Diverse Voices

African Benevolent Society

The African Benevolent Society (ABS) and the African Female Benevolent Society (AFBS) were both active organizations in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in Newport. Beginning in December 1807, the ABS met for the first time with the intention of establishing a school for free students of color. According to an 1808 issue of the Newport Mercury, the school was located at 8 School Street in Newport, and was headed by Newport Gardner, a prominent figure in the city's Black community. The minutes of various ABS meetings can be found in the collections of the Newport Historical Society, and they yield valuable information about the functions, objectives, and day-to-day happenings of the ABS. Stemming from both the Free African Union Society and the African Humane Society, the ABS served as a community initiative to educate Newport's Black children who otherwise were not receiving an equitable education. The ABS operated from 1807 until 1844, when it was disbanded and their records were merged with the Colored Union Congregational Church in Newport. 

Learn More Here: Newport Historical Society

African Female Benevolent Society 

The African Female Benevolent Society (AFBS) has eluded the record more than the ABS, but the group's contribution to education is equally important to the history of Newport's Black community. According to newspaper records, the AFBS existed as early as 1805, making it older than the male counterpart by at least two years. The available evidence regarding the AFBS exists in the meeting minutes from the ABS; the first mention of the female society in these records was September 20, 1809, when members of the ABS visited the AFBS to make inquiries into their school. When perusing the Newport Mercury, the few times the AFBS is named is in regard to financial statements or fundraising efforts for their school. In 1810, the female society was only comprised of forty members, but that did not dampen their spirit, as they continued their fight for Black education. Records are unclear when the AFBS disbanded, but because of their close relationship with the ABS, the assumption can be made that they operated until the mid-1840s. 

Learn More Here: Newport Historical Society