Abiel Smith School
Encyclopedia
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
located at 46 Joy Street in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States, adjacent to the African Meeting House
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 is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston,...
. It is named for Abiel Smith, a white philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
who left money (an estimated $2,000) in his will to the city of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
for the education of black children. The city constructed the school building with Smith’s legacy. In 1835, all black children in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
were assigned to the Smith school, which replaced the basement school in the African Meeting House
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 is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston,...
. Though the school was the first public school for free blacks, it was under-funded and overlooked by the public school committee and received about half of the amount of funding that other white public schools received.
Thomas Dalton and Lucy Lew
Thomas Dalton and Lucy Lew were African Americans in Massachusetts.- Lucy Lew :Lucy Lew was born in Dracut, Massachusetts on May 7, 1790 one of 13 children. Her father, Barzillai Lew , born a free black, was a Revolutionary War soldier and a talented musician...
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 which were integrated
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
in 1855.
The school is a site along the Boston Black Heritage Trail
Black Heritage Trail
The Black Heritage is a path in Boston, Massachusetts, winding through the Beacon Hill neighborhood and sites important in American black history....
and is part of the Museum of African American History. Its renovation was completed in February 2000 and it now serves, in part, as the administrative offices for the Museum.
External links
- Abiel Smith School - Museum of African American History
- Abiel Smith School National Park Service site