"Zion" School for Colored Children, Charleston, South Carolina, 1866
In the early part of the 19th century, no public schools in the South would admit black
children. Teachers who were found teaching black children were run out of town.
Margaret Douglass, who was caught teaching black children in Norfolk, Virginia, was
convicted and imprisoned for her actions. Still, some teachers like John Chavis in Raleigh,
North Carolina, ran secret night schools or otherwise worked to give black children a
chance at an education.
William A. Waud, from Harper's Weekly
The Library at The Mariners' Museum
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