# Alphonso Sumner

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**Alphonso M. Sumner** was an African American man who opened [Nashville, Tennessee](/source/Nashville,_Tennessee)'s first Black school.[1] Sumner was also a barber, a newspaper publisher, and a Northern [abolitionist](/source/Abolitionism).[2][3][4]

## Early life and Nashville school

In the early 1830s, Sumner lived in Nashville, where he worked as a free Black barber.[3] Despite the restrictive "Black Laws" of the South, which became increasingly severe following [Nat Turner’s rebellion](/source/Nat_Turner's_Rebellion) in 1831, Sumner sought to provide education to the local Black community.[2] He opened his school March 4, 1833 with about 20 students. The school grew to have a student body of around 200 by 1836.[3] The majority of the pupils were free Black children, but a few may have been enslaved. The rapid growth of the school led him to hire Daniel Wadkins be a teacher. In 1836 Sumner was nearly whipped to death by white vigilantes as he was accused in helping two runaway slaves. Soon afterward he moved to [Cincinnati](/source/Cincinnati), Ohio where he worked as an abolitionist.[2]

## Newspaper founder and publisher

In Cincinnati, Sumner was the founder and a publisher for the *Disfranchised American*, that city's first Black newspaper.[2] [Frederick Douglas](/source/Frederick_Douglass) wrote to Sumner on December 18, 1849 in his capacity as editor, explaining that an article Sumner published had not been about him.[5]

## Legacy

Although Sumner was forced into exile, the foundation he laid in Nashville persisted. His former assistant, Daniel Wadkins, reopened a school in 1838, continuing the tradition of "clandestine" education for Nashville's Black population until the mid-1850s. [2]

## References

1. Pentecost, Jerry (February 9, 2022). ["This Black History Month, discover important Black contributions to Nashville"](https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2022/02/09/get-familiar-nashvilles-rich-black-history-opinion/6704672001/). *The Tennessean*. Retrieved 2024-02-15.

1. deGregory, Crystal A. (February 17, 2015). ["Opinionator: Nashville's Clandestine Black Schools"](https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/nashvilles-clandestine-black-schools/). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved 2024-02-15.

1. Wynn, Linda (2018-01-01). ["Nashville and Davidson County Public Schools Names for African Americans"](https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/conference-on-african-american-history-and-culture/45/). *Profiles/Papers for the Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture*

1. ["Black History Month Series: Nashville’s Black Education System"](https://www.92qnashville.com/2016/02/26/black-history-month-series-nashvilles-black-education-system/). *92Q WQQK-FM*. February 26, 2016. Retrieved 2026-03-20.

1. ["Frederick Douglass to Alphonso M. Sumner, December 18, 1849"](https://frederickdouglasspapersproject.com/s/digitaledition/item/5302). *Frederick Douglass Papers Project*. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alphonso Sumner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonso_Sumner) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonso_Sumner?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.