James Milton Turner
| James Milton Turner | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Assistant superintendent of Missouri schools | |
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In office After Civil War – pre-1871 |
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| American ambassador to Liberia | |
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In office 1871–1878 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 1840 St. Louis, Missouri |
| Died | Nov 1, 1915 (75 years old) Ardmore, Oklahoma |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Radical Republicans |
| Alma mater |
Oberlin College John Berry Meachum's floating Freedom School |
James Milton Turner (1840 – November 1, 1915) was a post Civil War political leader, activist, educator, and diplomat. As ambassador to Liberia, he was the first African-American to serve in the U.S. diplomatic corps.
Turner was born into slavery in St. Louis, Missouri. When he was a child he was sold on the steps of the St Louis courthouse for $50 (US$ 1,400 in 2017). His father, John Turner, was a "horse doctor" who was eventually able to purchase freedom for himself and his family. At fourteen, James Turner attended Oberlin College in Ohio for one term until he had to return to St. Louis to care for his family following his father's death in 1855. There, Turner attended John Berry Meachum's floating Freedom School on a steamboat on the Mississippi River, which Meachum had set up to evade the Missouri law against education for blacks that was passed in 1854.
When the American civil war broke out, Turner enlisted in the Union Army and served as body servant for Col. Madison Miller. A wound he received during the war left him with a permanent limp. After the war, Miller's brother-in-law, Missouri Governor Thomas Fletcher, appointed him assistant superintendent of schools. As such, he was responsible for setting up schools for black Missourians. He helped establish the Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, the first institution of higher education for African-Americans in Missouri. The Institute's name was later changed to Lincoln University. As a politician, Turner, an outspoken member of the Radical Republicans and a leader of the Missouri Equal Rights League, was held in high regard for his oratorical skills. In 1868 he was installed as the principal of Lincoln School the first school for blacks in Kansas City, Missouri. In this position he was succeeded by J. Dallas Bowser.
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