Remembering National Freedom Day

Did you know today - 1 February - is National Freedom Day? I had no idea, to be honest, until I was searching for an article for Black History Month (which is February by the way). It was on 1 February 1865 that President Abraham Lincoln signed the joint resolution - the 13th Amendment - abolishing slavery.

How did National Freedom Day come about then?

According to the Weekly Review, in Birmingham, Alabama, from 31 July 1948, Major R. R. Wright, Sr. organized the National Freedom Day Association in 1941. The purpose of the association was to establish a national Freedom Day.

Wright was born a slave in 1853 in Georgia to Richard Wright and Harriet Lynch.

The 1880 Census shows a R.R. Wright living in Cuthbert, Randolph County, Georgia. He was 27 at the time and an editor. He lived with his 23 year old wife and two children. According to the census, both his parents had been born in South Carolina. Other sources confirm his name is Richard Robert Wright and his wife's is Lydia Elizabeth Howard Wright.

Clearly educated, Richard is the President of the Georgia State Industrial College in Savannah in 1900. This census lists him and his family residing at the college. He and wife Lydia - they married in 1877 - have seven children. Their children are: Julia, age 17; Essie, age 15, Lillian, 13; Edwina, 11; son Niittier, age 10; Henrietta, 2; and son Emanuel, 11 months.

Side note about the college ... The Georgia State Industrial College was established in 1890 as a result of the Second Morrill Land Grant Act. The school opened with five faculty members and eight students. The school moved to Savannah in October 1891. Richard, according to the school's website, was appointed the first president that year. He served in that position until 1921. The school is still in existence today and is now known as Savannah State University (SSU).

The 1910 Census shows Richard R. Wright to be the President of a college. He had been married for 32 years now to 49 year old Lydia, who is now listed as being mulatto, not black. Only two of their nine children - 12 year old Harriet and 10 year old Emanuel - are still at home.

In 1919, Richard went abroad, traveling to Belgium, England, and France. The purpose of his trip, according to his passport application, was to study school conditions abroad. He listed his occupation as teacher and expected to return in three months Passport applications were generally accompanied with a photo of the applicant. Richard's is shown here at left.

Lydia preceded Robert in death. She died in Philadelphia on 11 October 1933, at the age 75. Her death certificate lists her parents as Alexander Howard and Matilda Mitchel. I include this because I understand it is rare for a slave to know his or her parentage.

Richard Wright died 2 July 1947 at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.

Sources:
Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

"History", Savannah State University. Ssavannahstate.edu.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 818; Volume #: Roll 0818 - Certificates: 93000-93249, 02 Jul 1919-03 Jul 1919

Year: 1880; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Roll: 163; Page: 114C; Enumeration District: 059

Year: 1900; Census Place: Militia District 5, Chatham, Georgia; Page: 17; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 1240185

Year: 1910; Census Place: Militia District 5, Chatham, Georgia; Roll: T624_178; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0080; FHL microfilm: 1374191

(c) 2020, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman

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