African American Connecticut Explored

Contents

Contents Publisher’s Statement ix Preface xi Historiographical Notes xiii katherine j. harris Introduction xv elizabeth j. normen and olivia white Part I Settlement to 1789 1 1 Freedom and Slavery 3 katherine j. harris 2 Venture Smith, from Slavery to Freedom 13 john wood sweet 3 Caesar and Lois Peters 17 peter hinks 4 Fortune’s Story 22 ann y. smith 5 Revolutionary War Service, Path to Freedom 26 david o. white 6 In Remembrance of Their Kings of Guinea: The Black 35 Governors and the Negro Election, 1749 to 1780 katherine j. harris 7 Ancient Burying Ground: Monument to Black 45 Governors billie m. anthony Part II 1789 to Civil War 49 8 The Rise of Communities and the Continued Quest for Freedom for All 51 katherine j. harris 9 Colonization and Abolition in Connecticut 64 katherine j. harris 10 Black Governors, 1780 to 1856 69 katherine j. harris 11 James Mars 80 wm. frank mitchell 12 Black Abolitionists Speak 83 cora murray and whitney bayers vi Contents 13 From Talcott to Main Street: Hartford’s First 86 African American Church tamara verrett 14 Fortresses of Faith, Agents of Change: AME 89 and AME Zion Churches in Connecticut mary m. donohue and whitney bayers 15 William Lanson: Businessman, Contractor, and Activist 93 katherine j. harris 16 The Ruggles, Norwich, and Abolitionism 103 graham russell gao hodges 17 A Family of Reformers: The Middletown Bemans 111 liz warner 18 Rev. James W. C. Pennington: A National 118 and Local Voice for Freedom stacey close 19 Coming to the Aid of the Amistad Africans 126 jessica a. gresko 20 In Search of an Education, Seventeenth to 137 Nineteenth Centuries christopher collier 21 “Cast Down on Every Side”: The Ill-Fated Campaign 148 to Found an “African College” in New Haven hilary moss 22 Sarah Harris and the Prudence Crandall School 155 barbara m. tucker 23 “No Taxation without Representation” 165 katherine j. harris 24 A Walk Along the Underground Railroad 171 barbara donahue 25 Augustus Washington: “Portrait of a Young Man” 174 nancy finlay 26 The Twenty-ninth Regiment Colored Volunteers 177 charles (ben) hawley 27 Fighting for Freedom: Joseph O. Cross 181 elizabeth j. normen Part III Post Civil War to World War I 185 28 Connecticut and the Aftermath of the Civil War 187 stacey close 29 Rebecca Primus and Addie Brown 198 barbara j. beeching Contents vii 30 The Fisk Jubilee Singers Tour the North 207 wm. frank mitchell 31 Ebenezer Bassett’s Historic Journey 211 carolyn b. ivanoff, with mary j. mycek and marian k. o’keefe 32 Charles Ethan Porter 217 hildegard cummings Part IV Photo Essay 225 33 A Veil Lifted 227 wm. frank mitchell Part V Between the Wars 237 34 Black Southern Migration and the Transformation 239 of Connecticut, 1917–1941 stacey close 35 Anna Louise James 253 andra chantim 36 World War I Homefront: A Short Photo Essay 256 mark h. jones 37 Mary Townsend Seymour 258 mark h. jones 38 Laboring in the Shade 265 dawn byron hutchins Part VI World War II to Civil Rights 271 39 World War II and the Civil Rights Years 273 stacey close 40 “I Wanted to Fly”: Connie Nappier, Jr. 288 eileen hurst 41 Susan Elizabeth Freeman, World War II Officer 292 and Nurse stacey close 42 Ellis Ruley 297 joel lang 43 “Just Like Georgia Except for the Climate”: Black Life 304 at Mid-Century in Ann Petry’s The Narrows elisabeth petry 44 Marion Anderson’s Studio 312 jessica colebrook viii Contents 45 From Fields to Footlights: Gwen Reed 315 christopher baker 46 Baseball Legend Jack Robinson’s Sacrifices 322 Off the Diamond stacey close 47 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Connecticut, and Nonviolent Protest: A Transforming Alliance 332 stacey close 48 Black Panthers: Interview with Butch Lewis 343 joan jacobs 49 “What Would Dr. King Want You to Do?” 347 cynthia reik 50 The New Haven Black Panther Trials 350 yohuru williams 51 My Dad, Jackie McLean 358 melonae’ mclean 52 My Summers at Camp Courant 362 charles a. teale, sr. Part VII A Recipe for the Future 365 53 My Grandmother’s Squash Pie: A Regional 367 Discussion of African American Foodways wm. frank mitchell 54 Conclusion: The Charge of Citizenship for 381 African Americans wm. frank mitchell Contributors 393 Bibliography 397 Index 419 Plates 1–9 follow page 236. ...