Prudence Crandall
Personal Information
Born: 1803
Died: 1890
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Black Hill Quaker School; Moses Brown School
""My whole life has been one of opposition. I never could find anyone near me to agree with me. Even my husband opposed me, more than anyone. He would not let me read the books that he himself read, but I did read them. I read all sides, and searched for the truth whether it was in science, religion, or humanity. I sometimes think I would like to live somewhere else. Here, in Elk Falls, there is nothing for my soul to feed upon. Nothing, unless it comes from abroad in the shape of books, newspapers, and so on. There is no public library, and there are but one or two persons in the place that I can converse with profitably for any length of time. No one visits me, and I begin to think they are afraid of me. I think the ministers are afraid I shall upset their religious beliefs, and advise the members of their congregation not to call on me, but I don't care. I speak on spiritualism sometimes, but more on temperance, and am a self-appointed member of the International Arbitration League. I don't want to die yet. I want to live long enough to see some of these reforms consummated." (Wikipedia); "I said in my heart, here are my convictions. What shall I do? Shall I be inactive and permit prejudice, the mother of abominations, to remain undisturbed? Or shall I venture to enlist in the ranks of those who with the Sword of Truth dare hold combat with prevailing iniquity? I contemplated for a while the manner in which I might best serve the people of color. As wealth was not mine, I saw no other means of benefiting them, than by imparting to those of my own sex that were anxious to learn, all the instruction I might be able to give, however small the amount." (cwhf.org); "
— Prudence Crandall
Professional Life
Field of Study: Civil Rights Pioneer; Educator
Institution/Corporation: State of Connecticut
Degrees & Memberships: Member: International Arbitration League; Women's Christian Temperance Union
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1995 appointed State Heroine of Connecticut; 1834 Silver Plate presented to her by the Glasgow Emancipation Society; 1994 Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame; 2001 Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame; 2008 a statue of her was erected in the Connecticut State Capital
Achievements: opened 1 of the 1st schools for African-American girls in Connecticut in 1833; was a proponent of equal education for all
opened a school to teach White girls in Canterbury CT in 1831 & admitted her 1st Black student (Sarah Harris) in 1832 thus creating the 1st integrated school in Connecticut
was harassed by White townspeople & families began removing their White daughters
was arrested & tried 3 times for violating Connecticut's Black Law enacted in 1933 making it illegal to teach African-American students from outside the State without the town's permission
the Black Law was initiated & passed in an attempt to get Crandall to close her school
when townspeople told her the school would encourage social equality & marriage between Blacks & Whites she replied, "Moses had a Black wife" (Wikipedia)
closed her school in 1834 after backlash from the townspeople including refusal to sell them groceries or accept the students at local churches, her arrest, the arrest of 1 of her students, poisoning her well, threats, setting fire to the school & breaking most of the windows
the Black Law was subsequently repealed in 1838
fled Connecticut after the closure of the school & vowed to never return
was involved in the temperance & women's suffrage movements
ran a school in La Salle IL
1886 Connecticut awarded her a $400 yearly pension ($13,600 in 2023 dollars) at the urging of Mark Twain & other supporters
1834 her supporters commissioned a painting of her by Francis alexander that is on display at Cornell University & a printed copy hangs at the Prudence Crandall Museum in Canterbury CT that was designated a US National Historic Landmark in 1991
1973 the Prudence Crandall Center for Women (now Prudence Crandall Center, Inc) a domestic violence shelter opened in New Britain CT
1966 an elementary school in Enfield CT named after her opened
arguments from her 3 trials were used in Brown v Board of Education in 1954