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Thomas L. Jennings. Elizabeth Jennings Graham (March 1827 – June 5, 1901) was an African-American teacher and civil rights figure. In 1854, Graham insisted on her right to ride on an available New York City streetcar at a time when all such companies were private and most operated segregated cars. Her case was decided in her favor in 1855 ...
- The Early Life and Higher Learning of Elizabeth Jennings Graham
- Jennings v. The Third Ave. Railroad
- From One Woman to Class Action: The Legacy of Elizabeth Jennings Graham
Elizabeth Jennings was born in New York City in March 1827. The daughter of a Thomas L. Jennings, who was born free, and Elizabeth Jennings, who wasn’t, the household she grew up in had high standards regarding education, culture, and political awareness. It’s no wonder she eventually became a schoolteacher. John H. Hewitt, one of the foremost auth...
It was Sunday, July 16, 1854, when Jennings and Adams caught the horse-drawn trolley car on the corner of Pearl and Chatham Streets. Unfortunately, that car didn’t have the words “Colored People Allowed in this Car” adorning its side. “I held up my hand to the driver and he stopped the car,” Jennings recalled. “We got on the platform, when the cond...
Hewitt wrote that “what may have started as one woman’s individual protest had really become class action.” Once Elizabeth Jennings Graham succeeded in her court battle, the New York State Supreme Court ruled that African-Americans could no longer be excluded as long as they were “sober, well behaved, and free from disease” (even when ruling in fav...
Elizabeth Jennings Graham “deserves a place of honor in the history of civil rights in New York.”. Jennings’s victory served as a powerful catalyst in the fight for equality on New York’s public transit vehicles, but it didn’t end segregation once and for all. It would take nearly twenty years before all New York City streetcars were ...
At 33, Elizabeth Jennings married Charles Graham, and they had a son who died when he was only one year old, during the New York Draft Riots. After the riots, the African-American community suffered numerous attacks, and the Grahams’ left Manhattan to live with Jennings’ sister in New Jersey.
Aug 15, 2018 · Jennings worked as a teacher until the 1860s, then in 1895 established New York’s first kindergarten for African-American children in her home on West 41st Street. She died on June 5th, 1901. “Openly discriminatory practices in public transportation did come to an end in New York City during Elizabeth Jennings’ lifetime, after the New York State legislature passed the Civil Rights Act of ...
Elizabeth Jennings Graham, ca. 1895. On July 16, 1854, schoolteacher Elizabeth Jennings Graham successfully challenged racist streetcar policies in New York City. Her case went to court and was publicized by Frederick Douglass. Here is a description excerpted from 50 American Revolutions You’re Not Supposed to Know: Reclaiming American ...
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The kindergarten operated from 1895 until her death on June 5, 1901. Elizabeth Jennings Graham was buried in Brooklyn’s Cypress Hills Cemetery, along with her son and her husband. Elizabeth Jennings Graham was a pioneer in desegregation and education for African Americans in 19th century America. Her legacy lives on and continues to inspire.
