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A review by grandma_debby
Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York by Amy Hill Hearth
Like Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Jennings refused to get off a streetcar, but this was 1854. Elizabeth's lawyer was Chester Arthur, future President.
The background of Elizabeth's family, the Black community in New York, and well-known anti-slavery activists like Horace Greeley and Frederick Douglass, who publicised Elizabeth's story and trial which resulted in court affirmation of the right of Blacks to use public transportation, are well documented. Many illustrations, copies of period photographs and documents, enhance the book. Extensive endnotes, bibliography, suggested additional reading and internet sources would be helpful to anyone interested in or writing about the mid-nineteenth century era.
Elizabeth herself contributed more than that one successful lawsuit; she was an accomplished musician, unusually well educated (even among white females) for her time, was active in civic and religious organizations, operated a free lending library in her home, and started the first free kindergarten for Black children in New York City--and that when kindergarten was still a fairly new idea.
The background of Elizabeth's family, the Black community in New York, and well-known anti-slavery activists like Horace Greeley and Frederick Douglass, who publicised Elizabeth's story and trial which resulted in court affirmation of the right of Blacks to use public transportation, are well documented. Many illustrations, copies of period photographs and documents, enhance the book. Extensive endnotes, bibliography, suggested additional reading and internet sources would be helpful to anyone interested in or writing about the mid-nineteenth century era.
Elizabeth herself contributed more than that one successful lawsuit; she was an accomplished musician, unusually well educated (even among white females) for her time, was active in civic and religious organizations, operated a free lending library in her home, and started the first free kindergarten for Black children in New York City--and that when kindergarten was still a fairly new idea.