1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,520 Speaker 1: Hey, before we get started, we just wanted to let 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: you know we have so many upcoming live shows to 3 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:08,799 Speaker 1: talk to you about. Yes, on July seven, I will 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 1: be at History Camp Boston. That's me Tracy, only Holly 5 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: won't be at that one. I will be in the 6 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,639 Speaker 1: History Podcaster panel. And then the next day, July, we 7 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: will both be doing a live show at Adams National 8 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: Historical Park in Quincy, Massachusetts. It's an outdoor show. It 9 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: will happen rainer shine, and since parking is limited at 10 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: the park, people are encouraged to take public transportation. That 11 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: is probably how I will be getting there. Also in July, 12 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: we will be back at Convention Days at Women's Rights 13 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: National Historic Park in Seneca Falls, New York. Convention Days 14 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: is running from July twenty, and our show is going 15 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 1: to be on Saturday July. And then we have big, big, 16 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,239 Speaker 1: big news that we are both very excited about. We 17 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: are going on an actual multi city tour. We're going 18 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,639 Speaker 1: to hit the East coast in August or we will 19 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: be coming to Atlanta, Georgia, Riley, North Carolina, Somerville, Massachusetts, Brooklyn, 20 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: New York, and washing To d C. And then in 21 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: October my favorite spooky time of year. We will be 22 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 1: coming to the West coast with stops in Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, 23 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,839 Speaker 1: and Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. You can find 24 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: more information about all these shows at our website, which 25 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: is missed in History dot Com. Click on the link 26 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:22,639 Speaker 1: in the menu that says live shows. Welcome to stuff 27 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: you missed in History class from how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, 28 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm 29 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: Tracy V. Wilson and today's topic. H is a person 30 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: who is sometimes called the nineteenth century Rosa Parks. The 31 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,960 Speaker 1: comparison is somewhat apt because you'll see as her story unfold. 32 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: But while Elizabeth Jennings Graham was raised by parents who 33 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: were active in advocating for better quality of life and 34 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: for people of color, her involvement and how this thing 35 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: played out one was a little bit accidental. Uh So 36 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: it wasn't something that was part of a bigger civil 37 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: rights movement necessarily. Uh it just kind of happened. The 38 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: other thing that's interesting, and that makes them very different, 39 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: is that while the story of Rosa Parks and the 40 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: Montgomery bus boycott and the part she played in it 41 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: became very much a part of history that remains talked about. 42 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: For a long time, Elizabeth Jennings Graham kind of fell 43 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: off the radar and people lost the thread of her 44 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: part of history and her uh work for improvement of 45 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: the quality of life of black people in nineteenth century 46 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: New York. Yeah, it's way earlier than the Montgomery bus 47 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: boycott and also not in the South. Yeah, it is 48 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 1: a hundred years earlier. It's like, um, so the Montgomery 49 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: bus boycott happened in this incident, initial incident that that 50 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: catalyzed this whole thing started in eighteen fifty four. Parts 51 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: of it continued into eighteen fifty five, so almost exactly 52 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: a hundred years fascinating story, and again it kind of 53 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: got lost for a while, but some historians have really 54 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: picked up the the flag and kind of done some 55 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: research and really investigated who this person was. And there's 56 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:15,799 Speaker 1: also a fun little tag at the end of this 57 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: about how kids are starting to learn more and more 58 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 1: about her story. So, the date of Elizabeth Jennings Graham's 59 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: birth is completely unknown. We don't have any idea what 60 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: the month or the date of her birth was. Her 61 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,799 Speaker 1: death certificate at lists eighteen twenty six is the year 62 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: of her birth, but a census that was conducted in 63 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty lists it as eighteen thirty. We'll talk a 64 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: little bit later about something that gives a clue about 65 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: which of those might be more correct, but we still 66 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: don't know what would have caused that discrepancy in the 67 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: first place. And Elizabeth's father, Thomas Jennings, was the first 68 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: black man to hold a U. S. Patent, which he 69 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: was awarded in the early eighteen twenties. He had begun 70 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: his professional life in tailoring, and he had invented a 71 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: means to clean clothes using solvents. It was an early 72 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: version of dry cleaning. I have read in some places 73 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: it was called dry scouring, but we don't actually have 74 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: the text of the patent. He and Elizabeth's mother, who 75 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: was also named Elizabeth, were part of New York's black 76 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: middle class. They lived at one sixty seven Church Street 77 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: in Lower Manhattan, and they were active in the community, 78 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: working on improving the lives of other black citizens. Slavery 79 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: had been abolished in New York during Thomas's lifetime, over 80 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: the course of a series of laws between seventeen and eight. 