HISTORICAL SKETCH of EDUCATION FOR THE COLORED RACE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 1807-1905. hy Winfield S. Montgomery, Asst. Stjpt. part op" the report of the board of edu¬ cation to the commissioners of the district of columbia, 1904-1905. washington: SMITH BROTHERS, PRINTERS. 1907. HISTORICAL SKETCH os1 EDUCATION FOR THE COLORED RACE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 1807-1905. by Winfield S. Montgomery, Asst. Stjpt. part of the report of the board ob1 edu¬ cation to the commissioners of the district of columbia, 1904-1905. washington: smith: brothers, printers. 1007. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EDUCATION FOR THE COLORED RACE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, J807-J905. By Winfiein. This school became the center of mental and moral uplift, and for two years did much to take away the reproach attached to that section. A summary of the work of philanthropic and religious societies may be gathered from the following table: Day schools. Night schools. 1864. | 1864-65. .1865-66. 1866-67. 1864-65. Number of schools. Number of teachers Number of pupils 26 61 2,650 62 29 3,588 42 71 3,930 62 80 4,228 10 22 1,020 The autumn of 1867 witnessed the general cessation of work by these various organizations, because at that time the growth of the free public school fostered by the general and municipal governments seemed to warrant the public in taking up and prosecuting the task. How well the problem has been met let the account of the next epoch, the public school period, answer. The apparent sporadic, unsystematic manner in which this humanitarian work was done does not detract in the least from its value or from the honor and glory redounding to the actors. Its parallel can not be found in all history. The human ele¬ ment—the real man and woman—were essential in this initial effort to reach and touch the people. The altruistic spirit, springing from highly evolved minds and hearts of men and women who lived their religion, who showed their faith by their works, was absolutely necessary. These "contrabands," under this vital, personal tuitition, began to "put off the old" and "to put on the new." The touch of these lovers of humanity was baptism ; their '' presence created an atmosphere to breathe which was an education.'' The evolution transcends the imagination. Four decades of mo¬ mentum gained by these early labors have wrought changes 24 of centttries in this unschooled, uncivilized mass. The efforts put forth prepared this mass for rapid assimilation into the citi¬ zenship of the community and country. The spirit of sacrifice, the sublime heroism shown, the "wither¬ ing ostracism and sarcasm borne in their Great Master's name by that body of chosen men and women who carried forward this work no pen can portray. These teachers were of necessity nearly all white—the best blood of the land, equipped with the culture of a high and mighty civilization of the great free North. They enabled the newly made freedman to slough off the ignor¬ ance of centuries, to appreciate, enjoy, and contribute to the civilization and Christianity of which they were the splendid representatives. Their bodies are dust, their souls are with the just, and their work, devotion, and sacrifice rise as an everlasting incense before the throne of God. Their labors could not be paid for in money. For the love of humanity they toiled, re¬ warded in the consciousness of soul wealth, inestimable in mere silver and gold, weighed only in celestial scales with God as pay¬ master- To these now sainted souls apply the words '' Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Many of the names of these true missionaries of a higher ltfe who toiled and prayed for the pitiable children of bondage in this their time of sore trial and need, who sowed among them the seed of knowledge and religion, have faded from the memory of men, but their work and sacrifices appears in cleaner, purer, more-developed men and women of the race here and elsewhere and will be cherished in gratitude by them till the heavens have been rolled together as a scroll! PUBLIC SCHOOL PERIOD. This era of instruction for the colored race here marks the passage from private and philanthropic effort to the public, municipal support and control of schools. Personal and philanthropic sacrifice yields to systematic, regu¬ lar, governmental aid. The ready and adequate response to the needs of the educa¬ tional cause through the years of free schools gives the District 25 of Columbia grounds for congratulation and pride upon the prog- gress gained and achievements made in this the greatest interest within its borders. In the beginning of this period the problem to be solved by the District of Columbia was peculiarly difficult. Into it had come thousands of ex-slaves in squads and battalions, and, although the splendid and unstinted exertions of the '' relief societies,'' the Red Cross" of education, had done much, they merely touched the edge of the vast task. This constantly augmenting body of ignorance and illiteracy had not gradually grown up in the community, but by the swift changes of war had been thrown with startling effect into it. These human liabilities must be turned into assets; this uncivil¬ ized, untutored mass must be made assimilable or remain a thorn in the side of the municipality. Happily the authorities here were were not left to grapple alone with the evil. A generous Gen¬ eral Government gave needed succor. This was natural and right. The freshly freed slave felt that the Government owed him an education. He had earned it by centuries of unrequited toil in the sweat and blood of bondage and deserved it for the manhood shown in the nation's peril, in heroism on " the tented field " and " in the imminent deadly breach." It may be that the story of '' forty acres and a mule'' found ready credence in his mind because he believed it his due from a Government to which he now thought he belonged—a newer and better master than the flesh and blood one from whom he had just been liberated. Congress, in May, 1862, passed the first act for the establish¬ ment of schools for primary instruction of colored children in the cities of Washington and Georgetown, 10 per centum of taxes collected from persons of color being designated for this purpose. This was but a drop in the ocean. The money would come only from free persons of color, for the slaves had just been emancipated at a cost of $1,000,000 to the Government to pay owners. Would that this sum had been used to educate the slave rather than to remunerate the master ! An average of $300 was paid for each slave, an amount sufficient to have carried them a goodly distance on learning's path. 26 This enactment, following so soon on the District emancipa¬ tion, which occurred in the month of April, 1862, showed that the Government had considered the necessity of educating the manumitted people. The pitifulness of the provision did not, however, permit the starting of a single school, and for two years the act was nugatory. More adequate means were provided through the act passed in June, 1864, but a hostile