Alphonso M. Sumner: The Underground School For African Americans In Nashville

Some African Americans in Nashville began receiving underground schooling in 1833 when Alphonso M. Sumner, a Nashville African-American barber, surreptitiously opened a school for free African American students. The school experienced rapid growth and within three years served approximately 200 students. Because of the school’s growth, Sumner, who continued to work as a barber, hired Daniel Wadkins as a teacher. Later, as noted in Wadkins’ Origin and Progress Before Emancipation, officials accused Sumner of writing and sending letters that aided the efforts of those trying to escape the institution of enslavement. Accused of his assisting enslaved runaways, white vigilantes practically lashed Sumner to death, compelling him to flee Tennessee.