Juneteenth: 7 Lesser-known black abolitionists
5.Henry Highland Garnet
A clergyman and ambassador, Henry Highland Garnet was born a slave in Kent County, Maryland, in 1815. His family escaped when he was child and ended up in New York City.
Garnet later became a radical antislavery activist, garnering controversy in 1843 when he gave a speech at the National Negro Convention calling for the violent overthrow of slavery, an idea that, at the time, was divisive even in abolitionist circles.
A pastor and overseas missionary, in 1865, Garnet became the first African American to address the United States Congress, giving a sermon before the House of Representatives at the request of President Abraham Lincoln for the president’s 56th birthday.
“With the assurance of God's favor in all things done in obedience to his righteous will, and guided by day and by night by the pillars of cloud and fire, let us not pause until we have reached the other and safe side of the stormy and crimson sea,” he preached.
“Favored men, and honored of God as his instruments, speedily finish the work which he has given you to do. Emancipate, enfranchise, educate, and give the blessings of the gospel to every American citizen.”
