HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET

Author(s): Ella Albert Brown

Source: Negro History Bulletin , DECEMBER, 1944, Vol. 8, No. 3 (DECEMBER, 1944), pp.
62-63
Published by: Association for the Study of African American Life and History

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44214359

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 62 The Negro History Bulletin

HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET

By Ella Albert Brown

the State of New York, held July that was opposed to the education
5th, 1827.
pioneer in the anti-slavery of the Negro. Even the house
Henry pioneer movement,
movement,Highland in the waswas
anti-slaveryborn
born Garnet,
When young Garnet was four-De- De-
where young Garnet lived, was at-
cember 23, 1815 in New Market, teen he worked as cook and steward tacked by the mob when he was ill
Maryland. His parents were slaves, on board a schooner from New in bed with a fever, but he got up
and his grandfather, called "Jo- York to Alexandria, Virginia, andand
drove the crowd away by firing
seph Trusty, ' ' had been stolen from Washington, D. C. Once on re- from his bedroom window.
the Congo, by slave traders, and turning home he was informed that In 1840, Henry Highland Garnet
sold in this country as a slave. the slave-hunters had discovered returned to New York and deliv-
When his master died, Henryk the hiding place of his familyered and his first speech at the annual
father decided that he and his fam- had invaded his home. The entire meeting of the American Anti-
ily should not be the slaves of those household furniture was destroyed slavery Society. It was a fine ef-
related to his former master. So,or stolen, but his family had es- fort, full of the promise of that
on the pretense of attending the caped. This bad news made such eloquence, wit and pathos which
funeral of relatives a few miles an impression on Henry, that he distinguished his later career. The
away, he escaped from the planta- was almost driven to madness. His same year, he was graduated with
tion with his wife and eight chil- chief concern was for his mother, honors from Oneida Institute and
dren. A covered market wagon who was the very center of all settled
his in Troy, New York, where
awaited them in the woods, and hopes and affections. He cherished he taught at the first colored dis-
they drove all night until near her with the most tender love and trict school. He also conducted
daybreak ; then they left the wagonwould gladly have given his life religious meetings in the lecture
and hid themselves in the woods rather than let any ill befall her. room of the First Presbyterian
until night. For several days they His friends finally had to hurry Church, where he was ordained an
slept in the woods and swamps, him out of town because of his des- elder in 1841. That year, he mar-
travelling only at night. Henry peration in trying to find the slave- ried Miss Julia Williams, whom he
was only nine years old at this hunters.
time This raid upon his peace-came to know while at school in
and had to be carried when he be- ful family, gave Henry an undying New Hampshire.
came too tired to walk. After dayshatred of slavery and aroused in For ten years Garnet pastored
him an anti-slavery fervor that in- thę Liberty Street Presbyterian
of weary travel by night, the fugi-
tives finally reached Wilmington,fluenced his future speeches against church in Troy, New York. During
Delaware, and the farm of Thomas its evils. this period, he was so highly es-
Garret, the good Quaker, to whom In 1831, Garnet entered the high teemed by the white people in the
so many thousands of slaves were school for colored youths, newly town that he was elected a life
organized in New York City, and
indebted for shelter, aid and food. member of the Young Men's Liter-
From Wilmington, Henry's family having a sound basis in the com- ary Society, taking a prominent
went to New Hope, Pennsylvania, mon branches of education, com- part in their discussions. He also
where Henry first entered a schoolmenced the study of Greek and published a weekly paper, the
house. Latin. During this period he at- Clarion , during this period. In
The family remained in Pennsyl- tended the First Colored Presby- 1843 he delivered before a conven-
vania a few months, then moved terian Church and aroused the in- tion of colored people his fiery ad-
to New York, where a new life dress in which he advised the slaves
terest of its pastor, a zealous aboli-
seemed to open to these wanderers, tionist, Theodore S. Wright, who to rise up against their oppressors
and they took the new name of encouraged young Garnet to pre- and break the chains of slavery.
Garnet. Here Henry attended the pare for the ministry and assistedGarnet's fame as a speaker final-
African Free School No. 1, in Mul- him in every way within his power. ly reached across the Atlantic
berry street, at the age of eleven Together they worked toward the where it created a desire to see and
years. He remained here until suppression of caste and slavery, to hear him. Not long after his ad-
he was thirteen, when he made two and toward the elevation of people dress before the State Legislature
voyages to Cuba as a cabin boy ; but of color. At the_death of his good of New York in behalf of equal
in 1830 he returned to the same friend, Garnet became the pastor suffrage, he was invited to Great
school for one year. While still a church.
of his Britain by friends of the Free La-
school boy, Henry, along with some Garnet was a student at the Ca- bor Movement, to lecture on the
friends, joined in the great celebra-naan Academy in New Hampshire slavery question. He remained
tion of the abolition of slavery when in it was destroyed by a mobabroad for over two years, making

