African Free School No. 5, which opened in the summer of 1832 at 161 Duane Street under the direction of African American teacher Jane A. Parker. For a full map, click here, then click on MAP on the top right of the page. You can click on individual historic sites relevant to African Americans for full information on each.
Success Stories
While the school nearest BMCC was only open three years before being absorbed, the African Free School system produced a number of successful African Americans since 1788. School No. 2, located at 135 Mulberry Street, taught two particularly important men: Henry Highland Garnet and James McCune Smith.
Garnet was an abolitionist and an orator who demanded a boycott of goods made by slave labor. He attended the African Free School in the 1820s, with other young black reformers, and later became a prominent Presbyterian minister. In 1865 he became the first black person to deliver a sermon in the House of Representatives.
McCune Smith was a star student at the African Free School in the 1820s, and although was banned from American medical schools, he went to Scotland and became the first African-American person to practice medicine and earn a medical degree. He then returned to New York, where he is believed to be the first African-American person in the U.S. to open and run a pharmacy.
In 1835 the schools were absorbed by the New York City public school system, but by that time, as you can see, they had educated thousands — some who went on to become prominent African American leaders.