interpreta¬ tion by the municipal authorities delayed the use of the funds for schools. An appeal was made to Congress to cure matters, and it did so, From 1864 the cause progressed comparatively smcothly, although insufficiency of money compelled delay in opening enough schools to meet the pressing demands. In truth, only one was in operation from 1864 to 1866. By act of Congress in 1862 the control of colored schools was placed into the hands of a special board called the '' board of trustees of colored schools for Washington and Georgetown." Thus, it is seen that in the very beginning the management and initiatory work of public education was placed under the care of the colored race, and to the men who administered so efficiently the trust we are indebted for the impulse given to the cause of instruction in the cities. To get " a square deal," however, it was necessary for Con¬ gress to enact the law of July 23, 1866, whose language was clear and explicit as to schools for the colored. This immediately placed at the disposal of the trustees funds adequate to the inau¬ guration of a system of public schools for the two cities. Hon John W. Patterson, then a member of the House of Rep¬ resentatives from New Hampshire, prepared the section which rendered the law effective as to the colored schools, His name is honored and perpetuated in the Patterson School, in which annually are gathered hundreds of the children of the race for whom he has rendered such signal and far-reaching service. Prior to the full force of this last act of Congress in " 1866-67, there were 5 schools, with 7 teachers and 450 pupils." As pre¬ viously stated, the first public school was opened March 1, 1864, in Kbenezer Church on Capitol Hill. The erection of the first pub'ic schoolhouse for colored children occurred in 1865, at Sec¬ ond and C streets SE., where to-day stands the Lincoln School. 27 Within the limits of the two cities, in the fall of 1867, were 9,295 children between the ages of 6 and 17, of whom only 2,523, less than one-third, were in school. The territory embraced within the corporations was separated into five districts at the outset of public instruction, and in these were 8 schoolhouses. In these buildings were found 54 schoolrooms, with slightly over 3,000 sittings. The showing in these items for the school year ended June 30, 1905, is as follows : Number of buildings occupied 43 Number of class rooms 355 Number of sittings 14,675 All of the original sites of school buildings are still occupied, more modern structures having replaced the old frame and anti¬ quated brick ones. In the early efforts to establish a system of free public instruc¬ tion the foremost colored citizens gladly accepted service in this beneficent work, and the names of Alfred Jones, William Syphax, William H. Smith, John H. Ferguson, William H. A. Wormley, Alfred Pope, John F. N. Wilkinson, John H. Brooks, Henry Johnson, William P. Ryder deserve recall in this connection be¬ cause these men performed a most important mission in the in¬ ception of the public school system among the colored population here. It was natural at the beginning for the great majority of the teachers in colored schools to be white, but in 1869, the instruc¬ tors were half and half—as many colored as white—and as com¬ petent colored ones came forward they were given the preference in employment, not because of greater fitness from an intellectual or professional point of view, but on account of an element, mighty in its force and results, sympathy with and ability and willingness to enter into and appreciate the feelings and aspira¬ tions of the learner. Gradually the white contingent in the corps waned and the colored waxed, until the last of the whites was Miss Abby S. Simmons. This faithful and noble woman labored for over thirty years among a people she saw come into national life wearing the garments of slavery, and when her sun sank, beheld them clothed in the shining robes of freedom. 28 Through weight of years she voluntarily withdrew in 1901, fol¬ lowed by the benedictions of the entire body of teachers, who liad presented her with a purse of over seven hundred dollars. Her life and services are fittingly remembered in the Abby. S. Simmons School for the colored race here. The white teachers employed during this period were no weak¬ lings. Intellectually, physichlly, morally, and spiritually they represented the best and bluest blood of New England, descend¬ ants, many of them, of that heroic band who had from the ros¬ trum and in the press waged with matchless eloquence and irre¬ sistible logic the battle for universal freedom. Fortunate was the race at the birth of liberty in "coming into such vital, per¬ sonal contact with these splendid specimens of humanity, char¬ actered in all that had and will make our country great and noble. Of the early colored teachers words of eulogy fail; their monu¬ ment is the system to-day. A few are with us to-day, most of them working with '' eye undimmed and natural force un¬ abated." Male teachers were seldom found within the city limits, the corps being almost a gynecocracy, but a very exacting and laborious one. Each room had 60 pupils, oftener more, and definite, percentable, tabulatable results were demanded. The testimony of the northern teachers as to the capacity of the colored learner to master the lessons was uniformly flatter¬ ing, no mean compliment when it is remembered that many of these teachers had had large experience in instructing white children before engaging in the task among colored. The schools for colored youth in the beginning were placed by Congress under the Secretary of the Interior, but in 1873 they were transferred to the District government, then a Territorial form. The governor was empowered to appoint a board of trustees, secretary, treasurer, and superintendent. The super¬ intendent who had been in charge from the organization was reappointed. This man was Mr. George F. T. Cook. The Territorial government was abolished in 1874 for the present one of three Commissioners, who continued Mr. Cook in office, and he occupied the position until July'l, 1900 when the 29 present board of education took control of educational affairs. How well, how efficiently lie administered the important trust let the growth of the schools answer ; let the able reports which constitute the history of the colored schools answer; let the uni¬ versal love and respect of the entire body of the teachers answer. The present unified system of schools was a gradual growth. The first movement toward consolidation occurred when the United States Governmental control under the Secretary of the Interior was shifted to the District of Columbia by the act of Congress approved March 3, 1873. The second step was taken when, in the autumn of 1874, the four separate boards of trustees, representing four distinct school interests of Washington, George¬ town, county, and the colored schools of Washington and George- lowu were merged into one, composed of nineteen members, of whom five were colored. The schools now were under a com¬ mon board, with white and colored membership and with a com¬ mon course