John Clay Coleman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Reverend John Clay "J.C." Coleman
Coleman in 1897, Victoria University Archives
Born	February 1, 1876 Durant, Holmes Co., Mississippi
Nationality	American
Citizenship	Canadian
Education	Victoria University

Rev. John Clay (J.C.) Coleman was an American-Canadian minister, theologian, and black rights activist born to freed slaves in Durant, Holmes Co., Mississippi in 1876. He travelled to Canada seeking Christian ordination, and was ordained by the African Methodist-Episcopal Church in 1895. Coleman was accepted as the "first coloured student" at Victoria University, Toronto, ON, where he was a member of the 1897-98 Specialist Class of Theology. Shortly thereafter, he published a book titled The Jim Crow Car: Denouncement of Injustice Meted Out to the Black Race, describing the racial atrocities of the American South.