Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark facts for kids

Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark (born April 14, 1823 – died December 21, 1892) was an amazing African American teacher and activist. She fought against slavery and worked for equal rights for all people. Her brave actions, like refusing to leave a "whites only" waiting room, have been compared to Rosa Parks' famous stand much later. Ellen spent many years traveling across the East Coast, South, and Midwest, teaching people to read and write. She eventually moved to Pasadena, California, because of her health. For a long time, her grave in Altadena didn't have a headstone. But in 2021, the Altadena Historical Society worked hard to get a memorial headstone placed there.

Early Life and Family

Ellen Clark was born in 1823 in Concord, Massachusetts. Her parents were Jack Garrison and Susan Robbins. Her grandfather, Caesar Robbins, had been enslaved but became a free man and even fought in the Revolutionary War! Ellen's father, Jack Garrison, also became free after escaping slavery in New Jersey. Their family home is now a museum called The Robbins House Museum.

When Ellen was born, Concord was a welcoming place for freed slaves and people who wanted to end slavery (called abolitionists). Her mother, Susan, was a founding member of The Concord Ladies’ Anti-slavery Society, a group that worked to abolish slavery. Susan was the first Black member of this important group. In 1857, Ellen married John Jackson, a gardener who even worked with the famous writer Henry Thoreau for a while. Sadly, Ellen became a widow in 1862.

Teaching During the Civil War

During the American Civil War, Ellen Clark taught at a private school in Newport, Rhode Island. There were many chances to teach newly freed African Americans of all ages. This led her to work with the American Missionary Association (AMA). The AMA was a Protestant group that strongly believed in ending slavery, providing education, and achieving racial equality.

As she moved between towns and taught, Ellen shared an important message: Black Unity. She believed it was everyone's duty to help their own race grow and succeed. She once wrote: "I think it is our duty as a people to spend our lives in trying to elevate our own race."

Ellen used her passport to prove she was a full citizen and a free person. She traveled on AMA trips across Virginia and Maryland, always teaching former slaves to read and write. This was often dangerous, and she faced a lot of racism because of her work. In 1870, the AMA had to stop her contract due to money problems. But Ellen soon found new teaching jobs with a Quaker organization.

Standing Up for Civil Rights in Baltimore

By 1866, Ellen Clark was working as a schoolteacher in Baltimore, Maryland. On May 5, something important happened at Baltimore's train station. Ellen and her friend Mary J. C. Anderson were in a waiting room meant only for ladies. They were told to leave because they were Black, but they refused. They said they had the right to be there because of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This new law was supposed to give African American citizens the same rights as white citizens.

Ellen and Mary were forced out of the room. Ellen later said: "We were thrown out. We were injured in our persons as well as our feelings for it was with no gentle hand that we were assisted from that room and I feel the effects of it still."

To challenge the unfair segregation at the train station, Ellen and Mary decided to sue the station master who threw them out. They wanted to charge him with assault. The case was first given to a judge who supported civil rights. However, the station master asked for a jury trial. After that, the case was not mentioned again in the news. It's thought that Ellen and Mary decided not to have a jury trial because an all-white jury would likely not have found the station master guilty.

Even though the court case didn't go forward, this event was very important for Civil Rights activism. Many people compare Ellen Clark's brave actions to Rosa Parks' stand against segregation many years later.

Later Life and Legacy

In the 1880s, Ellen Clark joined a movement of Black people called "Exodusters". These were thousands of freed slaves who moved to places like Kansas and the Midwest to start new lives and build communities. These towns often received new schools and other basic services. Ellen met and married her second husband, Harvey Clark, during this time.

Ellen became sick with tuberculosis, which was called "consumption" back then. She moved west with her husband and sister, eventually settling in Pasadena, California. Ellen died from her illness on December 21, 1892. She was buried in Altadena's Mountain View Cemetery in a registered but unmarked grave. On Juneteenth in 2021, Ellen Clark finally received a headstone thanks to a campaign by the Altadena Historical Society. Her legacy as a teacher and civil rights pioneer continues to inspire.