Crandall, Prudence (1803-1890), was an American teacher who played an important role in the abolitionist movement. She won support from abolitionists when, despite community opposition, she opened a boarding school in Connecticut for African American girls.
Crandall was born on Sept. 3, 1803, in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. In 1831, she established the Canterbury Female Boarding School in Canterbury, Connecticut. Two years later, the school admitted an African American for the first time. The student, Sarah Harris, hoped to receive training that would enable her to become a teacher. The parents of the other students, however, threatened to withdraw their daughters from the school, and Crandall closed the school in February 1833.
Crandall reopened the school in April 1833 with 20 African American girls as students. Many citizens of Canterbury objected. Later in 1833, Crandall was charged with breaking a new state law that prohibited the education of African Americans who did not come from Connecticut. She was convicted, but a higher court reversed the decision in 1834. A local mob then attacked the school, and Crandall closed it for the final time. However, she continued to be a champion for racial equality and women’s rights. Crandall died on Jan. 28, 1890, in Elk Falls, Kansas.