81 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: These phased out the institution of slavery in New York incrementally, 82 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: and he had used his patent money to purchase the 83 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: freedom of some of his family members. Yeah, he had 84 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: been born free, but not everyone in his family had been. 85 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 1: And Thomas had long been involved in activism against racial injustice. 86 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,279 Speaker 1: He attended the first three National Conventions of Free People 87 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: of Color, which began in eighteen thirty, and he helped 88 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 1: found the Wilberforce Philanthropic Society helped black citizens improve their lives. 89 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 1: Thomas and his wife Elizabeth had at least four other children. 90 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 1: In addition to their daughter Elizabeth, there were two boys 91 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: and two girls we know about named William Thomas Junior, Matilda, 92 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 1: and Lucy. The children all attended school. This is the 93 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: time when education wasn't a given for children of any background. 94 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 1: Public schools were established in New York in the early 95 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds, but there weren't any kind of requirements to 96 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: attend school, and a lot of children were working at 97 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: jobs at a very early age. The Jennings children were 98 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: a lot more educated than many other children in New York, 99 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: and from a young age, Elizabeth followed in her family's 100 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: ideology of fighting against racial injustice. At the age of ten, 101 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: she recited an essay at a gathering of the Ladies 102 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,919 Speaker 1: Literary Society of the City of New York entitled on 103 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 1: the Improvement of the Mind, which was later published in 104 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: the paper The Colored American. That paper was published in 105 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty seven, So if she was ten at the time, 106 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: this supports that eighteen twenty six year of birth a 107 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,479 Speaker 1: little bit more than we have anything to support the 108 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:09,040 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty year. Although Elizabeth Jennings was born a free woman, 109 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:11,839 Speaker 1: she was also still a black woman, and she grew 110 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: up in a largely de facto segregated New York. Slavery 111 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: was not abolished at the at the federal level at 112 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 1: the time of the primary event that we're talking about today, 113 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: the Fugitive Slave Act of eighteen fifty was still in effect. 114 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 1: That act required that enslaved people who ran away to 115 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: non slaved states be captured and returned to their owners. 116 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 1: Aiding someone who escaped enslavement was also illegal. Free black 117 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,720 Speaker 1: men and women in states that had abolished slavery feared 118 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: that they could be kidnapped and transported to a slave state, 119 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: even though they had not been enslaved. Yeah, that was 120 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: a very real concern because how they would have no 121 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: way to fight that if someone dragged them into a 122 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: slave state and sold them, they have no of course 123 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: against it. At that point. It was really dangerous time. Yeah, 124 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 1: we've we've talked about it in episodes before and talked 125 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: about people even the taking the step of if they 126 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 1: had the means, moving to Canada to get away from 127 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: the risk of being sold into slavery. In the United States, 128 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: there also were not a lot of job prospects for 129 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: a young person of color to aspire to, even in 130 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: New York. Ministry and teaching jobs were some of the 131 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: few non labor positions that were available to black citizens, 132 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: and those positions were finite. They could only minister or 133 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: teach other people of color. But the Jennings children really 134 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: seemed to do quite well for themselves. William ended up 135 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: becoming a businessman. I believe he moved to Boston. Thomas Jr. 136 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: Was a dentist. Uh, he moved to New Orleans, I think, 137 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: and Matilda was a dressmaker. Elizabeth became a teacher. I 138 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: read one thing where in eighteen fifty five she was 139 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: one of only thirteen black teachers in New York uh 140 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: and after a year of teaching at Colored Public School 141 00:07:57,600 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: Number two, she worked in the system that was a 142 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: ablished by the New York Society for the Promotion of 143 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: Education among Colored Children, which was a better school system 144 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: for her, and she also worked as a church organist. 