William Howard Day
Swatara Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Abolitionist, minister, orator, editor, educator. Born in New York City; traveled in the U.S., Canada, and Britain on behalf of antislavery and free Blacks. General Secretary, A.M.E. Zion Church. Lived after 1870 in Harrisburg, where he edited the newspaper Our National Progress. The first African American elected to the Harrisburg School Board, in 1878; its president, 1891-93. Burial in Lincoln Cemetery.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Born free in New York, the man honored here devoted his life to the fight against slavery, lecturing across the United States, Canada, and Britain on behalf of the enslaved and free Black communities. After the Civil War he settled in Harrisburg, edited a newspaper, and served as a leader in the A.M.E. Zion Church. In 1878 he broke a barrier by becoming the first African American elected to the city's school board, later serving as its president.
Why it matters
His life bridges the abolitionist crusade and the Reconstruction-era struggle for Black political participation and education in the North.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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