Charlotte Forten Grimke

Did not intend to write this evening, but have just heard of something that is worth recording;—something which must ever rouse in the mind of every true friend of liberty

and humanity, feelings of the deepest indignation and sorrow.3 Another fugitive from bondage has been arrested; a poor man, who for two short months has trod the soil and breathed the air of the “Old Bay State,” was arrested like a criminal in the streets of her capital, and is now kept strictly guarded,—a double police force is required, the military are in readiness; and all this done to prevent a man, whom God has created in his own image, from regaining that freedom with which, he, in common with every human being, is endowed. I can only hope and pray most earnestly that Boston will not again disgrace herself by sending him back to a bondage worse than death.” Charlotte Forten May 25, 1854. 

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

INTRO MUSIC

Hey everyone, welcome back. 

Just a few months after the Civil War began, thousands of enslaved individuals found themselves free when Union soldiers successfully occupied the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina. In 1862, the federal government launched an initiative they called the Port Royal Experiment. Considered by some to be the quote unquote dress rehearsal for reconstruction, the government set up schools and other public services on the island to be used by newly freed individuals and permitted their purchase and management of plantations. 

It is estimated that more than 2,000 black children received some form of schooling during the experiment as teachers from across the country took up the Port Royal cause. One of those teachers was abolitionist and poet, Charlotte Forten. 

Born to an elite family with a long abolitionist tradition, Charlotte Forten Grimke spent her life using her privilege and talent to educate her fellow countrymen. And she managed to make a little history in the process. 

So, this week I am diving into the life of Charlotte Forten Grimke. Who was she? Why did she pursue a teaching career? And what was her role in the Port Royal experiment?

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

Charlotte Louise Bridges Forten was born on August 17, 1837 to her father Robert Bridges Forten and mother Mary Virginia Wood. Known as Lottie in her youth, Forten was born into an amount of wealth and privilege not common for many Black Americans of the period. The family wealth can be attributed to Forten’s grandfather, James. Born to free parents in 1766, James Forten served in the Revolutionary War and became a successful sailmaker. His success allowed James to be a pioneering member of one of Philadelphia’s first black churches and lend his financial support to William Lloyd Garrison’s abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator. 

James was a member of the American Antislavery Society and very dedicated to the abolitionist cause, often hiding runaway slaves in his home and using his wealth to purchase the freedom of others. His wife, and Forten’s grandmother, was also a supporter of abolition and helped establish the Philadelphia Female Anti Slavery Society. 

So to say Charlotte was born into a strong, committed, abolitionist family would be putting it mildly. The Fortens had both the moral dedication and the monetary wealth to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the abolitionist cause. The Forten family also understood the value of a strong education and her father ensured Charlotte got the very best. Unhappy with the public education system in Philadelphia, Forten was educated by private tutors. Her mother died when Charlotte was just three years old and much of the maternal duties fell to her grandmother and various aunts. Coming from a strong abolitionist family, Forten was exposed to public lectures denouncing the ills of the slave system and was surrounded by major players of the abolitionist movement, including William Lloyd Garrison and Charles Lenox Remond. 

When Charlotte was 16, her father moved her to Salem, Massachusetts so that she could access a quality, integrated education. Living with abolitionist leader and family friend Charles Lenox Remond, Charlotte not only benefited from a robust classical education, but also learned more about the abolitionist movement by attending events sponsored by the Salem Female Anti Slavery Society. Following in her grandfather’s footsteps, Charlotte wrote poems that earned publication in Garrison’s The Liberator. Forten was a prolific writer and kept an extensive diary detailing her life, creating a rich primary source for the historians of the future. Her journal is available to read online for free and I definitely recommend giving it a once over as Forten provides some insight and details to elite black life largely underreported in the historical record. 

Forten was also an avid reader, more than once reading over one hundred books in a single year. She was described by contemporaries as quote, “an excellent student, a lover of books, she has a finely cultivated mind,” end quote. She graduated grammar school, with honors, in February of 1855, before deciding to follow her father’s wishes and enroll in a program to become an educator. She studied at the Salem Normal School, now known as Salem State University, for eighteen months where she learned literature, math, and Latin, among other subjects, in her training to become a teacher.  

Her training served her well as Forten became the first black woman to teach white children in Massachusetts when, upon graduating in 1856, Forten secured a position teaching at the Epes Grammar School of Salem. Forten taught at the school for two years before ill health required her to head home to Philadelphia. While teaching was largely seen as a temporary post for most middle and upper class young white women, Forten had no such expectations. Despite coming from a wealthy family, Charlotte felt committed to educating, and was particularly interested in educating Black Americans. In her analysis of Forten’s contributions to black education, scholar Kay Ann Taylor notes that quote “educational obtainments of all African Americans, gender notwithstanding, would be for the advancement and ‘uplift’ of the race,” end quote. 

