William Lanson was a Freeman in New Haven in the first half of the 19th century. He was a master builder, widely respected for his leadership. This 2020 statue stands at the foot of two of Yale's newest residential colleges.
With others he founded the Temple Street Church. He led a petition campaign to the Connecticut General Assembly for the vote for Freemen. The slogan was "no taxation without representation."
In 1825, Lanson was elected Black Governor of the State of Connecticut, extending assistance to the impoverished Black community. He was then hired to build the New Haven section of the Farmington Canal, which would allow New Haven products to be sent by sail to Massachusetts.
He built and owned a hotel that served as a refuge for runaway slaves and traveling Black workers. He owned several properties that he rented out to White and Black families. This brought down the wrath of New Haven authorities, who constantly harassed him with false charges, and penalized and imprisoned him, seizing his properties. William Lanson ended up impoverished and died in the alms house.
1 comment:
Jack, thank you for this dark history of this remarkable man. He had an amazing life that ended badly due to racism. Unfortunately we are seeing racism emerge once again at the highest level of government.
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