Martin Henry Freeman
Martin Henry Freeman (1826–1889) was the first Black president of an American college. He also later served as president of Liberia College.
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Biography
Freeman was born in Rutland, Vermont in 1826. After receiving private tutelage from a local reverend, William Mitchell, Freeman attended Middlebury College, where he graduated as salutatorian in 1849.[1] The following year, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to take up a position as professor of science and mathematics at the Allegheny Institute (later Avery College), a new state-chartered college founded to educate free African Americans.[2] He was named president of the college in 1856.[3]
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During the Civil War, Freeman became active in the African emigration movement. He moved to Liberia in 1864. He continued his work as a professor at Liberia College and was named as president of that college shortly before his death. Upon his death he was buried in Palm Grove Cemetery in Monrovia.
In culture
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Dr. Russell Irvine of Georgia State University, author of The African American Quest for Institutions of Higher Education Before the Civil War: The Forgotten Histories of the Ashmun Institute, Liberia College, and Avery College (2010),[4] wrote the first biography of Martin Henry Freeman. Titled Martin H. Freeman of Rutland: America's First Black College Professor and Pioneering Black Social Activist (1996), it was first published as an article in Volume XXVI, Number 3 of the Rutland Historical Society Quarterly and later appeared in Professor Irvine's book, The History of Black Higher and Professional Education.
The Anderson Freeman Resource Center at Middlebury College, a center that works to promote an inclusive and welcoming environment for the Middlebury community, especially for historically disadvantaged communities such as minority, first-generation college students, and LGBTQ people, is named in his honor.[5]
A sculpture honoring him was installed in downtown Rutland in 2020.[3]
References
- "Martin H. Freeman of Rutland: America's First Black College Professor and Pioneering Black Social Activist" (PDF). Rutland Historical Society Quarterly. Vol. XXVI, no. 3. 1996.
- Bond, H (1948). "The Evolution and Present Status of Negro Higher and Professional Education in the United States". The Journal of Negro Education. 17 (3): 224–235. doi:10.2307/2966359. JSTOR 2966359.
- Robinson, Ishena (December 27, 2020). "Martin Henry Freeman, First Black College President in the US, Honored With Sculpture in Vermont". The Root. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- Irvine, Russell (2010). The African American Quest for Institutions of Higher Education Before the Civil War: The Forgotten Histories of the Ashmun Institute, Liberia College, and Avery College. Edwin Mellen. ISBN 978-0773413092.
- "Anderson Freeman Resource Center | Middlebury". Middlebury. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
External links
- "Martin Henry Freeman, Class of 1849". Middlebury History Online. 25 May 2012.