Schooling the Nation: The Success of the Canterbury Academy for Black Women

Canterbury Academy was a small private school in Northeast Connecticut that opened its doors to young Black women in 1833. This was an early bold move toward equal opportunity in education. The students there endured months of intense harassment from townspeople and the state before a vigilante attack forced the school to close, making for a national story. The “Prudence Crandall Affair”, named for the white teacher who founded the Academy, propelled a core group of dedicated abolitionists from the area to move to Florence and start a utopian community here, the Northampton Association of Education and Industry.

The Affair also drew a promising young law student named Charles Burleigh into anti-slavery work. Burleigh faced down hostile audiences across the North on the subjects of immediate emancipation and full rights of citizenship for African Americans. He spent his last years doing important work in Florence and is buried on Park Street. His funeral, attended by over a thousand admirers, was unlike anything seen in Northampton before or since.

Jennifer Rycenga will weave these two histories together in her talk at the Bombyx Center. The Professor Emerita at San Jose State University has just published a book on the Prudence Crandall Affair entitled Schooling the Nation: The Success of the Canterbury Academy for Black Women. She also leads a digital project on the Burleigh family made up of active abolitionists. Following her talk a representative of the Northampton Reparations Commission will give an update on their work.

This event is brought to you by the David Ruggles Center for History and Education, all proceeds support their work. Copies of Professor Rycenga’s book will be on hand for signing. Join us afterward for a short walk to the Park Street Cemetery to visit Charles and Gertrude Burleigh’s gravestone.