New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies

Alumni

scan of a black and white photograph portrait of Dr. James McCune Smith

James McCune Smith

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. “Dr. James McCune Smith, physician and abolotionist.” New York Public Library Digital Collections.

scan of a black and white photograph portrait of Henry Highland Garnet

Henry Highland Garnet

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. “Henry Highland Garnett, abolitionist and editor.” New York Public Library Digital Collections.

scan of a black and white photograph portrait of Charles L. Reason

Charles L. Reason

“Charles L. Reason,” pictured in Julia Griffiths’s Autographs for Freedom (1854). Image courtesy of Archive.org.

scan of a black and white photograph portrait of Charles B. Ray

Charles B. Ray

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. “Portrait of Charles B. Ray.” New York Public Library Digital Collections.

Many of the students who attended the New York African Free Schools (NYAFS) went on to become prominent figures in the National and State Conventions of Free Colored Persons. Some of these excellent students included: James McCune Smith, Henry Highland Garnet, Charles Reason, Charles B. Ray, and many others. But these talented children did not only become delegates in the Colored Conventions. They also became successful abolitionists in other ways, including becoming teachers, speakers, writers, and abolitionist society members. The selected biographies we have provided here are: