PENN SCHOOL

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs

Significant Election Scene at Washington, June 3, 1867

From the earliest days of Quakerism there has been a two pronged thrust of Quaker activities: to make people aware of the Divine Presence within everyone, and to help those who were who were oppressed. In the early days of the Civil War Pennsylvania Quakers saw an opportunity to help the freed slaves on St Helena Island in South Carolina make the transition to freedom. An organization named Friend's Freedmen's Association of Philadelphia provided volunteers and donations of money, clothing and supplies.

Although the rebellious southern states were in the hands of the Confederacy, the sea Islands had been captured during the Battle of Port Royal on November 7, 1861 and remained in the hands of Union troops for the duration of the war. The plantation owners and their families escaped the islands leaving behind their thousands of slaves. Two of the women who saw the need to provide assistance to the freed slaves were Laura Townes, a Unitarian from Philadelphia, and her friend Ellen Murray a Quaker from Rhode Island. They are credited with establishing the first school for freed slaves. When in 1864 the Freedmen's Association of Philadelphia provided a prefabricated building as the first permanent location, the school acquired the name Penn School in gratitude to their supporters in Pennsylvania. For Laura Townes and Ellen Murray assisting the community of Gullahs in the area around St Helena Island became their life's work. Their programs included education for children and adults, health care and helping establish self sustaining agricultural practices. 

Ellen Murray & Students

c. 1890 

The African Americans on St Helana Island were distinctive in being from a group called Gullahs who retained their own language and many of their customs. Since the land had been abandoned by the plantation owners, the military distributed it among the blacks who had served the whites and produced the crops of indigo, rice, cotton and spices. Although the African Americans were later given title to land, policies changed and title was often not secure. 

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Joan Baez, Ira Sandperl, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dora McDonald on the Penn Center campus in 1964

As the needs of the people changed the programs offered by what became the Penn Center evolved. To secure an economic base for the community, education began to focus on agriculture, industry and practical skills. In the 1960's the center provided space for interracial activities which were prohibited elsewhere. More recently the Penn Center has emphasized making it possible for Gullah families to keep the land which has been hands for over a hundred years. Large scale development in the Sea Islands and changes to legal requirements for ownership have threatened the Gullah people with removal. More recently the Penn Center has become involved with the National Park service in the establishment of the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park.

Gullah Music

Gullah Roots