Students at Prudence Crandall's School for African-American Women, 1833-1834

Detailed information about Prudence Crandall’s life is widely available (she was even named “Connecticut State Heroine” in 1995), but less is known about the students who also bravely confronted the racism of Canterbury’s opposition to the academy. These young women, mostly from prosperous middle-class families in major northeastern cities, were committed to securing higher education not only for themselves but for disenfranchised African Americans in general. Many of them went on to become educators in their own right; others (including Sarah Harris) became active leaders in the abolitionist movement.

The stories of more than half of the students remain unknown, awaiting future historians’ detective work.

Read the Text: Students at Prudence Crandall’s School