145 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: On July fifty four, Jennings was traveling to the first 146 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: Colored American Congregational Church preparing to a company the afternoon 147 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,520 Speaker 1: choir practice. As usual, she walked a short distance from 148 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: the Jennings home to a street car stop at the 149 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: corner of Pearl and Shay them She ran into her 150 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: friends Sarah E. Adams as she walked, and the two 151 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: of them walked together to the stop. She tried to 152 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: board a horse drawn street car, which was run by 153 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: the Third Avenue Railway Company. Horse Drawn street cars normally 154 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: had two men who were running them. There was the 155 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: driver and the conductor, and the street car company had 156 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:50,679 Speaker 1: a policy against allowing black passengers. This was a common 157 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:54,040 Speaker 1: policy on street cars. Often black people who wanted to 158 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: take a street car would have to wait for one 159 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: with a sign that indicated that people of color were 160 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: allowed to board, but those were not as frequent as 161 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: cars that only accepted white passengers. The problem of the 162 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: transportation system and its treatment of black people was not new, 163 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,880 Speaker 1: and a rapidly growing city like New York, street cars 164 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: were increasingly relied upon by the city's inhabitants, and activists 165 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 1: had been writing about the poor treatment of black travelers 166 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: for more than two decades before this point. And we're 167 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: gonna pause a little bit early for our sponsor break here, 168 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:28,439 Speaker 1: because I want to keep the account of what actually 169 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:32,079 Speaker 1: happened once the street car came all together. So we're 170 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 1: gonna jump right back in after we first have this pause. 171 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: Elizabeth was a little bit worried about making it to 172 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: the church to accompany the choir on time, so she 173 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 1: took a chance. Sometimes a conductor would allow a black 174 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: passenger to board if none of the other passengers objected, 175 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: And so when Elizabeth explained her predicament to the conductor, 176 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,080 Speaker 1: he was not sympathetic. He told her she could just 177 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: wait for the next car, and she wrote about this 178 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: incident quote he told me that the other car had 179 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: my people in it, that it was appropriated for that purpose. 180 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:12,320 Speaker 1: I then told him I had no people. It was 181 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 1: no particular occasion I wished to go to church, as 182 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: I had been doing for the last six months, and 183 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: I did not wish to be detained. So even though 184 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,199 Speaker 1: the conductor had told her to get off the street car, 185 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 1: Elizabeth stayed on. She said she would take the next 186 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:27,680 Speaker 1: one if it was one that would take black passengers, 187 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: but she was going to stay on the current one 188 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: until I got there. When the second street car came, 189 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: it was full, which was another problem that arose from 190 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,560 Speaker 1: the scarcity of cars that allowed black passengers, and this 191 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 1: set up a battle of wills. Both Elizabeth and the 192 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: conductor of the car she was standing on. We're willing 193 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:48,839 Speaker 1: to stand their ground and wait for the other one 194 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 1: to give in. Eventually, though it was the driver's desire 195 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: to get going that led the conductor to yield. Elizabeth 196 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: was no shrinking Violet, and even as she was allowed 197 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: to boy word, she told the conductor that she didn't 198 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: know where he was born, but that she was a 199 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: New Yorker and that she had never been treated so 200 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: poorly while attempting to go to church, and that he 201 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 1: was an impudent fellow. The conductor answered that he was 202 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: from Ireland. When she replied that she didn't care where 203 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 1: he was from she only cared that quote. He behaved 204 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: himself and did not insult genteel persons. To set the 205 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: conductor off, he physically removed Elizabeth's friend Sarah, and then 206 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: dragged Elizabeth herself out. She attempted to resist by holding 207 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,079 Speaker 1: onto the window sash, and after a bit of a struggle, 208 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,319 Speaker 1: the conductor told the driver to come out and help him. 209 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 1: The two men took Jennings by the arms and removed 210 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: her from the car, dragging her down to the platform. 