Someone was knocking on the schoolhouse door. Prudence Crandall, the headmistress, answered. “Miss Crandall,” the Black woman immediately began, “I want to get a little more learning, enough if possible to teach colored children.”
Sarah Fayerweather was bold.
Crandall admitted her to the school. And when the white parents found out, they removed their girls. Yet the little building was about to see more action.
Crandall decided to ONLY accept Black girls to the school. But before she could do that, white terrorists burned the schoolhouse and made it illegal to educate “non-citizens” of the U.S. Then came one final anti-Black act.
Crandall was jailed. Her case received national attention, and went all the way to the Supreme Court. It begged the question: Are Black people citizens of the U.S.?
Crandall lost her case, but the precedent had been set. The once little, unassuming school house was now ground zero for our people to become full citizens of this country. We are still in this struggle for our rights today. We must continue to fight for liberation!