"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : CHARLOTTE FORTEN GRIMKE'

Well, it comes as no surprise that when you poll 100 Black People about the assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, and President John F Kennedy, about the only two things that everyone can agree on is that they were shot, and that they all died. Also,due to the numerous documentaries, movies, and conspiracy theories, who can rightly tell you what happened between them being shot and them being pronounced dead at the hospital? Furthermore, trying to say what happened would be like trying to say exactly what happened at the end of the siege at the "Battle of The Alamo." Now, let's get to this week's Black Pioneer! Charlotte Forten Grimke' was born on August 17,1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to prominent Negro abolitionists, Robert and Mary Forten.They were members of the "Underground Railroad," an anti-slavery network that rendered assistance to people who escaped slavery. By the way, Robert B Forten and his family were a part of Philadelphia's "Negro Elite" Community. In 1854, Charlotte attended the Higginson Grammar School, a private academy for young women. She was the only NON-WHITE student in a class of 200. Once she graduated from Higginson, Charlotte's father sent her to live with a free Black family living in Salem Massachusetts.The Remonds, John and Nancy, were the famous & influential "resident family" of Hamilton Hall, named for Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Today, Hamilton Hall is widely recognized as one of the most important Federal buildings in America! Once in Salem, Massachusetts, Charlotte attended Salem Normal School, which trained school teachers. When Charlotte graduated from Salem Normal School, which is now Salem State University, she became the first Black to graduate from the school. After graduating, Charlotte took a teaching position at Eppes Grammar School, becoming the first Black female hired to teach White students in a Salem public school! During the American Civil War, Charlotte taught school to Freedmen in South, Carolina. After the war, she taught at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. Besides having a reputation as a teacher, Charlotte was known for writing poetry, her work as a Women's Rights Advocate, her work as a civil rights activist, and being "First Lady" at the prominent Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., alongside her husband, Francis J. Grimke'. Also, two of the organizations she helped found were The Colored Women's League, along with Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell & The National Association of Colored Women. Although Charlotte didn't live to see Black Women vote, her efforts as a Women's Rights Advocate helped paved the way! At the ripe old age of 76, Charlotte Forten Grimke' earned her wings on July 23, 1914.