of study. These two steps to union still left a col¬ ored superintendent, independent and coordinate with the white. This plan appeared to be the '' utmost practicable limit'' of unification and existed for thirty odd years, during which the colored schools kept well abreast of the educational advancement of the city and country. But a third and most radical change was inaugurated when the existing plan went into effect July 1, 1900. The colored superintendent in his coordinate independent capacity is eliminated, and all schools, white and colored, are placed under one superintendent, with two assistant superintend¬ ents, one of whom, under the direction of the superintendent, shall have charge of colored schools. In July, 1882, the system had grown to unwieldiness under the old methods of supervision, and more expert supervison be¬ came imperative, so supervising principals or local superintend¬ ents were appointed. At that time these schools were comprised in two divisions; to-day there-are four, including the county. COUNTY SCHOOLS. Colored county schools up to 1904-5 were entirely under white supervision, but the present board of education has made an ad¬ ditional colored supervising principal and so divided the city and 30 county schools as to equalize the work of this supervisory body. The real start for county schools was the act passed by Congrees June, 1864. An attempt had been made for this object May 20, 1862, but it was futile, doing little for the white and less for the colored. School commissioners, however, were appointed, met and organized as a working body July, 1862. The county was divided by them into seven districts, thus beginning the plan which eventually developed into a system of schools for the suburban regions. The act of June, 1864, may very justly be looked upon as the magna charta of schools for colored children, for it gave them an equitable proportion of the revenues for both county and city. The court had to be invoked to construe the law because of hos¬ tility on the part of some in properly dividing the funds. The honorable court handed down an opinion in consonance with the act, and from July 1, 1864, the work went forward under great opposition to the establishment of schools for colored children. Public sentiment in the county against colored schools was bitterer than in the city. A few choice minds with clear vision lent their influence and help in providing these schools to be fostered by the Government. The colored population in the nearby rural regions was more fortunate than the white, who had then only a few private schools. The philanthropic efforts and Freedmen's Bureau had rendered excellent service in building structures for educational use in nearly^ all of the seven districts. These schools were recognized as public schools and have been so continued. A generous policy guided these early commissioners and in many cases they allowed more to the colored than the legal requirement. The opposition to the colored schools has already been adverted to. This unfriendly attitude and feeling among the county whites appeared in the refusal by them to sell land for school- houses, and so in some of the districts it could only be purchased from colored landowners. Gradually, however, buildings were erected in all but one district, and at present there are in the county thirteen used for educational purposes. Too much credit cannot be given to the large-hearted, broad- minded men who discharged the duties of school commissioners 31 in the beginning of county education; R. W. Carter, C. H. Wiltberger, Dr. W. W. Godding, C. B. Smith, the last coming on the stage after the foundation work had been done. Mr. Smith rendered most valuable aid, since he had been for many years one of the most famous and successful teachers in Ver¬ mont; Mr. Solomon G. Brown deserves mention as one who devoted time and energy to county school affairs. For pro¬ fessional and general help, to Mr. Joseph R. Keene, for many years the honored, loved, and respected supervisor of the colored county schools, a large measure of praise is due for untiring devotion. WASHINGTON NORMAL SCHOOL NO. 2. In the account of the first period Miss Myrtilla Miner was mentioned as one whose school furnished opportunity for educa¬ tion to free persons of color. It is due her and her friends who assisted her in the establishment of the school to set forth in detail the origin and progress of that enterprise. For the facts bearing on this phase of the subject we are indebted to " Myrtilla Miner, A Memoir," written by Ellen M. O'Connor. The world counts it a duty to hold aloft to the gen¬ eral gaze of succeeding generations famous characters, men and women, at times in eclipse in the rush and crush of new events and interests. Genius and extraordinary services in statesmanship, war, art, science, literature, and philosophy are hardly ever suffered to remain long obscured. History and literature embalm them, and mankind delights to recall these names as years pass, keep¬ ing them '4 fresh in immortal youth, exempt from mutability and decay." But upon everyday goodness and virtues and and services the shadows, clouds, and darkness of oblivion too often rest. These conquerors, whose dust sleeps in lowly graves, are among the most saving and inspiring influences of our common humanity. On March 4, 1815, in Brookfield, Madison County, N. Y., was born Myrtilla Miner, whose career was destined to become indissolubly linked with a people then " dispised and rejected of men," but through her efforts, in the fullness of time, to come 32 into the life of the American nation as men and citizens. In her early years she lived, moved, and had her being''in an atmos¬ phere of "high moral integrity and deep religions reverence." Ribbed with these principles she sought the best mental training afforded in the immediate region. Of necessity in those pioneer times the opportunities were narrow and limited. Her active intellect and fiery spirit could not be satisfied with the facilities at hand, and, lacking parental assistance through poverty, she departed from home to gain better preparation. A short stay at an academy on credit, by the good will of the principal, enabled her to appease in part the cravings of her intellectual nature. Such progress was made in learning that, while a mere girl, she secured a chance to teach in the public schools of her native State, and also in Rhode Island. A slight circumstance, a mere chance, directed her mind to the condition of the slaves in the country. While attending the academy she met two free colored girls, matriculates in the same institution. These two young ladies were without doubt from the South, fully familiar with the conditions surrounding the slaves there; and their association with Miss Myrtilla Miner gave her an insight, a revelation of the subject, which eventually led to the inauguration of the work that has forever connected her name with the cause of education in this District. In the proA idence of God she received a call to Mississippi to teach the daughters of slaveholders, and she accepted the offer. Here she witnessed sights and encountered