African-Americans have had a long presence in Connecticut. At a Feb. 25 program at the Windsor Historical Society, Elizabeth Normen, publisher of the magazine "Connecticut Explored," said she felt it was only natural to compile a book about the long arc of their experience in the state.
"The book talks about black leaders, singers, business owners and people who represent everyman," she said. "I gathered the material out there and put it together."
Joining her was Dr. Stacey Close, professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University and a contributing essayist to "African American Connecticut Explored."
They shared compelling stories chosen from the book's 54 essays covering the colonial period to mid-20th century. Normen said she wanted to dispel the myths that in early America slavery wasn't common in Connecticut, that most enslaved people in Connecticut were treated well, and that the white population of Connecticut was mostly abolitionists. Slaves were indeed brought to Connecticut, she said, where they were bought and sold, mostly in New London.
Normen noted that during the Revolutionary War era, the state passed a law declaring enslaved people born after 1784 had to be freed at age 25. Later, the age of freedom was lowered to 21. However, it didn't help slaves such as Nancy Toney, who was born in 1774 and never freed. The 1850 census indicated Toney was free but living with the Loomis family, Normen said.
She also mentioned Venture Smith, who was born enslaved but purchased his freedom and eventually became a successful businessman in Haddam. He also purchased freedom for his wife and children and owned 100 acres of land.
"There were isolated free families scattered over the state who owned land," Normen said. "Communities formed. They had churches and businesses."
Close addressed more recent history, starting with The Great Migration, when thousands of blacks moved north seeking work starting in 1917. Many found jobs in Connecticut's tobacco fields due to a labor shortage caused by World War I. Some were students from historically black colleges like Morehouse College. Over the years, the state became more diverse and tolerant, unlike the south, with its enforced segregation.
"Martin Luther King worked in the tobacco fields in 1944 and 1946," Close said. "His wife later said that Connecticut shaped his views on how America could be."
Close talked about activist Rev. James Pennington, who he called "a national voice for local issues and a local voice for national issues," and James Rainey, who advocated educational reform and lived in Windsor.
The 1940s saw Robert Lewis open a thriving business called The Subway, a restaurant, billiard parlor and banquet hall. He was also one of the founders of the Hartford Chronicle, a now-defunct black newspaper. Later it became the New England Bulletin.
In the 1950s, the civil rights movement began to pick up steam. It attracted people of all races and situations, from college students who marched in the south to baseball legend and Stamford resident Jackie Robinson, who campaigned for civil rights and advocated a community center in the North End, Close said.
Normen said about half of the stories in the book were previously published in "Connecticut Explored." Additional essays were written by Close, Katherine Harris, a lecturer at Central Connecticut State University, and Wm. Frank Mitchell, a consulting historian at the Amistad Center for Art and Culture.