Article from The Pacific Appeal discussing the public school system in San Francisco. California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside, <http://cdnc.ucr.edu>.
African American churches and schools were central to supporting and creating the activist communities in California. These institutions were where events were held and where Black men, women, and children congregated to discuss how to better the lives of those within their community. Churches were where the California Conventions of 1855, 1856, 1857 and 1865 took place; this created a close bond between the churches of northern California and the conventions themselves. The creation of schools was a symbol of African Americans staking their claim in California and educating for the future of their communities. The number of these institutions was small compared to the number of predominantly white institutions, but they still left an impact on the new state. [See "Map of Black Institutions in Mid-Nineteenth Century California (1865 Colored Conventions Minutes)" in Tables and Maps of this exhibit.]
As of 1865, there were nine Black churches in the counties that reported information to the convention delegates. [1] Of these nine churches almost half were either in San Francisco or Sacramento, which were considered to be the two largest cities in northern California at the time. The information on how many members attended each church ranged both in size and by what was reported to the convention. San Francisco County had two churches with a combined total of 250 members and 8,000 attendees, while for El Dorado County all that was reported was that the church in the county owned two lots of land.[2] This inconsistency of information paints an incomplete picture of how many Blacks in northern California were churchgoers. Nevertheless, such information allows us to understand better the institutional foundation for Black life in the mid-nineteenth century.
Churches were not only just an indicator of the Black community's presence in California; they were where the conventions were held and where decisions about how to improve the lives of those within the community were made. This use of the church as a place for conventions to be held was not new to California; the conventions that were held on the east coast were also predominately in churches. All four California conventions were held in churches; the 1855 convention was at the Colored Methodist Church in Sacramento, the church location of the 1857 convention is unknown, and the 1856 & 1865 meetings were held in the same A.M.E. Church in Sacramento.[3] [4] [5] When the conventions were held in the churches they gave thanks to the church and the Reverend of the church; many times the Reverend was a delegate within the convention. The Colored Conventions movement was intertwined with the churches, using them as support for the movement.
The education movement within the conventions was a reflection of the struggle for the right to have public schools created for Black children in California because they were being excluded from the predominately white schools throughout the state. In the 1855 convention, there was an address to the parents and guardians of Black children, asking them to push for universal access to education which included the creation of schools for Black children and allowing Black children to attend predominately white schools in areas where there were no Black schools.[6] At the time of the first convention in California the only school for Black children was in San Francisco, but by 1865 public schools for Blacks were increasing throughout the various different counties surrounding San Francisco and Sacramento.[7] [8] While there was an increase in this ten year period, over half of the counties that reported information to the convention had no schools. This fight for the right to education would continue into the twentieth century, but great strides were achieved during the time of the conventions because of the persistence of the convention delegates and the Black community in California.
The churches and the female societies in California were also crucial to the education movement gaining steam. The first public school in San Francisco opened in the basement of St. Cyprian AME Church on May 22, 1854.[9] Two of the 1855 convention delegates, John J. Moore and Jeremiah B. Sanderson, were teachers at the school which led them to push more Black parents to enroll their children in the public schools.[10] Having a school run in a church was not a unique story, but it is quite interesting to see how, during a time when starting Black public schools was a challenging task, the churches were there as a place of support. The female societies also played an important role as fundraisers for the creation of public Black schools. Black women in Sacramento and other cities formed school committees which raised money to supplement the public funds the individual cities were giving to the Black public schools.[11] Their contributions and work helped get various different public Black schools off the ground.
These institutions were the pillars of Black society in early California. The creation of the churches and schools were the physical proof that the Black community was going to stay in California and fight for their equal rights. An important fact to consider is that the Black community created these institutions because they were purposefully being excluded from the white community's churches and schools. The churches and schools were built as a response to the segregation that was being formed in California around the time of the conventions.
Written by Victoria Walker, History 213 taught by Sharla Fett, Occidental College, Spring 2016.
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