experiences concerning bondage that made her very soul quiver. Then it was her purpose was taken to spend and be spent to alleviate the helpless victims of a system whose terrors and horrors could no longer be denied or concealed. The temerity to remonstrate against some of the cruelties and barbarities of the plantation rendered her persona -non grata, and she was compelled to leave. All the currents of her being now set toward the accom¬ plishment of her purpose, and her life henceforth became a rill to swell the mighty river of antislavery sentiment which finall)'" swept awajr the system of bondage, the foulest blot upon the fair escutcheon of the Republic. She had seen " the very pulse 33 of the machine," had been in the hell of slavery, looked upon its horrors, seen its brutalities, felt its curse, and such were the thoughts and sentiments aroused that she resolved, like Sampson, to feel for the pillars of slavery to overthrow it. After vainly considering the plan to compass her purpose by forcible means, she conceived the idea of establishing a school for colored girls at Washington, D. C. Her credentials, her certificate of character for this exalted mission, was the moral courage carried in her own soul. Thus Myrtilla Miner became an ambassadress of God, to hasten the triumph of right, truth, and justice. As stated, the chimerical scheme to free at one blow the sub¬ jects of slavery was soon changed for another, to educate the women of the race. She registered a vow in heaven to do it. Gyves from the limbs without their removal from the mind would be useless, for freedom must be maintained by the indi¬ vidual who realizes its pricelessness. That heaven-recorded pledge was redeemed in the establish¬ ment of a school whose mission is being nobly carried forward in the Washington Normal School No. 2 under the Board of Education. Her zeal, her faith, her courage, belong only to those who have the spirit of Him who died to redeem mankind. Here was the stuff martyrs are made of; here the enthusiasm that burns its way to success. If there be a parallel to this woman, it is found in Martin lyUther. No greater courage was shown by the mighty reformer when he started for the " Diet at Worms " to confront prelates ■and potentates, representing the most powerful organization then existing. The world exalts and glorifies the man, builds statues. He freed the human soul from the bondage of super¬ stition and fear, led it to commune with God face to face. She is unknown, forgotten; no gravestone t& mark her burial place. She freed human beings from mental bondage, led them to look upon themselves as men. The voices dissuading Luther from going were many; anathema, before which kings quailed, stood before him. Before Myrtilla Miner loomed the power and prestige of slavery; then the anti- slavery sentiment was circumscribed and weak. 34 The voices of her friends were raised against the scheme and her enemies chided her as wild. "He hath a devil" has been tauntingly hurled at reformers in every age. Hatred, prejudice, injustice, wrong, spring from ignorance, lack of faith and breadth. National, sectional, and racial antipathies have their source in narrow conceptions. The truth when seen, when known, when done, will make free. Miss Miner desired to have truth '' get a hearing " in the nation's capital. Well has it been said that what is truth in one age is not truth in another. Truth must be translated into terms of the thought of the age, which is tantamount to asserting that the form of truth is temporal, but that truth itself is eternal. The protean shapes assumed by truth during the processes of the suns merely mark the progress of the human mind from high to higher. The advance and sweep of truth have included larger and larger segments of the human race within its scope. It has lifted mortals to the skies; it has touched the better angels of our nature; it has shown "malice toward none, charity toward all," till to-day we point with pride to the achievements of a cen¬ tury. Miss Miner saw that by educating the women the crime and wrong of slavery might be reached. The babe nursed by one whose mind and heart were opened, who felt freedom, could not be kept or made a slave. Back of Sparta's soldiery was the Spartan mother; behind the unconquered legions of Rome was the Roman matron. History is rich in examples of the mission of woman in creating and maintaining the spirit of liberty. Behind the splendid manhood of America is her grand woman¬ hood. Hers was a spiritual, moral courage. She had realized while in Mississippi that in the midst of a civilization based on Christianity the pagan idea controlled in regard to the slave, the body being deemed of more value than the mind and soul. To her keen sense the peccant point was the condition of woman. The life and services of this rare woman deserve to be kept constantly before the people for whom she sacrificed so much. She should shine as a star of the first magnitude in the moral and intellectual firmament. 35 No unbounded wealth was asked for the undertaking, only enough to make tuition free in the beginning, an irrefutable evidence of faith in her cause. In 1851 the great cause in the country was African slavery. Schisms in homes, business, politics, and churches were every¬ where engaging the thought of the age. Abolitionism, a voice of one crying in the desert, was feeble, despised. Surely was it a bold step to enter the District of Columbia, where the spirit of slavery was regnant, to work among a free colored population of 8,000, who came in touch with several thousands of slaves. December, 1851, in a small room, with six pupils and $100, this woman laid the foundation of the school whence have come the teachers of the schools for over a quarter of a century. No "early risen and hard driven" slave toiled as did this frail little woman. Her example inspired every one of the forty pupils who composed the school for the first six months. She possessed the genius of work. Her hands were busy in house- hould affairs, thus teaching in the best way the dignity of labor to those who perchance regarded with disfavor and aversion manual and industrial efforts. The ostracism, contempt, and obloquy endured by her are beyond comprehension at this dis¬ tance. A hostile public opinion found expression in a threat by the mayor of the city to abolish all schools for colored people. But the news did not disturb her. Unfaltering trust in God, in the belief that she was but the humble instrument to carry out this purpose, sustained and soothed her in the darkest hour. The inimical spirit early led her to seek to secure a permanent place for the school, because she had been compelled to move many times, always having great difficulty in finding suitable quarters. The far-reaching results of her labors, humble though they were, came home to her mind often, and she rested in the assurance that she had found her '' niche'' in the world. Blessed was she, for she had found her work, the beginning of the redemption of a people from the ignorance and helplessness of their condition. She " threw into the censor the great hopes of the future," and toiled