William H. Day

William Howard Day (October 16, 1825 – December 3, 1900) was a black abolitionist, editor, educator and minister

Day was born in October 16, 1825, in New York City His mother was Eliza, a founding member of the first AME Zion Church and an abolitionist. His father, John, was a sail maker, veteran of the War of 1812 and Algiers, in 1815. He died when his son was four. The Willistons of Northampton, Massachusetts raised him. They asked his mother to allow them to educate him.

In 1834, the young Day joined Henry Highland Garnet and David Ruggles to form the all-male Garrison Literary and Benevolent Association. Day attended Oberlin College and graduated in 1847. He dedicated his life to the rights of Blacks in the U.S. In 1848 he was in Cleveland where he became the secretary of the National Negro Convention.

Day was editor of one of the first weekly African-American newspapers, the Aliened American. Published in Cleveland, Ohio, Day used the newspaper to support the abolitionist cause, as in this excerpt from April 9, 1853: We speak for Humanity. If Humanity be a unit, wherever it is cloven down, wherever rights common to human beings are infringed, there we do sympathize.

On November 25, 1852, Day married Lucy Stanton, a 1846 graduate of Oberlin College. In 1858 their only child was born, Florence Day. In 1858, Day abandoned his wife and child. Day and Lucy Stanton were legally divorced in 1872. In 1873, Day married Georgia F. Bell.

In Cleveland, he also was compositor to the Cleveland True Democrat published by Thomas Brown and edited by John C. Vaughen, for a year when he was promoted to mailing clerk and local editor. He also taught school, teaching many subjects including Latin, Greek, mathematics, rhetoric, logic, music and vocal music, short-hand, and writing. In 1857, he went to Canada to recover from an illness ans continued teaching fugitive slaves there.

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