People and Happenings
Reflections on Charles Sumner upon the 200th Anniversary of His Birth
People and Happenings
The Many Sides of Sumner:
Reflections on Charles Sumner upon the 200th Anniversary of His Birth
January 6, 1811 – March 11, 1874
by Bree D. Harvey, Vice President of External Affairs
For most, the mention of Charles Sumner stirs recollections from high school history class and the story of Sumner’ s attack on the floor of the U. S. Senate by a fellow senator. For others, the mention of Sumner prompts the question,“ The person the tunnel is named after?” In fact, the Sumner Tunnel in Boston is not named for Charles Sumner, and though his attack is part of his story, it is far from being his whole story— a story that branches out into a fascinating myriad of connections within Mount Auburn itself. Sumner is perhaps more well-known for his actions in the political arena, serving in the U. S. Senate as a representative of Massachusetts during a very critical time in the history of our nation. Beyond his role as a senator, Sumner’ s legacy as a Boston lawyer marks an important chapter in the history of civil rights in this country. On more of a personal front, he was a significant patron of the arts and a close friend and confidant of beloved poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow( Lot 580, Indian Ridge Path). Here are but a few examples of the web of connections that lead back to our own Charles Sumner( Lot 2447, Arethusa Path).
One of Sumner’ s most significant contributions is the work he did to further civil rights in this country. In 1849, he teamed up with a young black attorney, Robert Morris, to sue the City of Boston on behalf of their client Benjamin Franklin Roberts. Roberts, an African American printer, brought suit against the City upon the claim that his five-year-old daughter’ s rights were being violated by the practice of segregated schools. The courts ultimately ruled as long as the schools remained“ separate yet equal,” there was no violation of civil rights. Sumner’ s arguments, however, struck such a chord with the public and created a ripple effect that lasted for more than a century. Benjamin Franklin Roberts, Sumner’ s client, is buried at Mount Auburn on Amethyst Path in the Saint John Lot, and Lemuel Shaw, the State Superior Court Justice who presided over the case, is also buried at the Cemetery in his family’ s lot on Trefoil Path.
Sumner’ s legacy as a patron of the arts is a lesser-known fact. While abroad in the late 1830s, he befriended the American-born sculptor, Thomas Crawford, who was then living and working in Italy. Seeing promise in the young artist, Sumner took it upon himself to champion Crawford’ s career and encouraged the Boston Athenæum to purchase his sculpture, Orpheus. Sumner was also responsible for the
14 | Sweet Auburn
Statue of Charles Sumner in Harvard Square.
artistic success later experienced by William Wentmore Story, the son of Sumner’ s mentor and Mount Auburn’ s first president, Joseph Story. Though the young Story trained as a lawyer, his true interest was art, a passion that Sumner encouraged. In the 1840s when the Cemetery commissioned four American-born sculptors to each create a life-sized statue for the interior of its new chapel( now Bigelow Chapel), two of the sculptors selected were none other than they who credited their successes to Charles Sumner. Crawford was commissioned to sculpt the likeness of James Otis, one of the voices of the American Revolution, while Story was asked to create a statue of his father. These celebrated works were displayed at Mount Auburn until the 1930s when they were donated to Harvard University.
It is fitting for a man with so many connections and such diverse interests that a collaborative of institutions join together this year to celebrate his legacy. A series of events organized by the Charles Sumner Bicentennial Committee— the Boston African American National Historic Site, Cambridge Forum, Friends of the Longfellow House, Friends of Mount Auburn, Harvard University, Longfellow House – Washington’ s Headquarters National Historic Site, Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Museum of African American History( Boston and Nantucket)— explores the many different sides of Charles Sumner. Join us at First Parish Church in Harvard Square for the final event in the series:
Thursday, May 19 at 6 PM
Charles Sumner & Civil Rights. This event, part of the Cambridge Form 2011 series will include a rededication of the Sumner statue in Harvard Square followed by a discussion with Beverly Morgan-Welch, Executive Director of the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket, and Daniel Coquilette, Charles Warren Visiting Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School. For more information about this event, call 617-495-2727.
And, learn more about other events scheduled as part of the Charles Sumner Bicentennial celebration by visiting us online at www. mountauburn. org.