Henry Moxley

Henry Moxley (1809-1878)[1] was an African-American businessman, religious leader and activist in Buffalo, New York. Born into slavery in Virginia in 1809, Moxley escaped and settled in Buffalo in 1832. He worked at various job and became a barber opening his own shop in 1839.[2] Moxley became a deacon of the A.M.E. Zion church and was a principal organizer the 1843 National Convention of Colored Men which was held in Buffalo.[3] It was reported in the Buffalo Republic newspaper that on October 3, 1850 Henry Moxley was in attendance and elected Vice President, along with others, during a meeting of colored citizens in which resolutions were passed against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.[4] In June 1867 Moxley, along with other parents, argued before the School Committee of the Common Council that the segregated and then called "African school" on Vine Alley (present day William Street from Broadway to Michigan Avenue ),[5][6] was poorly equipped and constructed. They also stated that the location caused long travel times for children who didn't live nearby and this violated their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.[7] Moxley's children were expelled from school following an unsuccessful attempt by he and other African-American families to have their children not segregated to a separate building in the Buffalo school system by enrolling them in two neighborhood schools. Moxley and fellow African-American parents then filed suit against the school superintendent and the School Committee of the Common Council with violating the Civil Rights Act of 1866 but the lawsuit was thrown out in 1868 and Moxley was ordered to pay court costs.[2][7][8][9][10] Henry Moxley died on December 12, 1878 and the Buffalo school system became integrated in 1881.[11][12][13]

References

  1. ↑ "Henry Moxley 1860 UNITED STATES CENSUS". Mocavo. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 Goldman, Mark (1 June 1990). City on the Lake: The Challenge of Change in Buffalo, New York. Prometheus Books. pp. 94–96. ISBN 9781615923922. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "MICHIGAN STREET AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE CORRIDOR". Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Landmarks of the Underground Railroad: From Christiana to Harpers Ferry". Hometown History: The Constitution Tested in Buffalo New York by the Abolition Movement and the Fugitive Slave Act. 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Latest National Register Landmark: 141 Elm Street". Buffalo Rising. Jun 12, 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Kirwan, Susan (26 October 2005). "Buffalo Street Name Changes" (PDF). Grosvenor Room Guides & Publications. The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. p. 11. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  7. 1 2 Doyle, Eva M. (February 9, 2014). "Eye On History: Henry Moxley sought a better education for blacks in the 1800s". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Circle Association's African American History of Western New York state 1830 to 1865". Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  9. ↑ Halpern, Jake (May 2000). "City HONORS: LOOKING BACK ... Buffalo schools at a Turning Point". Archives. Buffalo Spree. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  10. ↑ Brooks-Bertram, Peggy; Seals Nevergold, Barbara (2005). Uncrowned Queens, Volume 3: African American Women Community Builders. Uncrowned Queens Publishing. p. 161. ISBN 0-9722977-2-3.
  11. ↑ Davis, Karen G. (October 2001). "AFRICAN AMERICANS BURIED AT FOREST LAWN CEMETERY 1874 – 1886". ANCESTRAL HERITAGE TOUR, 2001. The Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Williams, Lillian Serece (1999). Strangers in the Land of Paradise. Indiana University Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 0-253-33552-3.
  13. ↑ "New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971 Erie Estate index 1800-1929 M-O". Family Search. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 11 January 1973. p. 300. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
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