The Philadelphia Bray Schools: A Story of Black Education in Early America, 1758–1845

Abstract

Abstract: The Associates of Dr. Bray, an Anglican charity, supported schools for Black children in Philadelphia operated by Christ Church and the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas from 1758 to 1845. This narrative history of the schools complements open-source data accessible online through the Magazine of Early American Datasets . These spreadsheets present information pertaining to the schools' operations gleaned from the Associates' archive in the United Kingdom. Besides the very few class lists from the period before the American Revolution, there are more than 90 lists for the Philadelphia schools covering the period from 1821 to 1845 that identify almost four hundred individual pupils and their curricula, providing valuable insight into one of the few opportunities for Black education in early America.