They Said I Couldn't Do It: John Mercer Langston, Young Black Lawyer in A White Man's World
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'Black boys don't need schoolin', ' said the orphan's guardian.
It's 1843, Ohio. Blacks can't vote, have almost no rights, and as for going to school! What's the point? But John Mercer Langston yearns to learn. His heart is set on attending college.His illiterate older brother finally relents. John enrolls at Oberlin, the most radical college in Ohio.
But what can he do with that education? Be a lawyer? Ridiculous! Law schools slam their doors in his face. And anyway, who would hire a black man?
John and his town are a great match―fighters against ignorance, injustice, and racial persecution. Oberlin is an abolitionist town. Supports runaways. Prevents captures. Rescues captives. Has many conductors and safe houses on the Underground Railroad.
Their actions bring danger from the highest in the land. A David and Goliath battle of wills erupts when John and his tiny town defy the hated Fugitive Slave Act. Legal battles rage. For ten months, September 1858 to July 1859, they remain front-page news across the nation.
Over time, John Mercer Langston has faded into the folds of history. It's time to honor him again.
