Hi! For our second Community Spotlight we're focusing on another rollover entrant. He kept being rolled over to future series because I wasn't sure if he belonged more in the Community or ELM Spotlights, but I ultimately decided on Community because his accomplishment improved things as a whole for education, laid the foundation for a groundbreaking win for us as a community and forever changed the country's laws. Sometimes it takes something we perceive as 'small,' bucking society's norms to speak up about something wrong and end up changing the course of a nation. Sounds cheesy but it's the truth. I just wish today's entrant had been around to see what he helped do for us. Let's get into it!
Name: Benjamin Roberts, 1815-1881
Profession: Writer, activist, printer and abolitionist
Why is the Spotlight on him today? For opening the door to the eventual desegregation of public schools and the direct reason behind the basis of the "separate but equal" doctrine
History and notables:
--Filed a groundbreaking lawsuit called Roberts v. City of Boston, which he filed on behalf of his young daughter, whom he wanted to be able to attend a better quality school that was safer and in a closer proximity to their home but none of the schools were integrated
--The Roberts v. City of Boston suit is regarded as the first legal move against ending segregated schools, as Roberts was trying to end racial discrimination in Boston schools, allowing his daughter to access the quality of education she needed
--Published a report the same year on the lawsuit called Report of the Colored People of the City of Boston, on the Subject of Exclusive Schools, which went into detail about the lawsuit he filed and why he felt the need to file it
--The original filing was awarded to the defendant (the city of Boston), and Roberts took it to the state legislature with the help of one of his lawyers from the case and it resulted in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts eradicating segregated schools across the state, the first such law
--The ruling in the suit was directly cited as the basis of the "separate but equal" doctrine in the Plessy v Ferguson suit of 1896, which ruled that segregated public establishments were constitutional as long as they were equal in quality and re-established the segregation running rampant in the South
--Was used as the basis in another lawsuit in 1954, this one the Brown v Board of Education suit, but this time the suit ruled against the "separate of equal" doctrine and cited Roberts' lawyer's notes on the case, which finally resulted in eliminating segregation from public school across the nation
--Leaned on his family history of activism first through his job as an editorial writer for Liberator, an abolitionist magazine, and combating racism by advocating for integration and equal treatment and education for Blacks
--Wrote one of the first books to be published by an African-American, The House Servant's Directory
--Printed the first directory of his town in 1841 in addition to pamphlets, books and even an reissued edition of Light and Truth, in collaboration with the Committee of Colored Gentlemen
--Created and published one of the first African-American newspapers in the Anti-Slavery Herald, which he felt would better assist the Black journalists and writers in expressing themselves on a supportive platform, but doubled as a training ground for up and coming journalists
--Posthumously had the case covered in a 2004 novel called Sarah's Long Walk: The Free Blacks of Boston and How Their Struggle for Equality Changed America
Further reading links:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Quote of the Day:
“We[Black children] were looked upon, by them[White children], as unworthy to be instructed in common with others.”
--Benjamin F. Roberts
What does this organization provide? Funding for children in south and west Chicago public schools so that they can receive better quality education. The organization is partnered with an urban, predominantly Black elementary school and within two years of the partnership, the school was able to drastically improve the quality of resources available to their students. The ultimate goals of the organization are to draw more attention to the South Shore community of Chicago and building a solid foundation for it to utilize better resources.
A secondary place to lend your help would be The I-Project's #WENEEDSHELTER project, which specifically targets low-income Black women and the discrimination that results in gentrification and displacement of their families. They seek to educate affected residents on eviction laws in Illinois, the intentional deception of families of color to make them believe they are legal homeowners, what gentrification is and their property tax rights, and what home probation is. Check the links below, especially if you live in the Chicago area or know someone who lives in the area and finds themselves somehow affected by any of the things mentioned.
See you tomorrow!
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