Anthony Benezet: Teaching Kindness

When the United States declared independence and freedom from Great Britain in 1776, hundreds of thousands of Black people were enslaved. Sometimes when people talk about this time in history, they say, “That’s just the way things were” or “That’s how people thought back then.” But that’s just not true. The hundreds of thousands of Black people who were enslaved knew they were being treated wrongly. And there were also white people alive back then who knew slavery was wrong, too. One of them was a man named Anthony Benezet.

Anthony was born in France in 1713. His family were members of a group of Christians called the Huguenots. It wasn’t safe to be a Huguenot in France at the time, so Anthony and his family ran away. First, they went to Holland, then to London, and finally, they arrived in Philadelphia in 1731.

As he grew older, Anthony became a teacher. After he noticed that most girls were not getting the same education as boys, Anthony opened the first public school for girls in America. To Anthony, kindness was one of the most important parts of being a part of a community. Anthony used kindness as the main building block of his teaching.

While Anthony was in London, he became a Quaker. Quakers are a group of Christians who believe in peace and equality. But in Philadelphia and elsewhere, some Quakers took part in the slave trade. Anthony disagreed with this. Anthony became one of the earliest abolitionists, people who believed in ending slavery. He and his friend John Woolman worked tirelessly to change people’s minds. In 1758, Quaker groups in Pennsylvania and New Jersey announced that slavery was against Christian beliefs.

Anthony wrote pamphlets and books that explained why slavery was unjust. Some of his writing became popular back in Great Britain as well. Anthony’s words built support for ending slavery on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In Philadelphia, Anthony helped start the Pennsylvania Abolition Society in 1775.

Anthony continued to teach until the end of his life. He had problems with his health, but he taught enslaved Black children in his home. In 1770, Anthony started a school for Black children. He taught there and continued to teach at the school for girls. Some white abolitionists still held racist ideas about Black people. Anthony believed in treating all people with kindness and respect, regardless of the color of their skin. From his experience teaching Black children, he knew that people who thought white people were smarter or better were wrong. He wrote of the “genius” he saw in his Black students. Anthony told people that Black students were just as talented as white students.

In his life, Anthony also assisted Indigenous Americans and refugees. He was against all war.

Anthony died at age 71 in 1784. When he died, hundreds of Black Philadelphians came out to mourn his passing. Anthony could not end slavery while he was alive, but he used his words and actions to fight against slavery in a time when many white people did not. His example helped others continue fighting for abolition long after he died.