Educator and Activist
Soon Bassett was offered the chance to teach at a progressive new all-black high school in Philadelphia. At the time, he was teaching at the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY). It later became Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, one of the earliest colleges dedicated to educating black youth in the country. There he focused on Latin, Greek, mathematics and science, becoming principal after one year. But Pennsylvania, like the rest of the country, was soon dragged into the American Civil War.
Bassett became one of Philadelphia's leading voices for abolition of slavery and emancipation of the nearly four million black slaves. Ebenezer Bassett used ICY as a base to recruit blacks to serve in the Union Army. He hastened to invite many of the national civil rights leaders who had become colleagues. Just days after the Battle of Gettysburg, Bassett and other black leaders organized a recruiting drive for black soldiers. Bassett had the honor of being the second speaker of the night, making his speech immediately preceding Frederick Douglass.
| “ | Men of Color, to Arms! Now or Never! This is our golden moment. The Government of the United States calls for every able-bodied colored man to enter the army for the three years' service, and join in fighting the battles of liberty and the Union. A new era is open to us. For generations we have suffered under the horrors of slavery, outrage, and wrong; our manhood has been denied, our citizenship blotted out, our souls seared and burned, our spirits cowed and crushed, and the hopes of the future of our race involved in doubts and darkness. But how the whole aspect of our relations to the white race is changed! Now, therefore, is our most precious moment. Let us rush to arms! Fail now, and our race is doomed on this soil of our birth. | ” |
His remaining years as an educator and activist would cement his position in the abolitionist community. When Ulysses S Grant was elected to the presidency, he looked for black leaders such as Bassett to fill important political positions. Douglass recommended Bassett to political allies in the White House.
Read more about this topic: Ebenezer Bassett
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