{"id":3407,"date":"2025-05-14T06:02:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T06:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/?page_id=3407"},"modified":"2026-07-23T16:27:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:27:23","slug":"education-conversation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/convention-report\/education-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Continuing Conversation on Education in The North Star"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Convention of 1847 and the North Star<\/em> held a common interest: both the convention and the newspaper were invested in larger issues and how they would affect the situation of Black communities. The convention ended, but the conversations continued through another medium\u2014Black print. The North Star<\/em> continued the thread of conversation about education, engaging readers from different places and stations in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From its beginning, North Star<\/em> was invested in education. It announced in its first issue that one of its goals was \u201cto promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the colored people,\u201d thus sharing one of the 1847 Colored Convention\u2019s aims. Education was a two-fold issue in the newspaper: it discussed education of Black youth within school systems, but also \u201ceducated\u201d or informed the newspaper\u2019s readers of the arguments, debates, and conversations within the Black community. The paper did this by including a multiplicity of voices. The paper re-printed important articles from previously published writers, and it included letters from the readership, creating a space for debates and discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEffects of Slavery on Education,\u201d March 10, 1848<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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“Effects of Slavery on Education.”\u00a0North Star<\/em>\u00a0[Rochester, New York] 10 Mar. 1848: n.p.\u00a019th Century U.S. Newspapers<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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“Effects of Slavery on Education.”\u00a0North Star<\/em>\u00a0[Rochester, New York] 10 Mar. 1848: n.p.\u00a019th Century U.S. Newspapers<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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“Effects of Slavery on Education.”\u00a0North Star<\/em>\u00a0[Rochester, New York] 10 Mar. 1848: n.p.\u00a019th Century U.S. Newspapers<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Theodore Parker was a white minister in the Unitarian church, a transcendentalist, and an active abolitionist. Selections of his \u201cLetter on Slavery\u201d were re-printed across two March 1848 issues of North Star<\/em>. In the four-page issue of the North Star<\/em>, Parker\u2019s letter began on the second page, in the top left-hand corner, taking up a full column and a half of the interior page. It could be found under \u201cSelections,\u201d which also contained original pieces for North Star<\/em>, as well as articles re-printed from other sources. Because Parker\u2019s letter is placed on the upper left side of the paper, it is one of the first pieces that a reader would see. Printing Parker\u2019s letter and a list of colleges and educational opportunities subtly pushed for Douglass\u2019 side of the argument from the 1847 Convention: schools, especially in the North, already existed, and white abolitionists supported Black education. Without directly publishing a piece arguing such a position, North Star<\/em> continued to address convention topics while maintaining Douglass\u2019 stance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By including reader responses, North Star<\/em> offered a dynamic space for debate. One reader, Amos Gilbert wrote a letter from Salem to Douglass. Gilbert expresses his satisfaction in receiving his copy of North Star<\/em>\u2014not hot off the press but fresh from the post office. He writes that he paid particular attention to \u201cAn article under the caption, \u2018Education.\u2019\u201d He was \u201cpleased\u201d with the numbers given in Parker\u2019s letter, and says that he hopes that the subject of education will \u201ccontinue to\u2026 claim attention\u201d in the newspaper, for \u201con education everything future depends.\u201d Amos Gilbert also includes a brief report on a school situation in a town called Marlboro, officials admitted Black children in their schools and had Charles Lancaster as director \u2013 a man who \u201cis not chargeable with a drop of Anglo-Saxon blood coursing in his veins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Letter from Amos Gilbert to Frederick Douglass, March 22, 1848<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Amos Gilbert. “Friend Douglass.” North star [Rochester, New York] 12 May 1848: n.p. 19th Century U.S. Newspapers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Amos Gilbert. “Friend Douglass.” North star [Rochester, New York] 12 May 1848: n.p. 19th Century U.S. Newspapers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is work to be done,\u201d wrote Gilbert, and \u201cit would delight me to see the North Star<\/em> in the lead.\u201d This brief letter accomplished several important points. Gilbert\u2019s report on the situation informed other readers of the educational situation in Salem, Massachusetts. The fact that Gilbert mentioned his copy came from the post office informs other readers where it could be found or that others should consider requesting a paper be sent through subscription or donation. Gilbert also supports Douglass\u2019 side of the education debate by proving that opportunity for leadership positions and learning existed for willing Black students. However, most importantly, Amos Gilbert\u2019s letter to \u201cFriend Douglass\u201d created a sense of community by showing that the newspaper listened to an active and engaged readership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Credits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Melanie Berry. Taught by: Benjamin Fagan, Auburn University, Fall, 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Sarah Patterson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Convention of 1847 and the North Star held a common interest: both the convention and the newspaper were invested in larger issues and how they would affect the situation of Black communities. The convention ended, but the conversations continued through another medium\u2014Black print. The North Star continued the thread of conversation about education, engaging readers from different places […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3347,"parent":3401,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3407","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3407"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3615,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3407\/revisions\/3615"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}