on. Never once did the difficulty of the task escape her active mind, though fearful that physical strength 36 might fail, she felt it to be her duty to "prepare the way for some nobler spirit-" Within a year after her advent, or in 1853, she was ready to purchase more than three acres, a whole city square of ground, funds to be raised through the indefatigable labors of this heroic woman. Four thousand dollars were needed. Mrs. Stowe gave "$1,000 of Uncle Tom's Cabin money" toward the purchase, and so concretely aided the people her genius had so touchingly and graphically presented to the world. In i855 the school was opened in the fourth place since its inception. Such wanderings were forced upon her because of the flood of prejudice which covered the land. Secrecy was necessary in the plans, and the world was kept in the dark as to what was doing, the newspapers being shunned as deadly foes. The rowdy, hoodlum element gave vent to pent-up hate and malice by throwing stones at the house where Miss Miner dwelt for some time. The saints had been stoned before, and, like them, she trusted in God, but practiced shooting with a pistol, thus showing herself not wholly a nonresistant or Simon- pure Quaker. Such was the fame of the school that people from all parts of the country and wortd were frequent visitors, one day coming from Kentucky, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Canada. At the present time this school receives numerous visitors, who depart with expressions of surprise at the character of the training given and the splendid appearance and spirit of the students. Miss Miner showed her faith by her works, her sympathy. She lived with and for the people she sought to elevate. She regarded them as human beings, with intellects to be developed, with souls to be saved—shared and appreciated their aspira¬ tions. Although she never took any of her pupils north with the express object of using them to collect funds, as has been the custom later, once three little colored children were carried with her on a summer vacation to a Pennsylvania town, and while there the inhabitants persuaded her to permit the little strangers to sing and speak in church. The church gave more than $20 to 37 the school as a result of the entertainment. So, thus early did this unfortunate race begin to sing its way into the hearts and pockets of the northern people, and into those of princes and potentates of the earth. The quiet, unobtrusive policy of the founder of the school, the careful refraining from publishing anything pertaining to the work, permitted its uninterrupted progress for several years; but in 1857 a circular setting forth the scope and aims of the school, was published in a Boston paper. This publicity at once brought out a protest from the mayor of Washington in the form of a communication in the leading paper, the National Intelligencer. This protest is inconceivable to one who witnessed the comtfiencement exercises of the Wash¬ ington Normal School No. 2, M Street High School, and Arm¬ strong Manual Training School, in Convention Hall, June 16, 1905. On that evening, in this centennial year of public schools, on the stage were seated the three Commissioners of the District, Dr. Booker T. Washington, the inspiring educator among us to-day, and many prominent citizens of the city, with nearly 200 graduates of the three schools, 38 being from the Miner founda¬ tion. And this, mark you, in just forty-eight years after the publication of the article against educating only a part of the people through charitable efforts. Surely the world moves in swift and oft recurring changes. The efforts of this dauntless and rare woman brought her into close touch and relation with the master minds and hearts of the age. These noble men and women, the glory of our coun¬ try, stars in literature, religion, and philanthropy, lent their aid to the cause without stint, and by their influence made it a success. The herculean struggle to secure money with which to build engrossed time and energy, and under the strain Miss Miner's health gave way. The school was closed for a season in 1860. The rumblings of the mighty conflict were distinctly heard. Bitterness, hate, and opposition grew intense, and she sadly realized that no physical vigor remained to meet the onrushing storm. 38 For a year she battled against ill-health, but in 1861, with shattered physical frame, she set sail for California to restore her wasted energies, to live or die as God should will. During the sojourn on the Pacific coast, the act incorporating the Institute for the Education of Colored Youth in the District of Columbia," was passed by Congress March 3, 1863, the bill having been intro¬ duced by Senator Henry Wilson. The school appears to have lapsed into inactivity in the absence of the moving spirit and in the stress of war's mighty upheaval, and so continued until 1871, when the work was again resumed in connection with Howard University. Then was opened a preparatory and normal department, controlled by that institu¬ tion but supported by funds collected by Miss Miner. This arrangement continued until 1876. The original plot of land, nearly three acres, bought in 1853 for $4,000, in 1872 had been sold for $40,000. This sum with other moneys gathered by Miss Miner enabled the trustees to carry on the work of education in a more independent way and more in accordance with the original policy of the founder. So, September 13, 1876, at 1613 P street NW., the Miner Normal School began a separate, inde¬ pendent existence, which terminated in 1879, when the school became a part of the public school system of the District of Columbia. The imposing and commodious building on Seventeenth street between P and Q streets NW., known as the Miner School, was erected in 1877 at a cost of $37,000. This structure is a fitting monument to Miss Miner, but grander is the gratitude of the race for whom she toiled and suffered. That feeling shall remain when thrones have decayed and diadems crumbled. Three different principals have had charge of the Miner Normal School during its existence. Miss Mary B. Smith, assisted by her sister, Miss Sarah R. Smith (white), organized and put the work on its way. This lady was followed by Miss Martha B. Briggs in 1879; she by Miss I^ucy K. Moten — both identified with the colored people. Miss Briggs was a born teacher, and her work showed those qualities of head and heart that have made her name famous in the annals of education in the charac¬ ter of the graduates. The student teachers caught her missionary 39 spirit and went forth from her presence stronger souls full of sympathy to magnify the teacher's vocation and to inspire the learner. Many of the women who sat at her feet are laboring in the schools here now, filling the highest positions, and in beauty and richness of character running like a thread of gold through the teaching corps. At the resignation of Miss Briggs, in 1883, Miss Moten was elected in September of that year, and is at preseut in charge. The school was domiciled for a season on P street NW., then, in 1877, transferred to the building constructed on Seventeenth