1826

Isabella Baumfree, later known as Sojourner Truth, escaped enslavement in New York State with her infant daughter Sophia, walking to the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen who sheltered her. She subsequently won a landmark legal case in 1828 to recover her son Peter — one of the first successful suits by a Black American woman in a US court.

John Russwurm graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 1826, one of the first Black Americans to receive a college degree in the United States. His commencement address addressed Haitian independence. The following year he co-founded Freedom's Journal, the first Black-owned newspaper in America, with Samuel Cornish.

John Bowdoin Russwurm graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 1826 — one of the first Black Americans to earn a college degree in the United States. The following year he co-founded Freedom's Journal with Samuel Cornish. After editorializing in favor of emigration — a controversial position — he emigrated to Liberia in 1829 and served as superintendent of education and later governor of Maryland in Liberia.

John Russwurm graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 1826 — one of the first Black Americans to earn a college degree in the US. The following year he co-founded Freedom's Journal with Samuel Cornish. After editorializing in favor of emigration he moved to Liberia in 1829, serving as superintendent of education and later governor.

John Russwurm graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine and Edward Jones graduated from Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1826, making them among the earliest Black college graduates in American history. Russwurm went on to co-found Freedom's Journal (1827), the first Black-owned newspaper in America. Their achievements broke barriers in higher education and demonstrated that Black Americans could excel academically despite systemic exclusion.