The Jaffrey-Rindge MLK Committee will present the New Hampshire Humanities program “Abolitionists of Noyes Academy,” a live virtual event with historian Dan Billin, Wednesday, Jan. 19, from 7 to 8 p.m. The event is free, but registration is required.
In 1835, abolitionists opened one of the nation’s first integrated, coeducational schools in Canaan. Eager African-American students flocked to the school from as far away as Boston, Providence and New York City, but were soon driven out by local and neighboring opponents, who dragged the school building a half-mile from its lot and ran the students out of town.
New Hampshire’s first experiment in educational equality was brief, but it helped launch the public careers of three African-American leaders: Henry Highland Garnet, Alexander Crummell and Thomas Sipkins Sidney.
In an illustrated lecture, Billin plumbs the depths of anti-abolitionist sentiment in early 19th-century New England and the courage of three young friends.
For information and registration, visit MLK Celebration Jaffrey-Rindge on Facebook. Inquiries may be directed to jaffreyrindgemlk@gmail.com.