street NW. For a few years its work was done in the Magruder School, M street, between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets NW., and at present is, arid'has been for a number of years, in the Miner School, which is annually rented by the District from the Miner trustees. The number admitted has varied from 25 to 40, the latter being the present one. Only high school graduates are accepted, and these through careful sifting by examination. The pressure to enter this school is strong, although not so much so as in the near past. This avenue to a dignified an honorable vocation is quite the only one open to the young high school graduates. Once upon a time females alone were admitted, but now males have equal opportunity. Careful physical examination, by medical inspect¬ ors, assures good bodily health, the written and oral tests secure intellectual competency, and the high school record in deportment makes possible moral decenc}'. The course formerly occupied one year, but at present, and for some time back, two years. This additional time was in response to deeper, wider, more adequate preparation of those who may be called to minister unto the educational life of the children. The teachers composing the corps take high rank professionally, and in alertness, activity, and up-to-dateness hold the foremost place. It is well that this is true, for these schools are an object lesson to the whole country and to foreign nations. The best are none too good for the nation's capital. The normal school has demonstrated its necessity and usefulness. The day of blundering, feeling for results in the schoolroom 40 by the untrained teacher, if happily she may find them, is past. The reign of law, the supreme service of science to the age, is recognized in teaching, which is as much a subject of law as " the ship that sails or the star that shines." Teachers know what to do, when to do, how to do, and this above all, why they do. To the normal school the community is indebted for ration¬ alizing the great and sacred function of the teacher. It is fondly hoped that in the near future there will be provided a building, complete in every respect, for the training of the teachers who are to carry forward the cause of education among the people, that they may contribute to the grandest civilization yet achieved, and help to perpetuate the institutions of an enlightened government. It was stated above that Miss Miner had in 1861 started for California, and it is proper to trace her there and back, and finally to the tomb. Ostensibly, health had carried her west, but deep down in her heart she cherished the purpose to collect funds for her school. The unparalleled scenery of the region, the balmy climate, the congeniality of friends told rapidly in the restoration of broken health. But amid the gladness of life, while the hours seemed jeweled with joy, came a terrible accident, which led to her death shortly after returning to Washington, whereon December 17, 1864, she passed to that " rest which remaineth to the people of God." Her body sleeps in Oak Hill Cemetery, unmarked by a gravestone. The grasses of forty-one years have waved over it. No nobler act could be performed than for the graduates and friends of the Miner School — yea, for the entire race here — to place a suitable monument to mark her final resting place. Inscribe upon it: Myrtii,i,a Miner, "Within this lowly grave a ccmquerer lies." HIGH SCHOOL,. The necessity for a high school was felt early in the develop¬ ment of the schools. November, 1870, a preparatory high school was set up to accommodate the few strong, exceptional pupils found in the various grammar schools throughout the five 41 districts into which the schools were divided. These advanced learners were in the grade corresponding to the present seventh grade. By sending these exceptional pupils to a building cen¬ trally located, the grammar grade teacher was freed to devote more attention to the majority. The first year of this preparatory high school had about fifty students. This plan of providing re¬ lief for the grammar grade teacher and opportunity for the bright boys and girls in the schools lasted from 1870 to 1875-76. The recognition of ability and ambition in the individual doubtless greatly stimulated and encouraged the love of learning among the people, and they have held fast to this opportunity for broader and higher culture. No normal school existed here at the beginning of the high school, and the demand for teachers was so great and urgent that prior to the first high school graduates, June, 1876, the pupils were called to teach before finishing the full course. The class of 1876 spent the third year in the high school, doing normal school work to fit them for teacherships. Purely high School graduates came out June, 1877, and from that time on these graduates have increased in numbers until they aggregate 1,701. The preparatory high school naturally led to the establishment of a pure high school, fed by three eighth grades, which were formed in three sections of the city. It should be remembered that the elementary course in the schools at first embraced but seven grades, the eighth being added later, as the apex of the elementary schools. The high school curriculum at first was mainly classical and English. Later scientific, technical, and business courses were added. The thorough winnowing, by examinations, of candidates for the high school at the beginning of . its career fixed a high stan¬ dard, and only the most gifted minds attained it. Therefore, the graduates of the earlier years have achieved notable distinc¬ tion in many walks of life. Many of the strongest teachers in the public schools, even with a broken high school education, came from these first fruits of secondary training. The examinations held for teacherships in former times attracted candidates from all 42 sections of the land, and the colored from the unfinished high school course here, measured by the same standard as for all, acquitted themselves well, a high encomium upon the character of the instruction given in the high school. The high school began its existence in the basement of the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church. Next it was housed in •Stevens school, 1871-72; in 1872-77, in Summer School; in 1877-1890, in Miner School ; then in the present high school building, which, although quite ample at the outset, is inade¬ quate to the present needs. During the thirty-five years of this school seven different principals have had charge. Miss Emma J. Hutchins, a cul¬ tured white woman from Vermont, was the first, and held the position for one year only, voluntarily resigning, because, as she asserted, there were colored teachers of acknowledged ability and culture who ought to be given the headship. Miss Mary Jane Patterson, the first colored woman to graduate from the classical course of Oberlin college, followed Miss Hutchins, and she by Mr. Richard T. Greener, the first colored Harvard grad¬ uate. Mr. Greener remained one year, and Miss Patterson again assumed charge. The efficient work of Miss Patterson for a long series of years