211 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,480 Speaker 1: She was screaming and her friend was shouting, you'll killer, 212 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 1: don't kill her. And after she had been dumped onto 213 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: the platform, the driver went back to his horses and 214 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: in an incredibly bold move, before the streetcar could leave, 215 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: Elizabeth got up and she marched right back onto the 216 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,400 Speaker 1: street car and she sat in a seat. The conductor 217 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,200 Speaker 1: was irate, and he ordered the driver to take off 218 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 1: and to drive as quickly as he could until they 219 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:15,240 Speaker 1: found either a police officer or a police station. When 220 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: the driver spotted a policeman, he stopped the car and 221 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: the conductor spoke with the officer, and after the conductor 222 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,920 Speaker 1: told his side of the story, Jennings, who was not 223 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: asked to give her version of the story was removed. 224 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 1: The conductor wrote his name and the street car number 225 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 1: on a slip of paper and hand it to her, 226 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: and the street car left. Yeah, incidentally, he wrote the 227 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: wrong number for the street car on that slip of paper. 228 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: It's unknown whether he was trying to hide something or 229 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 1: if he just was incorrect, but just one of the many, 230 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: uh many problems of that day. So Elizabeth at this point, 231 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,120 Speaker 1: I mean, she had literally been thrown on the ground. 232 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:52,959 Speaker 1: She was kind of a mess. She was normally very 233 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: put together, uh really, you know, lovely young woman. And 234 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: so she headed home on foot. A bookseller from Germany 235 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaker 1: had actually approached her, and he said that he had 236 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: seen the entire incident, that he would be happy to 237 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:08,680 Speaker 1: serve as a witness, and he gave her his information. 238 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,199 Speaker 1: When she got home, her disheveled appearance really frightened her parents. 239 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 1: They had a doctor come and examined her. He put 240 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: her on bed rest and mentioned that she might have 241 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,679 Speaker 1: broken bones. Yeah, she had a bit of a limp 242 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,959 Speaker 1: by the time she got home, and Elizabeth wrote out 243 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: everything that had happened at her father's urging. So while 244 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: she rested at home, her father took that letter that 245 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,120 Speaker 1: she had written to leaders of the black community throughout 246 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:38,320 Speaker 1: Lower Manhattan, and that included Frederick Douglas. A meeting was 247 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: called at the First Colored American Congregational Church, Quote for 248 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 1: the purpose of making an expression of public sentiment condemnatory 249 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,200 Speaker 1: of the outrage committed upon the person of Miss Elizabeth Jennings, 250 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: a highly respectable female. Elizabeth couldn't attend due to her 251 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:57,679 Speaker 1: doctor impost bed rest, so her father went in her 252 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: place and read aloud her account of events on the 253 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:05,480 Speaker 1: events on the street car, A five person committee was 254 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,440 Speaker 1: formed to examine the facts the incident and to decide 255 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: on what the next step should be. They took a 256 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: collection to help cover the costs of an attorney. Elizabeth's 257 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:17,199 Speaker 1: account was also sent to the paper, and on July 258 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: nineteenth of eighteen fifty four, that story was printed in 259 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: the New York Daily Tribune. So while the Tribune was 260 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: a New York paper, it had weekly editions that were 261 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: mailed to subscribers throughout the country. Thomas Jennings was on 262 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,280 Speaker 1: this five man investigative committee. He and his colleagues decided 263 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,320 Speaker 1: to fight the street car company for their treatment of 264 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 1: his daughter. They hired attorney Chester A. Arthur, although he 265 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 1: wasn't their first choice. Their first choice had been abolitionist 266 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: Erastus D. Culver, but when they met with him, he 267 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: referred them to Arthur, who had only been practicing law 268 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: for six weeks. Because Culver had been elected to a 269 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: judge ship in Brooklyn, he had given the young chester A. 270 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:01,440 Speaker 1: Arthur all of his cases. But Arthur, he was twenty 271 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,640 Speaker 1: four at the time, would later go on to become 272 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 1: the twenty first President of the United States, and he 273 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 1: was a strong ally. He had been called his apprentice, 274 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:13,720 Speaker 1: and he was ideologically aligned with his mentor. And Arthur 275 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:16,640 