Schooling the Nation: The Success of the Canterbury Academy for Black Women

by Jennifer Rycenga, Kazimiera Kozlowski (foreword)

336 pages, Paperback

Published January 7, 2025

Reviews

[Greg Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent deep dive into the history of Prudence Crandall, the Canterbury Academy, but most of all, the “village” around her that supported and made the academy a success, and those that were a success because of it. The intersectionality of the abolitionist movement, particularly through the Canterbury Academy project, was fascinating and inspiring, especially in light of our continued fight for equality today. Wonderfully researched and written history of Antebellum America through the lens of Crandall’s academy.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent window into the success that was the Canterbury Academy. Rycenga’s exhaustive research, aided by access to deep 19th century archives, pays off in a detailed but often poignant look at the lives of the Academy’s founder and students. The reverberations of the school, while open just 18 months, had a profound impact on the abolitionist movement. Rycenga’s placement of the young women (and Crandall) at the center of the story provides a necessary angle into the Academy, which had not yet been fully explored.

A favorite line, re the Academy: “The arc of its impact exceeds the venom of its attackers many times over”.

[Miranda Marchese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, I am biased here- I know Jennifer Rycenga as my Aunt Jenny. She has been working on this book since I was in grade school, and I've helped her along the way (even being named in the acknowledgements!).
But all bias aside, I do wholeheartedly recommend this book, ESPECIALLY in today's political climate. It speaks so well to the power of education, especially for people of color. Were it not for Prudence Crandall, so many of her students may have gone on to lead very different lives. Instead, the students of her school overwhelmingly went on to have successful lives, many becoming teachers themselves. The ripple effect that this had cannot be overstated.
I also really liked hearing about how Prudence Crandall continued to engage with black voices after the shuttering of the school, especially during her time in Kansas towards the end of her life. She was astute and caring to the very end. Modern-day activists should strive to be like her.

[Millisent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely more of an academic read than a simple non-fiction historical recap. I fully appreciated the level of research and thoroughness given to the Canterbury Academy for Black Women, Prudence Crandall and her students. This gave me a portrait of New England and North Atlantic black families and abolitionist connections that I hadn't learned before!