Brotherhood of Liberty

Established June 22, 1885, in Baltimore, the Brotherhood of Liberty sought to remove social injustices and protect the right of the black minority.[1] The Brotherhood of Liberty used the legal means to protect the civil rights of African American People. Founded by Rev. Harvey Johnson and three of local pastors, the church family helped to what came to be the second NAACP chapter established in America. Brotherhood of Liberty created the first colored schools with colored teachers and principals, they funded and provided them with resources to strive. The Brotherhood of Liberty would fight for the right of colored people to practice law in Maryland. This led to the first Black Lawyer Everett Waring. The Brotherhood of Liberty created schools for the black community and were pioneers in assisting colored people in getting a better education, being united, and improving their standard of living.[2]

When the Brotherhood was established in Baltimore, there was no high school for African American children and no African American teachers. African American persons passed the examination to become a teacher, but the school board refused to appoint them as teachers. Separate African American schools had all Caucasian teachers. The brotherhood petitioned and appeared before the city council, the board of school commissioner and the city courts to resolve this issue. The school board said that there were not enough of African Americans on the Northwest side of Baltimore to have a public elementary school. The brotherhood enrolled 300 children at Shiloh Baptist Church and hired three teachers. The school board was convinced and the first new school for African Americans was built at Carrolton and Riggs Ave. The first African American appointed teacher and principal were Fannie Barbour and George Biddle.[2] The school was not opened immediately because whites in the area were determined to take over the school and make it all-white.[3]

The Brotherhood of Liberty and its members accomplished much for the African American community in Maryland during their time. In 1885 Everett Waring council member of the Brotherhood became the first black attorney to practice law in the Maryland court system. Waring was the first black person admitted to the bar of Court of Appeals in 1880, this opened the door to allowing five more blacks from Baltimore to be allowed admittance to the University of Maryland School of Law in 1890. In 1889 William M. Alexander, an original member of the Brotherhood of Liberty, opened Public School No. 9, the first public school for negro children. In 1888 the Brotherhood celebrated at Irving Park the removal of the word "white" from statute books of Maryland.

References

  1. ↑ "Abolition of the Black Laws: Celebration of the Event by the Brotherhood of Liberty at Irving Park". The Baltimore Sun. 1888.
  2. 1 2 Jasper, John (March 1, 1958). "Baltimore's First NAACP Called Itself the Brotherhood of Liberty". Baltimore Afro-American.
  3. ↑ Lawson, P. (August 1, 1925). "Old Baltimorean Tells of Struggle for Negro Teachers". Baltimore Afro-American.
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