Charles Sumner School

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Charles Sumner School

The Charles Sumner School, established in 1872, was one of the earliest schools for African Americans in Washington, D.C. Named for the prominent abolitionist and United States Senator Charles Sumner, the school became the first teachers' college for black citizens in the city and the headquarters of its segregated school system for African American students.

It currently houses a small museum, a research room, art exhibits, and the archives of the District of Columbia Public Schools.Construction and namingThe Charles Sumner School was built on land that had previously been used as a school site by the Freedmen's Bureau, created after the Civil War to provide support for freed slaves. The school was named for Charles Sumner, a prominent abolitionist and United States Senator from Massachusetts who fought, among other things, for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and for the right of black citizens to use streetcars in that city. The building was designed by prominent Washington architect Adolf Cluss, a task for which he would receive a design award at the 1873 Vienna Exposition. The school opened in 1872.

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Washington D.C., DC

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