Speaker 1: filed a suit on behalf of Elizabeth Jennings in the 276 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: New York State Supreme Court seeking damages from the conductor, 277 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: the driver, and the Third Avenue Railway Company. But this 278 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: was not just about getting recompense for Elizabeth. The hope 279 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: was that this lawsuit, which was filed as a civil 280 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: case rather than a criminal case, would change the company 281 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 1: stance on segregated street cars if the Third Avenue Railway 282 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 1: Company lost. Thomas Jennings wrote of the case, quote, the assault, 283 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: though a very aggravated case, is only secondary in our 284 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: view to the rights of our people. He also made 285 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:51,480 Speaker 1: the point that it was mere custom that kept black 286 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 1: people on segregated street cars. There was no actual law 287 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: that said that people of any color couldn't sit on 288 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: any street car they wished. That's one of the big 289 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: uh not not continual, but but frequently differences between segregation 290 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: in the North and the South, is that a lot 291 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: of times in the South there were laws specifically saying 292 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:12,720 Speaker 1: all these things, and in the North it was more 293 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: common that these were sort of socially enforced but not 294 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 1: actually documented anywhere. At a literary exhibition held at the 295 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 1: First Colored American Congregational Church in the fall of that year, 296 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: Elizabeth played the organ and as part of the programming, 297 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: speeches were given in support of overthrowing slavery and and 298 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 1: bettering the lives of black people. Events like this continued 299 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 1: to garner support for her case in the community while 300 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: they waited for a court date. Yeah, and as this 301 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: news was spreading throughout the country, she was receiving letters 302 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 1: of support from around the United States. In the case 303 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 1: of Elizabeth Jennings versus. Third Avenue Railway Company went to 304 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: trial the following year, on February eighty the case was 305 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: filed and tried in Brooklyn rather than Manhattan because the 306 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: company was headquartered there and that courtroom was packed. The 307 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: records of the court proceedings are unfortunately lost. Uh. It 308 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 1: is believed that the German bookseller that we mentioned earlier, 309 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:15,040 Speaker 1: Elizabeth's friend Sarah Thomas Jennings, and Elizabeth herself were all witnesses. 310 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,920 Speaker 1: They all testified, of course, before a jury that consisted 311 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:23,680 Speaker 1: entirely of white men. After the testimony, Judge William Rockwell's 312 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: instructions to the jury made it clear that a company 313 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 1: was legally responsible for the actions of its employees. He 314 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: also stated that as a public transportation business, the Third 315 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,720 Speaker 1: Avenue Railway Company was quote bound to carry all respectable 316 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: persons that colored persons, if sober, well behaved and free 317 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: firm disease, had the same rights as others. Those instructions 318 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:48,120 Speaker 1: made news and they were printed in the papers after 319 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,639 Speaker 1: the trial. And while they do represent an important moment, 320 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,920 Speaker 1: which was a State Supreme Court judge saying that people 321 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: of color had the same rights as others, there are 322 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:01,639 Speaker 1: also a lot of qualifiers on those rights, basically saying 323 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 1: that to be entitled to those same rights, they had 324 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,239 Speaker 1: to be the right kind of black people. Yeah. Uh. 325 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,679 Speaker 1: But after deliberation, the jury returned to the courtroom and 326 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: the lead juror handed the judge in the case their decision, 327 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: and the paper read quote, the jury has awarded miss 328 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:23,000 Speaker 1: Jennings two dollars plus ten percent for court costs, So 329 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 1: they had won. This was less than half of the 330 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: amount that they had filed for, which was five dollars. 331 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: But it was also what Elizabeth made in a full 332 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: year at her job, and it was greeted as a 333 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: huge win, not just for the Jennings but for New 334 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: York's black community. We'll talk about what happened after the 335 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 1: trial after we take a break for a word from 336 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:52,680 Speaker 1: a sponsor, Frederick Douglass Paper, which was actually the name 337 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,560 Speaker 1: uh that he had changed the north Star to. It 338 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: was literally called Frederick Douglass Paper. Uh. He made that change. 