Teacher Prudence Crandall: The Chalkboard Hero who taught African American students.

There are many courageous teachers who have made great sacrifices for the sake of their students. One of these was Quaker Prudence Crandall, a Connecticut teacher who lost everything she owned in order to educate African American girls in a time when doing so was unheard of.

In 1831, Prudence opened a boarding school for young ladies in Canterbury, Connecticut. By the end of the first year, she had earned the praise of parents, community members, and students throughout New England.

Then one day an African American student named Sarah Harris asked to be admitted to the academy. Sarah said she wanted to learn how to be a teacher so she could open her own school for Black students. Prudence knew admitting an African American student would generate some resistance from her neighbors, but after some soul-searching, she decided her conscience and her religious convictions would not allow her to refuse the request. Unfortunately, Prudence had severely under-estimated the resistance she would encounter for this decision.

Figuring the complaint from her detractors was that she was operating an integrated school, the intrepid teacher closed her academy for white girls and re-opened as an academy for “misses of color.” That just made the situation worse. Her action caused ripples all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court and resulted in Prudence’s brief incarceration in the local jail. After lawless community members set fire to her school, Prudence was forced to close the academy and leave town.

Years later, however, the courageous stance taken by Prudence Crandall resulted in the intrepid teacher being named the Female State Hero for Connecticut. You can read more of the gripping account of what happened in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes, now available on amazon.com.