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October 6, 2008
Prudence Crandall's pioneering effort to integrate schools
By Gabi Smith-Rosario
Junior Reporter, Youth Journalism International
Prudence Crandall may not be the first thing that you think of
when you hear the words "integrated schools."
But Crandall was one of the first to integrate a school in Connecticut.
Crandall is the heroine of Connecticut. She was born in 1803 in Rhode Island,
and eventually, moved to Connecticut.
In 1832, she started a private academy for girls in Canterbury, for the
daughters of wealthy families, according to the Connecticut Commission on
Culture & Tourism's history division, which offers a brief description of her
role in the state's history on its website.
One of the reasons Crandall is Connecticut's heroine outlined on the state
website. She accomplished something incredible: she admitted Sarah Harris – a
20-year-old black woman who wanted to be a teacher – into her private academy
for girls.
Many families took their daughters out of the school because Harris was a
student there, and Crandall closed the academy temporarily. She shut the doors
for two months before reopening it as an academy for black girls, the website
says.
Young black women came to Crandall's school from around New England, according
to the information from the state. In response to Crandall's efforts,
Connecticut created the "Black Law," making it illegal for her to run the
school.
Crandall was arrested, put in jail for one night and at one point confronted
three trials, the state website says. Her case was dismissed in 1834.
But her ordeal didn't end there, because a couple months later, a mob attacked
her school, forcing her to close the school again, this time for safety reasons.
Today, her school is a museum operated by the state of Connecticut.
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