339 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifty one ran the story of Jenning's successful 340 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: court case with the headline legal rights vindicated and opening 341 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,679 Speaker 1: with quote, our readers will rejoice with us in the 342 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 1: righteous verdict given. Other papers across the country also picked 343 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 1: up the story, including Judge Rockwell's words. The Pacific Appeal, 344 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,679 Speaker 1: which is a paper published in San Francisco ran the 345 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:24,159 Speaker 1: story with the headline quote A wholesome verdict. The final 346 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:26,439 Speaker 1: paragraph takes the tone of the write up in an 347 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: interesting direction. It hints that the writer was more concerned 348 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,880 Speaker 1: with people bringing their stinky groceries onto street cars and 349 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:38,879 Speaker 1: then whether a passenger is black. It reads quote railroads, steamboats, omnibuses, 350 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 1: and ferry boats will be admonished from this As to 351 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:45,720 Speaker 1: the rights of respectable colored people, it is high time 352 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 1: that the rights of this class of citizens were ascertained, 353 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 1: and that it should be known whether they are to 354 00:19:51,359 --> 00:19:54,560 Speaker 1: be thrust from our public conveyances, while women with a 355 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: quarter of mutton or a load of cod fish can 356 00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 1: be admitted. O kind cracked me up. Uh, That headline 357 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:04,879 Speaker 1: A wholesome verdict, and the basic story ran in a 358 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: bunch of different papers. It's kind of like, uh, you know, 359 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:11,119 Speaker 1: if you'll see an ap story repeated throughout multiple papers today. 360 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: Very similarly, the same story ran word for word in 361 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 1: a lot of places. But soon after this case was settled, 362 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 1: the Third Avenue Railroad Company did start integrating its street cars, 363 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,919 Speaker 1: and other companies followed suit. But for clarity, it was 364 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,199 Speaker 1: not as though they had seen the light and believed 365 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 1: that this was the right thing to do. This was 366 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,600 Speaker 1: a business decision. They were really fearful that more lawsuits 367 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: could follow and that they would start hemorrhaging money if 368 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: more juries made similar decisions. There were a handful of 369 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:43,400 Speaker 1: similar cases over the next two years. While companies were 370 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: integrating their street cars. It wasn't as though conductors all 371 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: stopped being racist due to those changes. After the ruling, 372 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: Thomas Jennings founded the Legal Rights Association. This organization is 373 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: sometimes called a precursor to then double a CP, and 374 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 1: it was an advocacy group that helped black New Yorkers 375 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:03,360 Speaker 1: find and pay for legal representation in civil rights cases. 376 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,439 Speaker 1: It also lobbied for fair treatment of people of color. 377 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: It organized protests and educated the public. Thomas Jennings died 378 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: four years after Elizabeth's court case in eighteen fifty nine. Yeah. Unfortunately, 379 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 1: he did not live long enough to see uh some 380 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,160 Speaker 1: of the many things that he had fought so hard for. 381 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty Elizabeth met and married a man named 382 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 1: Charles Graham, who was from St. Croix. Elizabeth and Charles 383 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,400 Speaker 1: had a son in eighteen sixty two, named in honor 384 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:37,879 Speaker 1: of Elizabeth's father, Thomas, But unfortunately, Thomas died in infancy 385 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:40,880 Speaker 1: just a year after his birth. Uh. The only thing 386 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: that I have found that seems to ever be written 387 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: up as the cause of his death is convulsions. Um, 388 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:48,880 Speaker 1: so we don't know the exact nature of his illness. 389 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: Charles and Elizabeth actually traveled with Thomas's body from Manhattan 390 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: to its burial place in Brooklyn, and that was actually 391 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:58,919 Speaker 1: a trip that was very, very dangerous at this time 392 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 1: because the Civil War draft riots were taking place in 393 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: the city. The Graham's, along with Elizabeth's mother, left the 394 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:08,159 Speaker 1: city after that and they moved to New Jersey. Charles 395 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: Graham died in eighteen sixty seven. He was only thirty 396 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: four and he and Elizabeth had only been married for 397 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 1: seven years. Elizabeth and her mother continued to live together 398 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: in the Eton Town area for the next several years. 399 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy one, the Jennings women moved back to 400 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,879 Speaker 1: Lower Manhattan, this time into a home at five forty 401 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,760 Speaker 1: three Broom Street. In eighteen seventies three, Elizabeth's mother died, 402 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:34,280 Speaker 1: and Elizabeth had continued to work as a teacher throughout 403 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:37,239 Speaker 1: her life, but after losing her child, her husband and 404 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,680 Speaker 1: her mother. In the course of a decade, teaching children 405 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: became pretty much the entire focus of her life. Elizabeth 406 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 1: Jennings Graham moved once more after her mother's death, this 407 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: time to a house at two thirty seven West forty 408 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: one Street, which was closer to the school where she worked. 