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 December, 1944 63

speeches teachers and their onstudents. The many

extracts from the reports and docu- imp
sions,Associated preaching
Publishers, Inc., 1538 ments of the incumbents. One cam- in m
nent Ninth Street, N. W., Washington, paigner remarked
churches and that Dewey, mis-att
ferences. D. C., supplies an abundance
His of takingvisit
the American people for ato
of great these ; but thereservice
are other valuable jury in a criminal court,
to was tryingthe
cause and
books published by other of firms. to great
convict the President of being hel
In the The national
latteroffice will make an part
6 ť a Communist, a liar and a crook.of
' '
net was sent as a missionary to effort to secure these works for This opposition at the same time
Jamaica, in the British West indies,those interested. Such needs should ,
promised even greater reforms than
by the United Presbyterian Churchbe reported as early as possible. the
Itadministration had undertaken
of Scotland. His health prevented is difficult to supply books these when the record of their party has
him from remaining there, so he days because of the paper shortage. been all but solid opposition to such
returned to New York City. Let us start in time to have the measures. Dewey, therefore, accord-
The greatest honor came to Gar-proper sort of Negro History ing Weekto his Negro opponents, played
net, in 1881, when he was appointedcelebration from February 11 to the double role of a reformer who
minister to Liberia by the United 18, 1945. had never reformed. The methods
States Government. He died there and utterances of these opponents
in February of the following year showed insincerity, fraud, and de-
at the age of sixty-seven.
This account cannot include all
The Disgrace of the ceit, according to the administra-
tion ; and in self-defense the incum-
of the good works done by this Nation
bents replied with the same vitriolic
great man in his rise from slavery ( Continued from page 50) language and epithets used by their
to heights of distinction and honor. attackers. Be it said to the credit
Although the ministry was his 000 call-of whom have already made* of President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
ing, he gave an unselfish devotion the supreme sacrifice, were fighting however, with the exception of his
to the cause of freedom, and spent for world freedom was a disgrace first speech, he kept himself on a
untiring energy in the anti-slaveryto this nation. Our soldiers, in- high plane, although his supporters
movement. formed as to the uncomely spec- proved equal to the task of mud-
Garnet was the first Negro to tacle of our politics, doubtless felt slinging, name-calling and muck-
speak before the House of Repre- that, descended to such a low level, raking in which their opponents in-
sentatives of the United States the nation was not worth defend- dulged. Secretary of the Interior
Congress. Here on Sunday morn- ing. We would have shown wis- Harold E. Ickes was especially vit-
ing, February 12, 1865, he preach- dom had we devised some way to riolic in trying to show that Dewey
ed an eloquent sermon on "God adjourn politics during such a se- was hostile to the Negroes. "Cot-
and Universal Liberty,' ' commem- rious war. The war had been satis- ton Ed" Smith, Eugene Talmadge,
orating the passage of the 15th factorily conducted and desirable and Ku Kluxer Gerald K. Smith
Amendment to the Constitution reforms had been carried out in contended that the only way to as-
The year prior to this, he had beenspite of the opposition of capital- sure the future of the Democratic
called to Washington, D. C., to pas-
istic isolationists allied with Negro-party as a white supremacy agency
tor the Fifteenth Street Presby-baiting demagogues to block was theto elect Dewey as a means to
terian church.
wheels of progress. In fact, the crush Franklin D. Roosevelt and
One of the public schools in party out of power had no issue his liberalism.
Washington, D. C., in named for and could not find one except to Can government be conducted in
this courageous, brilliant man who revive the doctrine of states' rights this country without such disgrace-
won the respect of everyone who with which John C. Calhoun threat- ful methods ? The President as the
met him. ened the Union and Jefferson Davis head of the nation and the com-
tried to destroy it to safeguard mander-in-chief of its armed forces
slavery. Yet this opposition raised deserves a certain amount of re-
Negro History Week so much storm that about 21,000,- spect in order to maintain the mo-
Literature for Free 000 of the people of this nation rale of the fighting forces. Yet,
voted accordingly. according to our democracy, a citi-
Distribution Lacking an issue, Thomas E. zen of the United States may de-
( Continued from page 60) Dewey and his coworkers of vary- nounce the President and his pol-
ing faiths resorted to picking flawsicies as freely as he may someone
Negro. No advancement can be in the policies of the administra- in private life. Abraham Lincoln
made in the study of the Negro tion, and there were not a few of did not think that this was permis-
without materials with which to do them. The attackers indulged also sible in time of war and for harsh
the work. Books, magazines, and in misrepresenting the administra-criticism jailed the Copperhead
pictures must be provided for bothtion through isolated and garbled Yallandingham in 1863. John

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