Elizabeth Jennings Graham

Elizabeth Jennings Graham
.Elizabeth Jennings Graham (18301901) was a black woman who lived in young York City. She figured in an important early civil rights case, when she insisted on her right to go up on a cable tramway in 1854.

Early life
Graham was the daughter of Thomas Jennings, a roaring tailor, and an important man in New Yorks black community. By 1854, she had become a schoolteacher and church organist. She taught at the citys African Free Schools, and later in the public schools.
Jennings v. Third Ave. Railroad
In the 1850s the horse-drawn streetcar on rails was becoming to a greater extent common as a mode of transportation, competing with the horse-drawn four-in-hand in the city.(Elevated heavy rail, the next new mode in the city, did not go into service until 1869.) Like the omnibus lines, the streetcar lines were owned by private companies and the owners or drivers could refuse to dress any passengers they wished to. Many refused to allow black passengers.
On Sunday, 16 July 1854, Miss Jennings set off for the First Colored congregational Church, where she was organist. As she was running late, she boarded a streetcar of the Third lane Railroad Company at the corner of Pearl and Chatham streets. The conductor ordered her to get off. When she refused, the conductor tried to remove her by military posture.



Eventually, with the aid of a police officer, Miss Jennings was ejected from the streetcar.
Horace Greeleys New York Tribune commented on the incident in February 1855:
She got upon one of the Companys cars last summer, on the Sabbath, to ride to church. The conductor undertook to get her off, first alleging the car was full; when that was shown to be false, he pretended the other passengers were displeased at her figurehead; moreover (when) she insisted on her rights, he took hold of her by force to expel her. She resisted. The conductor got her down on the platform, jammed her bonnet, dingy her dress and injured her person. Quite a crowd gathered, but she effectually...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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