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Educated For Freedom Release

This document provides information about a new book titled "Educated for Freedom" by Anna Mae Duane. The book tells the story of James McCune Smith and Henry Highland Garnet, two black schoolboys who attended the New York African Free School in the 1820s and went on to become influential civil rights advocates. Despite facing challenges of being born into slavery, Smith and Garnet achieved remarkable success through their education, traveling the world, publishing in medical journals, addressing Congress, and speaking to large crowds. The book examines how their experiences in school shed light on antebellum views of black children and the potential role of education in shaping the future of the nation towards freedom.

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Gail LeondarWright
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46 views1 page

Educated For Freedom Release

This document provides information about a new book titled "Educated for Freedom" by Anna Mae Duane. The book tells the story of James McCune Smith and Henry Highland Garnet, two black schoolboys who attended the New York African Free School in the 1820s and went on to become influential civil rights advocates. Despite facing challenges of being born into slavery, Smith and Garnet achieved remarkable success through their education, traveling the world, publishing in medical journals, addressing Congress, and speaking to large crowds. The book examines how their experiences in school shed light on antebellum views of black children and the potential role of education in shaping the future of the nation towards freedom.

Uploaded by

Gail LeondarWright
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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gail leondar

public relations

Contact: Peter Bermudes FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


gail leondar public relations January 2020
781-648-1658 – peter@glprbooks.com

"Many historians focus on Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and
Mary Church Terrell as the leading African American civil rights advocates of the 19th century. Yet
Duane reminds us of two critical black leaders who influenced the national civil rights debate and
symbolized the era's frustrating potential: James McCune Smith (1813-1865) and Henry Highland
Garnet (1815-1882).... A compelling tale." 
– Kirkus Reviews

“A must-read for those interested in antebellum African American life and education.”
– Library Journal, starred review

Educated for Freedom


The Incredible Story of Two Fugitive Schoolboys Who Grew Up to Change a Nation
Anna Mae Duane

In the 1820s, few Americans could imagine a viable future for black children. Even abolitionists saw
just two options for African American youth: permanent subjection or exile. Educated for Freedom
tells the story of James McCune Smith and Henry Highland Garnet, two black children who came of
age and into freedom as their country struggled to grow from a slave nation into a free country.

Smith and Garnet met as schoolboys at the Mulberry Street New York African Free School, an
educational experiment created by founding fathers who believed in freedom’s power to transform the
country. Smith and Garnet’s achievements were near-miraculous in a nation that refused to
acknowledge black talent or potential. The sons of enslaved mothers, these schoolboy friends would go
on to travel the world, meet Revolutionary War heroes, publish in medical journals, address Congress,
and speak before cheering crowds of thousands. The lessons they took from their days at the New York
African Free School #2 shed light on how antebellum Americans viewed black children as symbols of
America’s possible future. The story of their lives, their work, and their friendship testifies to the
imagination and activism of the free Black community that shaped the national journey toward
freedom.



Anna Mae Duane is Associate Professor of English and director of the American Studies Program at
the University of Connecticut. She has edited several previous titles and authored Suffering Childhood
in Early America.

NYU Press Hardcover 240 pages January 2020 978-1-4798-9670-7

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