The Journal of Negro History | Page 8

school officials refused to turn
over the required funds on the grounds that the colored trustees were
not electors and, therefore, could not be office-holders, qualified to
receive and disburse funds. Under the leadership of John I. Gaines,
therefore, the trustees called an indignation meeting and raised
sufficient money to employ Flamen Ball, an attorney, to secure a writ
of mandamus. The case was contested by the city officials, even in the
Supreme Court, which decided against the officious whites.[48]

This decision did not solve the whole problem in Cincinnati. The
amount raised was small and even had it been adequate to employ
teachers, they were handicapped by another decision that no portion of
it could be used for building schoolhouses. After a short period of
accomplishing practically nothing the law was amended in 1853[49] so
as to transfer the control of such schools to the managers of the white
system. This was taken as a reflection on the blacks of the city and
tended to make them refuse to cooperate with the white board. On
account of the failure of this body to act effectively prior to 1856, the
people of color were again given power to elect their own trustees.[50]
During this contest certain Negroes of Cincinnati were endeavoring to
make good their claim to equal rights in the public schools. Acting
upon this contention a colored man sent his son to a public school
which, on account of his presence, became a center of unusual
excitement. Isabella Newhall, the teacher, to whom he went,
immediately complained to the board of education, requesting that he
be expelled because of his color. After "due deliberation" the board of
education decided by a vote of 15 to 10 that the colored pupil would
have to withdraw. Thereupon two members of that body, residing in the
district of the timorous teacher, resigned.[51]
Many Negroes belonging to the mulatto class, however, were more
successful in getting into the white schools. In 1849 certain parents
complained that children of color were being admitted to the public
schools, and in fact there were in one of them two daughters of a white
father and a mulatto mother. On complaining about this to the principal
of the school in question, the indignant patrons were asked to point out
the undesirable pupils. "They could not; for," says Sir Charles Lyell,
"the two girls were not only among the best pupils, but better looking
and less dark than many of the other pupils."[52]
Thereafter, however, much progress in the education of the colored
people among themselves was noted. By 1844 they had six schools of
their own and before the war two well-supported public schools.[53]
Among their teachers were such useful persons as Mrs. M. J. Corbin,
Miss Lucy Blackburn, Miss Anne Ryall, Miss Virginia C. Tilley, Miss
Martha E. Anderson, William H. Parham, William R. Casey, John G.
Mitchell and Peter H. Clark.[54] The pupils were showing their
appreciation by regular attendance, excellent deportment, and progress

in the acquisition of knowledge. Speaking of these Negroes in 1855,
John P. Foote said that they shared with the white citizens that respect
for education and the diffusion of knowledge, which has been one of
their "characteristics," and that they had, therefore, been more generally
intelligent than free persons of color not only in other parts of this
country but in all other parts of the world.[55] It was in appreciation of
the worth of this class to the community that in 1844[56] Nicholas
Longworth helped them to establish an orphan asylum and in 1858
built for them a comfortable school building, leasing it with a privilege
of purchasing it within four years.[57] They met these requirements
within the stipulated time and in 1859 secured through other agencies
the construction of another building in the western portion of the city.
The most successful of these schools, however, was the Gilmore High
School, a private institution founded by an English clergyman. This
institution offered instruction in the fundamentals and in some
vocational studies. It was supported liberally by the benevolent element
of the white people and patronized and appreciated by the Negroes as
the first and only institution offering them the opportunity for thorough
training. It became popular throughout the country, attracting Negroes
from as far South as New Orleans[58] Rich Southern planters found it
convenient to have their mulatto children educated in this high
school.[59]
The work of these schools was substantially supplemented by that of
the colored churches. They directed their attention not only to moral
and religious welfare of the colored people but also to their mental
development. Through their well-attended Sunday-schools these
institutions furnished many Negroes of all classes the facilities of
elementary education. Such opportunities were offered at the Baker
Street Baptist Church, the Third Street Baptist