Have you heard of Miss Crandall? Miss Prudence Crandall? Maybe you have or if you're like me this is your first encounter with her. Miss Crandall is what I'd call an authentic woman who lived by her faith and belief. So much so she risked her own life to stand firm in her values. In 1831 Miss Crandall took on a teaching position that led to her very own school for young women. The following year a young Black woman contacted Miss Crandall about enrolling in her school and Miss Crandall accepted her as she did her other students. The townsfolk weren't pleased. They pressured Miss Crandall not enroll Black children. She refused. She enrolled other young Black women who wanted to come to her school. The town's pressure grew into outrage, as parents from the town did not want their daughters to be taught alongside Black daughters. All the young ladies from the first year was removed from the school by their parents. Miss Crandall then advertise her school as a place for "young ladies and little misses of color".
The town's outrage spilled into pure hate and violence. In 1833 young ladies and little misses of color arrived to Miss Crandall's school. The town created new laws that made life extremely difficult for Miss Crandall and her students. Prudence was jailed and the girls were terrorized. Yet, they persevered. In 1834, Miss Prudence Crandall and the young ladies and misses of color witnessed the desecration of their beloved school as the townsfolk set the building on fire. Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies and Misses of Color was no more. Their spirit and vigor, their courage and fearlessness, their boldness and determination is what lived on to inspire me, a young lady of color, to pursue a value-filled life. Miss Crandall did not set out to be defiant, she set out to live a life that was led by her values. She did not apologize or compromised her values to make others comfortable, instead she lived as the woman she wanted to be. A woman of value, faith, belief, and whole lot of perseverance.
With Love,
Marie
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