409 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty one, Chester A. Arthur became president when 410 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 1: President James A. Garfield was assassinated, and his rise to 411 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: the highest office in US government kicked up a bit 412 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,399 Speaker 1: of interest in the eighteen fifty five court case again, 413 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: but Elizabeth did not seem particularly interested in stepping into 414 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: the spotlight. In her home on West forty one Street 415 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 1: became the site of the first free kindergarten for black 416 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,680 Speaker 1: children in New York. She also continued to live there, 417 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:23,680 Speaker 1: but she lived on the upper floor and had the 418 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 1: school downstairs. And she was not alone in setting up 419 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: this kindergarten. She worked with two other women, Mrs James 420 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: Herbert Morse and Mrs Edward Curtis. And the idea of kindergarten, 421 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:38,680 Speaker 1: which was really more supervised play than you know, book learning, 422 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: so to speak, was still relatively new. It had been 423 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,159 Speaker 1: developed in the eighteen thirties in Germany. But even sixty 424 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: years later, though private and then public kindergartens had been 425 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: established in some cities in the US, there still were 426 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 1: not any in New York for black children prior to this. 427 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 1: I wish we knew her colleagues names beyond their husband's 428 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: name dude too. That happened sometimes when we're researching this 429 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:07,119 Speaker 1: far back in the past. So this was not a 430 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: situation that it was like a daycare running out of 431 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,720 Speaker 1: Elizabeth's home. The school had a structure, it was funded 432 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 1: through donors, and a teacher named Leoni g Ricord was 433 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,879 Speaker 1: hired to manage the curriculum. The lower level of the 434 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,159 Speaker 1: home was made into a school room, and the yard 435 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: was transformed into an outdoor activity area. Elizabeth Jennings Graham 436 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,919 Speaker 1: also ran a lending library out of the house. She 437 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:33,720 Speaker 1: was also the librarian, and on Saturdays the classroom was 438 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 1: used as a sewing school. I love how busy she 439 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 1: was with all of these endeavors well, and she really 440 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: was kind of carrying on her father's legacy of like 441 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 1: trying to help people help themselves by becoming more educated 442 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,479 Speaker 1: and more skilled and more knowledgeable. And it's a that 443 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:55,120 Speaker 1: family has some pretty good, uh, pretty good values. So 444 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,360 Speaker 1: Elizabeth died in her sleep on June five, nine one, 445 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: in her home, so that was six years after she 446 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,600 Speaker 1: started the school. She worked literally right up until the 447 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 1: day she died, and she was in her seventies at 448 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,920 Speaker 1: the time. She was buried in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn. 449 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: In two thousand seven, a small street marker appeared on 450 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: the corner of Park Row and Spruce Street that read 451 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:21,239 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Jennings Place. It's not the exact intersection where she 452 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 1: was assaulted, but it is nearby that spot and in 453 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,320 Speaker 1: a fitting full circle moment for somebody who dedicated her 454 00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: professional career to teaching. It is the work of school children. 455 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 1: Third and fourth grade students from New York's PS three 456 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 1: sixty one had been studying Elizabeth Jennings Graham and they 457 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: got the idea to try to have her commemorated. And 458 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: this was not the first time this happened. There was 459 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: a previous class that attempted something similar but was not successful. 460 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 1: But the kids collected signatures from area residents and then 461 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,160 Speaker 1: with the help of their teachers, they put together their 462 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 1: case to petition the city, and after trying to have 463 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 1: first a playground named for her, which did not pan 464 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,920 Speaker 1: out um and in selecting the intersection where she had 465 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,320 Speaker 1: boarded that street car, but finding it had already been 466 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:08,040 Speaker 1: given an honorari designation. That alternate corner was chosen by 467 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,800 Speaker 1: city officials, but it was approved by the students and 468 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 1: their teachers. So she does have small little recognition, a 469 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,400 Speaker 1: little sign that you will see if you are at 470 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: the corner of um Park, Row and Spruce, because some 471 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:24,959 Speaker 1: of those streets have also changed names from when she 472 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: was there. Do you also have some listener mail for us? 473 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 1: I do. It's