Alexander Twilight: Vermont's African-American Pioneer
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When Alexander Twilight was eight years old and indentured as a farm laborer, he seemed destined to spend his life scratching a hard living from the rocky Vermont soil. He was poor, of African-American heritage, and had few opportunities to improve his plight in Corinth, Vermont.
Smart, hardworking, and ambitious, Alexander ignored the obstacles facing him, though, and went on to become a builder, legislator, and one of Vermont's leading educators and ministers. Along the way he broke significant barriers. He was the first person from an African-American background to graduate from an American college, and he was the first by fifty years to serve in a state legislature. In the end, Alexander was able to do what he did best - teach - and he gave thousands of young people tools they needed to succeed in life. Alexander Twilight's life story provides a powerful illustration of the injustice and destructiveness of prejudice. Alexander gained respect through what he did, not who he was, and he made significant contributions to his community. Who knows how many others were denied their chance to contribute their knowledge and skills? |
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