has endeared her to hundreds who went out from under her training. Mr. Francis L,. Cardozo succeeded Miss Patterson in 1884, and for over a decade administered the affairs of this rapidly growing school. During his incumbency the business department was added to train in business methods many boys and girls who have " made good" in the world. Mr. Cardozo took it when small in numbers, and when he departed it had reached an enrollment between 600 and 700. Dr. Winfield S. Montgomery was the successor of Mr. Cardozo. After Dr. Montgomery came Mr. Robert H. Terrell, who was followed by the present principal, Mrs. Anna J. Cooper. A people so recently released from the prison house of bond¬ age, set down in its civilization complex and rushing, and beset by obstacles calculated to crush hope and courage need excep¬ tional leaders. The high school, the people's college," must furnish these in ever-increasing numbers. Ideals must be im¬ planted. The graduates must be sources of inspiration to the 43 masses among whom they live and work. The constantly new adjustments of life and labor, which are arising in a complex society, demand highly taained intellects in initiatory efforts. Here is need, here is play for the higher mental faculties. If there be no struggle," there can be no " survival of the fittest." Progress finds its source in the higher institutions, where are created and cherished lofty ideals to be carried by scholars out into life. The life and work of hundreds of alumni of this high school attest ampler knowledge, wider, higher, deeper thought, "fuller appreciation of the true and beautiful and the good." Only Moses, the richest dowered among all the Hebrew hosts in Egypt, was fit to climb Sinai's mount to receive from God the laws calculated to bind and mold a people for all time. In the light of the past, in the complex condition of the present, in the unfaltering trust in the future, in the cap¬ ital city of the greatest nation on earth, at the close of a century of public education for the white and slightly over forty years of freedom and thirty-two of free schools for the colored, it is a privilege as well as a duty to praise the work of the high school. ARMSTRONG MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL. Armstrong Manual Training School, opened in 1902 under the principalship of Dr. Wilson B. Evans, represents the apex of hand training begun way down in the grades. No more strik¬ ingly beautiful structure can be found among the numerous fine school buildings in the city. Thoroughly equipped, it can and should in the character of the training given fully justify the hopes and expense of the community. It stands for doing, but knowing should be back of the doing. To do by knowing is more useful educationally than merely to learn by doing. Over against this technical school stands the academic high school whose aim is being, culture. NIGHT SCHOOL. The constant influx of grown people from the rural regions where educational facilities are nil places within the District many illiterates. Again the stern necessity of bread-winning forces many children with an incomplete or broken education 44 into various employments during the day, so shutting off the opportunity to attend the day schools. To remedy the evil and widen the door of opportunity as well as to permit the joy of development, night schools are sustained. The valuable service rendered the cause of learning during the war and shortly after its close by the evening schools has already been noted. The inauguration of the day schools threw them into the back ground for a few years, but they were again put in operation and now form a part of the regular school work. The night schools in large cities doubtless had in mind the fusing and assimilating into American citizenship the hetero¬ geneous foreign population, but the problem with us is the enlightenment of a class suddenly injected into civilization where he who is ignorant and illiterate is at a fearful disadvan ■ tage. The night schools are now attended by all ages, from the young lad or lass to the white-haired, man or woman. The manual training or industrial idea has been added in the form of cooking, sewing, and carpentry. SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS. During the growth and development of the schools there have been added from time to time various departments in response to the needs and demands of the age. Drawing was early made a part of the course of instruction, doubtless at first on aesthetic grounds, but later as a basis also of the industrial idea. To Mr. Thomas W. Hunster the schools are most largely indebted for the important place drawing has occupied. Natur¬ ally gifted, he has by untiring labor and indefatigable effort done a service to these schools scarcely paralleled elsewhere. To-day, after over thirty years of devotion to the cause of learning in this District, he yet stands at the head of this subject, which every¬ where in the system is highly appreciated for its educational value, both for ornament and utility. Prior to the advent of Mr. Walter Smith, who did much for the white schools under the efficient superintendency of Mr. J. Ormond Wilson, Mr. Hunster had started industrial drawing in the colored schools. In the report of the superintendent, George F. T. Cook, for 45 1875 76 is found a reference to Mr. Hunster's first appointment and the splendid work he accomplished. In the report for the year 1877-78, Mr. Cook adverts to the introduction of industrial drawing in the following language : ' 'A feature of the year was industrial drawing, in which there were two classes, one for girls and one for boys; 15 girls and 25 boys." Thus the phase of manual training was in the colored schools about eight years before it appeared in the white. The present practice of making drawings in the class room, to be worked out in the shop, was his idea, conceived long before the shop appeared in the system to make realization possible. The drawing at the various exhibitions of work of the public schools in the past has always won universal praise. At national and international expositions, whenever the schools of this District have been represented, the work in this department has been the focal point. Unity and development characterized the subject from the first grade to the normal school. Music was introduced early in the history of the free public schools, and has grown in value as the system has developed. The names of Messrs. Ksputa and Grant appear among the first who taught this subject. The wonderful results of Professor Esputa's teaching and methods made an epoch. Mr. Grant de¬ voted thirty-five years to the schools, literally dying in the school room, and by his fine musical sense has left a distinct and valu¬ able impress upon the schools. Following these were Mrs. Alice Strange Davis and Miss Harriet A. Gibbs, the present head of this department. The work begun by Mrs. Davis and carried forward by her for a few years was very broad, inspiring and pedagogical. She sought the soul of music and touched the finer sensibilities. Her un¬ timely death deprived the schools of a gifted artist and a