The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-03-17
cLANDESTlNe SCHOOLS.
How the NeG,oes Were Taught In the
South Before the War.

South Before the War
Perhaps it may bewell to call attention
to and explain the astonishing fact that
after the war there could be found few,
Or rather, for that early period, so many
colorc-l men and women capable of begin
ming the school work even at the A b q
point.
This was due to many influences, open
and secret. Among the favoring inilu-
ences, first, was the fact that many hu-
name masters taught their slaves, and
others wiuked ut the violation Of the law
which forbade the teaching Of slaves and
permitted their children to instruct q IA
vorite slave to read and sometimes to
write. Men now high in authority in edu-
cational matters taught their slaves to
read and write, rendering themselves liza
BILE to be punished as violators Of the law
on the statute book. The Christian In
struction of the slaves was encouraged and
directed by many Christian bodies. In
deed in the act permitting the introduc-
| tion Gt slaves Christian training was en-
! Joined upon the slave masters. Rev. G.
| C.. Jones, father Of the late Historian
| Jones, and Rev. Josiah Law, both among
the most distinguished ministers OF the
state, were engaged to devote their time to
| this work.
Again, it is known that when negro
slavery, at first prohibited, was finally in
! troduced into Georgia in l140 many of
these slaves came from South Carolina.
As in l74l a negro school was opened in
| Charleston, it may be inferred that some
| of these slaves must have brought with
them to Georgia some knowledge of read
| ing and writing. The Charleston school
was still in Ia 1ourishing condition in 1853
and was taught by an educated negro,
likely from England. Although it was
for free negroes only, many slaves, who
even then hired time, sent their children
to this school. In time other schools were
| opened, and number of cOlored persons
from Savannah and Augusta, Ca, sent
| their children TO Charleston to be taught.
According to tradition, some Of these
students returned and opened schools in
| Savannah and in Augusta. No one, how
ever, was lawfully permitted to give book
instruction to slaves, not even in any one
of the three RS. Whatever was done In
this way was done clandestinely, and if
discovered was sure TO get its author into
| trouble. There were nevertheless several
schools kept clandestincly in Augusta and
| in Savannah Another class of teachers
were the poor whites, who eked out a mis-
era ble living by clandestinely teaching free
negroes and slaves. Some Of them might
have been denominated not "old field
schools" " but "old chip schools" When
some aged, impccunious white lady would
agree to teach the children of such slaves
as had hired their time, the children were
said to go to her house to 'pick up chips
They were busily engaged in this work
when an officer was likely to be around.
The most noted of these clandestine
schools for colored children was taught by
colorcd man in Savannah. 1t was
opened in 1918 or 1919 by a colored French
man named Julian Froumontane from
San Domingo. Up to 1920 this school was
taught openly, for before that date the
laws of Georgia did not forbid the teaching
of free person Of color. In referring to
this prohibitory law in justice it ought to
be admitted that the requirements of the
institution of slavery" were such that il
would have been unwise to undertake tc
maintain the system Of slavery and run
the risk Of having the slaves read such
literature as began then to be circulated
by the abolitionists 1t is proper also tC
add that many Shareholders did not share
this fear and were willing in the face OF
slavery to give their slaves elementary
teaching in reading and writing.
After Dec. %, 1929, it was made penal
ofTense to teach a negro or free person OF
color to read or write. Hence from that
time all negro schools were clandestine
Froumontaine's school, however, flour.
lshed under him for more than is years
1t laid the foundation of the educationa,
work among the colored people of Georgia
Several of his pupils clandestinely taught
school to the beginning of the war.-Bul
letin of Atlanta University.