George Bell (1761-1843) was an advocate and activist for the education rights of

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. In 1807, he co-founded the Bell School, the first school for African Americans in

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Life

Bell was born into

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. His wife, Sophia Browning, purchased his freedom while she was also enslaved. Bell worked as a carpenter in Washington, D.C. and used his wages to purchase his wife's freedom.

Education advocacy

Bell could not read or write. He believed that education should be accessible for African Americans and became an activist in this area. Bell co-founded and built a one-story school house with Nicholas Franklin and Moses Liverpool, two free African American men who were also formerly enslaved. Their school, the Bell School, was located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The original Bell School closed after few years due to a lack of funding. The school is considered Washington D.C.'s first school for African Americans. Bell co-founded the

Resolute Beneficial Society The Resolute Beneficial Society, established in 1818, was a Washington DC organization founded by free African Americans. The society supported health, education, and burial needs of Washington D.C.'s Black community. History The Society was orga ...

, a society that supported health, education, and burial needs of Washington D.C.'s Black community. The society successfully re-opened the Bell School in 1818.

Death

Bell died in Washington, D.C. in 1843.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, George 1761 births 1843 deaths 19th-century American educators African-American educators Activists from Washington, D.C. Educators from Washington, D.C. Founders of schools in the United States Free Negroes