New Haven rejected plans for a Black college in 1831. Generations later, it’s considering an apology

Associated Press

Officials in New Haven, Connecticut, are considering a public apology for a decision by city leaders in 1831 to reject what would have been the nation’s first Black college. A resolution before the city’s Board of Alders would condemn the action and encourage the city and Yale University to educate students about what happened generations ago. The plan for the college was proposed by Black leaders and white abolitionists at a time when educational opportunities for African Americans were scarce. But the city’s white landowners overwhelmingly rejected the proposal.