Charles Sumner School Museum & Archives

The Charles Sumner School was constructed in 1872 and designed by Washington architect Adolph Cluss. Named for US Senator Charles Sumner, a major figure in the fight for abolition of slavery and the establishment of equal rights for African Americans, it was one of the first public school buildings erected for the education of Washington's black community. Charles Sumner opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the return of fugitive slaves by Union troops. He also fought for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, the creation of a Freedman's Bureau, the admission of testimony from African Americans in the proceedings of the US Supreme Court, pay for black soldiers equal to that of whites, and the right of African Americans to use streetcars in the District of Columbia.