1833

The Life Experience and Gospel Labors of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, written by Allen before his 1831 death, was published in 1833. It was the first autobiography by a Black American denominational founder and offered a detailed account of building the AME Church from scratch, providing a model of Black institutional self-determination.

Ira Aldridge, educated at the African Free School in New York, found no theatrical opportunities in racist America and sailed for England, becoming one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of the 19th century. In 1833 he performed Othello at Covent Garden, London. He was decorated by the King of Prussia and Emperor of Austria and received honorary membership in the Russian Imperial Theatre. He never performed in the United States.

Ira Aldridge, educated at New York's African Free School, found no theatrical opportunities in racist America and sailed for England, becoming one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of the 19th century. His 1833 Othello at London's Covent Garden was celebrated. He was decorated by the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria. He never performed in America.

Lucretia Mott and Sarah Mapps Douglass co-founded the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, one of the first interracial women's organizations in America. Black women including Douglass, Hetty Burr, and members of the Forten family — daughters of sailmaker and abolitionist James Forten — were founding members. The society petitioned Congress, ran schools, and produced a generation of activist women.