An educator, suffragist and reformer fights racism in Buffalo, NY
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| Pic Courtesy: Buffalo History Museum |
In a recent development, the State University of New York at Buffalo renamed ``Putnam Way” (a road on North Campus) to ``Mary Talbert Way” in compliance with the University’s commitment to fight systemic racial barriers and social injustice.
James Osborne Putnam (1818-1903) served as a New York State senator, a member of the University Council for 32 years and was one of the founders of the university. It was during his tenure that The Institute for the Study of Malignant Diseases (the present day Roswell Park Cancer Institute) was founded. Putnam, however, like many others in his time, flip-flopped on the issue of racial segregation. He supported the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 stating,
The Compromise measures of 1850 were not destructive. They constituted a new bond, a new compact, in its moral force, between the free and the slave states, in relation to matters wholly independent.
Not only did he refer to African Americans as “inferior”, he openly supported conservative ideas and stated
I have no sympathy with northern anti-slavery fanaticism. I have entertained extreme conservative sentiments on this subject. My opposition to the extension of the institution does not rest upon the humanity or the legalities of the relation of master and slave. Of these I say nothing; upon them I base neither sentiment or conduct; I look beyond and higher.
His controversial racial remarks and pro-slavery sentiments [1] instigated the administration to recognize only his contributions to the University, and not to the socio-political climate of his times.
Mary Morris Burnett Talbert, in whose memory the road has been re-christened, was a beacon of hope.
Biography of Mary Talbert
(written by Agneya Dutta Pooleery; edited by Haimonti Dutta)
Mary Burnett Talbert was born on September 17, 1866 in Oberlin, Ohio. She was the daughter of Caroline and Cornelius Burnett and had eight siblings.
She was the only African American woman in her graduating class from Oberlin College in 1886 receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree, then called a S.P. (Specialist) degree. After her graduation, she was a teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas for about six years first, teaching at Bethel University (Later known as Shorter University) and then an Assistant Principal at Little Rock Union High School in Jan 1887. At the time, this was the highest position held by a woman at Arkansas.
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| An artist's impression of Mary Burnett Talbert Charcoal on paper, Haimonti Dutta All Rights Reserved. Jan, 27th, 2021. |
In 1891 she married William Herbert Hilton Talbert who was introduced to her by her sister Henrietta (she married another brother of William, Robert). The Talberts owned a lot of property in California, Oregon and New York and William (along with his brothers) took care of them in addition to being a clerk in the City Treasurer’s office in Buffalo. William’s grandfather, Peyton Harris, was one of the early Black settlers in Buffalo and helped to establish the Michigan Street Baptist Church. They actively protested against the Fugitive Slave Act stating
We unhesitatingly accept the issue forced upon us and of the two evils presented choose the least, preferring to die in resisting the executive of so monstrous a law rather than submit to its infamous requirements…we pledge ourselves to resist the execution of this law at all hazards and to the last extremity.
Peyton is believed to have constructed the house at 521 Michigan for his family and the house at 515-517 Michigan for his daughter Anna and her husband. These houses had stood witness to emancipation and the signing of the 15th Amendment, when the parishioners at the Michigan Street Baptist Church held a large celebration to commemorate the occasion. William and Mary Talbert lived at both these houses at different points in their life.
Mary had moved to Buffalo along with her husband William giving up her teaching profession at Little Rock Arkansas. She was to become an orator, activist, suffragist and reformer. The following is a list of some of her monumental achievements in advancing education and the causes of women:
She was a founding member of the Phyllis Wheatley Club, which was the first club in Buffalo to affiliate with the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs. The club had literary activities and occasionally hosted plays such as “Thirty Years of Freedom” which had an all African American crew. The music of the play was catchy and clever and was led by renowned pianist W. R. Baker of Spokane and baritone lead J. Cockbin who was revered both in the United States and Europe.
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An advertisement for a play produced by the Phyllis Wheatley Club |
She became a member of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae. At the time, she was the only Black woman in the City of Buffalo eligible for admission to the association.
She was also appointed to the Women’s Committee on International Relations, which was responsible for selecting women for positions in the League of Nations.
Talbert supported women's suffrage, the right to vote. She established the Christian Culture Congress, which was a literary society and forum in 1901, which brought prominent leaders such as Mary Church Terrell to speak at the Michigan Avenue Baptist Church.
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The Michigan Avenue Baptist Church in Buffalo, NY testament to the struggle to freedom from slavery. Pen and Ink on paper, Haimonti Dutta All Rights Reserved, Jan 27th, 2021. |
On the international scene, she served as a Red Cross nurse during World War I in France, offered classes to African American soldiers and was a member of the Women’s Committee of National Defense. After the war, she was appointed to the Women’s Committee on International Relations, which selected women nominees for position in the League of Nations.
In a 1916 speech, she said
No Negro woman can afford to be an indifferent spectator of the social, moral, and econimic and uplift problems that are agitated around her.
Her hard work embodies the principles of dedication and hard work to improve the rights of Blacks.
Among other social causes she stood for were:
Being an early proponent of the Dyer anti-lynching act. The hostile environment of the southern part of the U.S. had the the threat of lynching and the loss of jobs, and encouraged many Blacks to flee to the north. Talbert helped these freedom seekers on to their path to freedom, and she helped slaves escape to the North.
Establishment of the Niagara Movement -- In 1905, W.E.B DuBois and others met secretly in the home of Mary Talbert. This began the Niagara Movement. WEB DuBois invited a group of 54 members from 17 different states to come to Buffalo from July 11-13, 1905 to discuss plans to achieve equality. Twenty-seven delegates from 13 states and Washington, DC came to the meeting in Fort Erie. It is often said that the Niagara Movement held its first event in Erie Beach Hotel in Fort Erie, Ontario because hotels in Buffalo would not allow them.
Talbert protested the exclusion of Blacks from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, which resulted in a Negro exhibition to feature cultural and economic acheivements of African Americans.
Talbert died on October 15, 1923 and has been buried in the Forest Lawn cemetery in Buffalo, NY. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2005.
References
https://www.ubspectrum.com/article/2018/11/putnams-is-named-after-ub-founder-who-had-racist-views
https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/mary-burnett-talbert/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35113786/wheatley19010414buffalocourierfreedo/
