Mar 2

Mar 2 Proving Intelligence Defies Race - Benjamin Banneker Confronts Jefferson

Benjamin Banneker was the first Black American to become famous as a scientist and used his platform to publicly discuss civil rights with the leaders of his day.

Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker was born in Maryland to parents who were former slaves.

Banneker was fortunate to live close to a Quaker school that educated Black students and he made the best of his opportunity.

Benjamin became gifted in math and science and even built an irrigation system on his fathers farm while still a teenager.

Banneker’s Clock

While in his early 20’s Banneker received a pocket watch as a gift.

He studied this device and built one of the first striking clocks in America (a clock that chimes on the hour).

Benjamin was self-taught and made the device with gears carved from wood, making it all the more impressive to learn that the clock continued operating successfully for the next 50 years.

Fame

In 1791 Banneker worked as an assistant to Andrew Ellicott in surveying the sight of the future Washington, D.C. (though his actual role in planning the Capital has been debated).

By this time, he developed a taste for astronomy and correctly predicted a solar eclipse.

After his findings were verified by several other known astronomers (notably David Rittenhouse), and with the help of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, Benjamin began publishing an almanac.

His almanac was intended to demonstrate that Black people could stand on the same intellectual ground as white people and it saw commercial success for much of the 1790’s.

Confronting Jefferson

On August 19,1791, Banneker wrote to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to discuss the holding of slaves in the United States.

Benjamin pointed out the obvious hypocrisy that the person who wrote “All men are created equal’ could hold slaves (yes, Jefferson was aware of this hypocrisy).

Jefferson responded that he too wished “to see a good system commenced for raising the condition of both their body & mind to what it ought to be” and forwarded his almanac to the Academy of Sciences in France. (Note: Jefferson’s lifetime of contradictions regarding slavery is being glossed over in this article to keep the attention on Banneker.)

Banneker published both his and Jefferson’s letters shortly thereafter, the first time a Black person publicly displayed criticism of slavery in the United States.

Additionally, his arguments themselves verified for much of the public that Black people could maintain the same intellectual capacity as that of their white counterparts.

Due to these efforts, Benjamin is often credited as the first Black civil rights activist in the nation’s history.