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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING ALEXANDER TWILIGHT
______
HON. PETER WELCH
of vermont
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Mr. WELCH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 225th
anniversary of the birth of a trailblazing Vermonter, Alexander Lucius
Twilight, and to honor his legacy. Alexander was not only the first
African American to graduate from a U.S. college or university, but the
first African American to serve in a state legislature. In recognition
of his contributions and his legacy as a trailblazer, the Vermont
legislature passed a resolution in June 2020 marking his birthday,
September 23, 2020, as Alexander Twilight Day.
Alexander was born on September 23, 1795 to mixed-race parents. His
father, Ichabod Twilight, fought with the Second New Hampshire Regiment
in the Revolutionary War. After the war, Ichabod and his wife, Mary,
moved to Bradford, Vermont.
Vermont's 1777 constitution prohibited adult slavery, but the letter
of the law was not reflected in practice. In the decades following
Vermont's acceptance as the 14th state, Black children were still held
as slaves and all Black Vermonters continued to face the threat of
being kidnapped and sold out of state. Against this backdrop of
widespread discrimination, Twilight graduated with a bachelor's degree
from Middlebury College in 1823. He is the first known African American
to receive a bachelor's degree from any U.S. college or university.
After he graduated, Twilight became a teacher and a minister. He
moved to New York to teach and married Mercy Ladd Merrill. Soon after,
he returned to Vermont to run the Orleans County Grammar School in
Brownington. To accommodate increasing enrollment, he organized the
funding and construction of a new school building to house and educate
students. He also served as the local pastor, delivering sermons
decrying slavery and supporting temperance. His sermons reveal a man of
strong convictions, who viewed human history as a progression towards
greater individual freedom guided by conscience.
In 1836, Twilight became ``the first'' again, this time as the first
African American elected to serve in a state legislature. He continued
to teach at the Orleans County School and in Quebec until 1855, when a
stroke left him paralyzed. He died two years later, on June 19, 1857.
The next year, Vermont passed a complete ban on slavery, declaring that
anyone who entered the state was free.
Today, Twilight's house, the school where he taught, and the
dormitory he built still stand as part of the Old Stone House Museum in
the Brownington Historic District. His legacy as an educator lives on
through the Museum, where his ideals are reflected in the museum's
educational programs, community services and his personal collection.
Twilight's memory is etched in Vermont's higher learning institutions,
such as Middlebury College's Alexander Twilight Hall and Alexander
Twilight Auditorium at Northern Vermont University--Lyndon.
I hope that Alexander Twilight will continue to be remembered and
celebrated as a pioneer who persevered against long odds. He should
also serve as a reminder of how far we have come as a nation, and how
far we still have to go to achieve equality for all Americans,
regardless of skin color, race or ethnicity.
____________________