Alexander Twilight becomes the first African American to receive a BA degree - September 9th, 1823

A college student named Alexander Twilight received his bachelor’s degree, becoming the first person of African descent to achieve this honor in the United States.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that examines notable events that happened years ago. Today,
I'm Gabe Bluisier, and on today's episode, we're talking about

(00:21):
the complicated history of Alexander Twilight, a black man who
broke glass ceilings right under the nose of his white contemporaries.
The day was Tuesday, September nine three, a college student

(00:44):
named Alexander Twilight received his bachelor's degree, becoming the first
person of African descent to achieve this honor in the
United States. Alexander's life began on September in the town
of Corinthe, Vermont. Alexander was the third of six children
born to Ichabod and Mary Twilight. His father is believed

(01:06):
to have been of mixed race and his mother is
believed to have been white. This would make Alexander roughly
one quarter African American. He was studious from a young age.
When he turned eight, he began working on a neighbor's farm,
and in his free time, he learned reading, writing, and math.
At age twenty, Alexander enrolled in grammar school, where he

(01:29):
completed six years of secondary education and two years of
college level courses. This allowed him to enter Middlebury College
in eighteen twenty one as a junior. Two years later,
he graduated alongside seventeen other men and received a Bachelor
of Arts degree. It's important to note that while Middlebury

(01:49):
proudly claims Alexander as their first African American graduate today,
there is no evidence that the college knew he was
black at the time. In fact, and Alexander attended Middlebury,
like all other US colleges, was only open to white men.
This implies that Alexander was fair skinned enough to pass

(02:11):
as white. Further evidence for this theory has been uncovered
through the research of Twilight scholar and Professor emeritus of
history Bill Hart. He examined the Twilight family's census records
and determined they had been alternately counted as black or
white depending on the year. For example, the eighteen hundred

(02:32):
senses marked the Twilight family as quote all other free persons,
meaning they were black people who were not enslaved. However,
beginning with the eighteen ten senses, the Twilight family's racial
identity was listed as white. The reason for this discrepancy
is unknown, but Professor Hart speculates that it came down

(02:54):
to who answered the door. During the eighteen hundred senses
Alexander's mixed race father was still alive, which could explain
why the census taker assumed the family was black. However,
Ichabad Twilight passed away during the ten years sences gap.
This could mean that Alexander's white mother answered the door

(03:14):
in eighteen ten, and as a result, she and her
six children were all assumed to be the same race.
Whichever way it happened, Alexander was identified as white and
continued to be until his death. This ambiguity may have
worked in Alexander's favor, enabling him to bypass the inherently

(03:35):
unjust system that would have otherwise limited his opportunities as
a black man during the era of slavery. After graduating
from Middlebury, Alexander became a teacher in Peru, New York,
where he met his future wife, Mercy lad Merrill. Just
as he did as a child, Alexander used his free
time to further his education, this time studying theology and

(03:58):
becoming ordained as minister. By eighteen twenty nine, Alexander was
the acting pastor of the Brownington Congregational Church and the
principal of the Orleans County Grammar School in Brownington, Vermont.
During his time as principal, Alexander boosted enrollment and oversaw
construction of a bigger school and boarding house, which he

(04:21):
called Athenian Hall. While still viewed as a white man
by the public, it's interesting to note that some of
Alexander's students described him as a man of darker complexion
than most. Alexander continued his string of accomplishments by being
elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in eighteen thirty six.

(04:41):
He was the first African American to do so, though
again most people were likely unaware of this milestone. Alexander
continued working off and on as a pastor and school
leader until eighteen fifty five, when he suffered a stroke
and was left paralyzed. He died two years later and
is buried in a cemetery at the church where he preached.

(05:03):
The handwritten notes for his sermons revealed that Alexander viewed
human history as a progressive journey toward individual freedom, one
that was directed by God and guided by human conscience.
Although he was not an abolitionist, he preached on multiple
occasions that slavery had no place in any true Christian

(05:24):
society or democracy. Today, Alexander's Athenian Hall still stands. It's
now known as the Old Stone House and serves as
the Orleans County Historical Society and museum. His pioneering achievements
are finally seen for what they are, and his birthday,
September twenty three, is officially designated by his home state

(05:47):
as Alexander Twilight Day. I'm Gabe Louzier and hopefully you
now know a little more about history today than you
did yesterday. If you have any comments or suggestions for
his storical event you'd like to see covered on the show,
you can drop me a line at this Day at
i heeart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for

(06:09):
producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see
you back here again tomorrow for another Day in History class.
For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.