really exciting listener mail to me. It 474 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,199 Speaker 1: is from our listener John. It is a lot of 475 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: information about Carmen Miranda. UM. I'm gonna edit this a 476 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:40,399 Speaker 1: little bit because otherwise it will be a very long 477 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 1: listener mail segment because he has so much info. You 478 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,399 Speaker 1: will find out why, but I will try to include 479 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,199 Speaker 1: the best parts. Hi, thank you for your show on 480 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 1: Carmen Miranda. I am the writer, director, producer of the 481 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: documentary Carmen Miranda, that Girl from Rio for twentieth Century Fox. Uh. 482 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:57,760 Speaker 1: He had not read one of the bios that I read, 483 00:26:57,760 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: but he's putting it on his list, and he said, 484 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: while you're unlikely to watch the documentary, it does cover 485 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,680 Speaker 1: some areas that you seemed a little less certain about 486 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:06,960 Speaker 1: in your podcast. He also gives a link to it 487 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:09,160 Speaker 1: up on YouTube, which we can share. In the show notes, 488 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: he said some important aspects. Carmen Miranda was a comic 489 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,399 Speaker 1: songstress in Brazil. She's sang at high end clubs in 490 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,160 Speaker 1: the south of the country and her very first performances 491 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,119 Speaker 1: of her signature song in the country played on a 492 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:23,919 Speaker 1: caricature of the fruit sellers, and it was in a 493 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: film in which she appeared in Brazil, and in it 494 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,880 Speaker 1: she is wearing an absurd version of the actual cultural 495 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,400 Speaker 1: dress and it bothered no one in Brazil at the time, 496 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:33,920 Speaker 1: because of course it was played for comedy. He gives 497 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:35,760 Speaker 1: us the lyrics. I'm not going to read them out 498 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,879 Speaker 1: because that will take a while. But this song, he says, 499 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,800 Speaker 1: played on lots of cultural stereotypes that existed in Brazil 500 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: and it played very well to the European descendant population. 501 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 1: While she did not sing in black face, there was 502 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,199 Speaker 1: an element within Brazilian culture that could relate this to 503 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 1: Al Jolson singing Mammy, which Jolson and the majority of 504 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,160 Speaker 1: Americans at the time saw as a celebration of black 505 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,280 Speaker 1: culture and not offensive. He goes on some or the 506 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:04,119 Speaker 1: other thing that I wanted to um mentioned from his 507 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: his very thorough email, was about that question that we 508 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: had about that photograph that was taken unflattering where she 509 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:16,240 Speaker 1: was not wearing any underwear, and it became very scandalous. 510 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 1: And he writes, the photo of Miranda was taken by 511 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,320 Speaker 1: the Fox Studio photographer. It was not taken by an 512 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,560 Speaker 1: outside photographer. It was posted on a bulletin board on 513 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,200 Speaker 1: the lot the next day. I believe the man who 514 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,800 Speaker 1: printed the photo was fired, but he had made copies 515 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:33,160 Speaker 1: and he took them off the lot. At the time, 516 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: photos like that could not be sold or published openly, 517 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 1: but there was a huge market distributing pornographic images to soldiers. 518 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,520 Speaker 1: Most movie goers inside the US never saw the picture. Uh, 519 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 1: that is very very cool, John, Thank you so much. 520 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: I watched the first part of the movie. I haven't 521 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: gotten to watch the whole thing yet, just because I 522 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:53,840 Speaker 1: have had lack of time. But the opening alone delights 523 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 1: me because it features a really beautiful pink and white costume. 524 00:28:58,040 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 1: Um and so we, like I said, we will share 525 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: that link if people want to watch it. John, thank 526 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:03,720 Speaker 1: you so much for your email. That was fabulous. I'm 527 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,320 Speaker 1: glad you cleared up that photo question for us. If 528 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us, you can do 529 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:10,360 Speaker 1: so at History Podcast at housetop works dot com. You 530 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,000 Speaker 1: can also find us across the spectrum of social media 531 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: as Missed in History, and we are at missed in 532 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,200 Speaker 1: History dot com, which is our little corner of the 533 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: web where we have every episode of the podcast that 534 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,840 Speaker 1: has ever existed, including those before Tracy and I were 535 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:25,880 Speaker 1: ever a part of it. And you'll also find show 536 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 1: notes and things like our sources for the ones that 537 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:29,800 Speaker 1: Tracy and I have worked on. So we encourage you 538 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:37,680 Speaker 1: come and play with us and Missed in History dot com. 539 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit 540 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 1: housetop works dot com.