In November, 1861 the Union Army managed to wrestle control of the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina which led to the emancipation of some 10,000 enslaved individuals. As a result of Union occupation, many of the island’s white inhabitants fled, leaving the federal government with a prime opportunity to recreate a new system that could enable Black success. Taking advantage of the copious cotton fields permeating the area, the federal government allowed Black Americans to benefit directly from their labor, paying ex-slaves for the cotton they cultivated. In 1862, Union General Tomas West Sherman requested additional support for the population, including teachers. This was followed by Secretary of Treasury Salmon Chase appointing an attorney, Edward Pierce, to begin the Port Royal Experiment. 

Known as the Port Royal Experiment, the initiative established hospitals and schools for former slaves and allowed them to buy and run the otherwise deserted plantations. The experiment sought to prove that formerly enslaved individuals could learn and become productive members of society and allowed Black Americans to benefit from their labor on the island’s various cotton fields. Forten knew she wanted to participate and originally petitioned the Boston Educational Commission in August of 1862 to approve her appointment. Being denied in Boston, Forten went to the Philadelphia Port Royal Relief Association who did approve her appointment and Forten set sail for the South Carolina islands in October of 1862. 

Forten would be the only black teacher to participate in the quote unquote experiment and was amazed and surprised at what she saw. Despite her own experience with racism, Charlotte was still fairly shielded from some of the harsher realities of the Black experience and according to scholar Jane Duran, quote “there was very little to prepare her for the crucial cognitive disruption it would cause,” end quote. Forten seemed surprised about everything in the Sea Islands; from the plant life to the conditions of the formerly enslaved, Forten could not believe what she was seeing. 

Forten worked as a teacher on the Sea Islands for 18 months before her health again mandated she take a step back and recover at home in Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, Forten worked for the Teachers Committee of the New England Freedman’s Union Commission where she served as a clerk from October of 1865 to October of 1871. She spent another year teaching in Charleston, South Carolina at the Shaw Memorial School before relocating to the nation’s capital. 

While in DC, Forten taught at the Preparatory High School for Negro Youth, the only college prep school for Black Americans located in the city. While teaching at the prep school, Charlotte also served as an assistant principal at the Sumner High School in the area. After a year of service, Forten moved on to gain federal employment with the Treasury Department in July 1873. In doing so, Charlotte joined throngs of other women looking for stable, steady income that federal service provided. In fact, women working for the federal government may or may not be an upcoming episode, so stay tuned. 

Always making her own path, Charlotte Forten married late in life. On December 19, 1878, the 41 year old Forten married Francis Grimke, who was just 28 years old at the time. Grimke was a Presbyterian Minister with the 15th Street Presbyterian Church in DC. If his name sounds familiar, it is because he is the nephew of the famous abolitionist sisters, Sarah and Angelina Grimke. I talked about the sisters with Kristyn from the podcast Broadly Underestimated in 2022 - you should definitely take a listen if you want to know more about them and their activism. But getting back to Francis, he is also known for being one of the founders of the NAACP and together, the couple would have one child, a little girl named Theodora Cornelia, who died just six months after she was born. 

The duo also shared a passion for social justice and Francis may have been inspired by his wife who was an early member of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896. Some of my sources indicate that Forten was a founding member, but I was unable to confirm that with what I had access to in my research materials. The organization, which counted the likes of Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell as members, sought to increase social mobility for Black Americans and gaining access to the franchise for women. They were also a big voice for anti-lynching campaigns, one of Ida B. Wells’ most prominent contributions to journalism of the era. 

The couple moved to Florida in 1885 so that Grimke could help a struggling congregation, however Forten’s lifelong battles with ill health required her to make frequent trips up north to rest and recover. She made the most of her time in DC, contributing to the evolving Black culture of the area and supporting her fellow Black neighbors as best she could. Forten passed away on July 23rd, 1914 at the age of 76. 

Throughout her life, Charlotte Forten remained committed to her brand of feminism - making sure to educate as many people as she could and using her small amount of privilege to better the lives of those less fortunate. In studying her contributions to education and women’s rights, scholar Emma Jones Lapsansky wrote quote “Forten’s feminism was implicit in the pattern of her life, in the decisions she made, and in her choices of intimate companions,” end quote. 

A woman who sought to bring about change through education, Charlotte Forten Grimke knocked down many barriers. Influenced by her upbringing, Forten brought her own version of abolitionist activities through her teaching and showed many young, black children what success looked like. 

Before I sign off today, I wanted to make a small announcement. If you follow the podcast on social media, then you may have noticed I now have a newsletter on substack. Now that I have some extra free time, I’d like to explore various ways to expand the Civics and Coffee network. My goal is to send out a monthly blast about a historical topic and share a preview of where the podcast is headed. If you want to subscribe, head over to www dot civics and coffee dot substack dot com. 

Thanks, peeps. I’ll see you next week.

Thanks for tuning and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Civics & Coffee. If you want to hear more small snippets from american history, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening and I look forward to our next cup of coffee together. 

OUTRO MUSIC