beauti¬ ful character. The present head, Miss Gibbs, has taken up the line persued by her predecessor, and excellent returns are seen. Her assist¬ ants ably cooperate with her, an4 the city may feel proud over the high place held by the musical department. The school trustees, recognizing the rising tide of feeling throughout the country in favor of manual training, appointed 46 in 1877 a committee to investigate the subject and to make such recommendations from time to time as would place the District schools in line with that phase of education. Several years prior to the formal action of the trustees, sewing and cooking had been started in a modest way, aided by private resource and carried on by volunteer teachers in the public schools. Mrs. Sarah Shimm, then a teacher in the Hillsdale School, rendered very valuable service in the beginning of sew¬ ing in the public schools. In 1886 manual training was form¬ ally, by action of the trustees, introduced into the public schools. Among the first to teach sewing was Miss Carrie K. Syphax, who very soon became the head of that department, and by skill and labor brought it to its present efficient condition. Begin¬ ning in third grade, sewing is taught to girls one hour a week in the schoolroom by an itinerant instructor through to the sixth grade. Sixth grade girls once a week go to a cutting and fitting shop or room. Cooking is begun with girls in the seventh grade and carried through the eighth. The carpentry began in a small way in the basement of the Banneker School and in Bethel Hall, M street, NW., between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets. The appointment of Mr. James H. Hill in 1887 did much to advance and commend work in wood. Mr. Hill is a practical carpenter, and brought the skill and experience of a master workman to a struggling experi¬ mental step. His generosity and enthusiasm were shown in the loan of his own personal tool outfit for use in the schools. The quick growth and appreciation of the carpentry led to the rental of the Miller Building, on H street, between Sixth and Seventh streets NW., for carpentry, machine shop work, and for forging. A cooking school was also installed here for a few years. At the Miller Building the seventh and eighth grade boys took up the advanced manual training. The few boys from the tech¬ nical course in the high school also received instruction here. This building was surrendered when the Armstrong Manual Training School was opened. Mr. Hill is at present the assistant director of manual training, and to him should be accorded the meed of praise for progress 47 achieved. Also, it is just to say that the subject of cooking was well handled by Miss Matilda B. Cook while she controlled it, and! she merits credit for good work done during her connection with the public schools. Physical culture or health exercises have for many years formed an important feature of the course of training given in all schools. The last extension of the public school took in the kindergar¬ ten, the " subbase " to the system. To-day 15 kindergartens are found in our schools, employing 30 instructors. The annual addition of these schools will soon put a kindergarten in every lo¬ cality and so begin the development of the child at the most critical period. Abler pens than mine will tell of the priceless value of such schools to a people who must swiftly develop and realize through education their inherent capacity, and so find themselves in this civilization that they may contribute to it and pass it on, thus enriched and augmented, to future generations. Thus the system is complete and furnishes an educational training unsurpassed by any other community in this country. The subjoined table shows the present status of the colored schools for the session ended June 30, 1905, in comparison with the year 1874-75 : 48 STATUS OF COLORED SCHOOLS. 1874-75. Number of buildings Number of classrooms Number of seats Total enrollment Number of kindergartens Number of kindergarten teachers and assistants- Number of pupils in kindergartens Number of pupils in first grade Number of pupils second grade Number of pupils in third grade Number of pupils in fourth grade Number of pupils in fifth grade Number of pupils in sixth grade Number of pupils in seventh grade Number of pupils in eighth grade Normal schools Number of teachers in normal school Number of pupil teachers in normal school — Number of practice schools in normal school Number of practice teachers in normal school Number of high schools Number of teachers in high school Number of pupils in high school Number of manual training schools Number of teachers in manual training school . Number of pupils in manual training school Number of special departments Number of teachers in special departments Number of supervising principals Number of buildings for evening schools Number of teachers in evening schools Number of pupils in evening schools Total number of children in the city 6 to 17 years, inclusive Number of superintendents Number of assistant superintendents Number of clerks Number of messengers Number of librarians Number of janitors 10 67 4,365 5,489 a970 al,193 a752 a440 a338 al84 «55 a85 9,328 1 a Number of pupils enrolled for February, 1875. b Evening schoois were held in years previous ; not that year. 49 IN CONCLUSION. The language may declare the advocate rather than the his¬ torian or chronicler. The subject so replete with interest, the facts so opposed to general credence, make mere recital impossi¬ ble to one who has lived to witness the stupendous changes set into operation by the forces of education. Nothing is here for shame, for tears, on the part of a people, called in the provi¬ dence of God to form a portion of the nation whose corner stone is intelligence, a people who in their enslaved and ignorant con¬ dition were designated the corner stone of a Government whose birth was heralded by the shots and shouts of war. To be only partially conversant with 'the tragic events in their history, to have realized the effects of the oppression and persistent preju¬ dice and wrongs, is to arouse the feelings and, perhaps, to lead to the use of strong language with no intention of doing violence to truth or fact. Admiration fills the heart as the story of the early efforts of the people was revealed ; gratitude possesses the soul a! the forces of Christianity and philanthropy were brought to play upon the victims, helpless and homeless ; pride swells the feelings at the sight of the record made in four decades by a people under the influences of freedom, in a government which broke their shackles and admitted them into the glorious privileges of free¬ men and citizens. The wealth of unpaid toil through the blood and sweat of slavery for centuries has been added to the nation's treasury; the soil of the country has been moistened by their blood in its defense, and its Starry Banner has been valorously carried by their patriotism upon foreign territory. This race, whose edu¬ cational history in the District of Columbia for thecentury is under discussion, has earned and deserves the consideration and assistance of their fellowmen.