Fifth Ward school, 1855

African Americans had settled in the Ann Arbor area long before the civil war. Thomas Freeman, a barber, and J. W. Brooks, a drayman, minister, and former slave, were delegates to the 1843 state convention of colored citizens of Michigan. It demanded better jobs, education, and the right to vote. Ann Arbor schools were integrated. this photo (ca.1880) shows students at the Fifth Ward school, built in 1855 on the south side of Wall street.