Gilmore High School, also called Cincinnati High School, was established by Rev. Hiram S. Gilmore in 1844 to provide secondary education for Cincinnati, Ohio's African-American population during the Antebellum period. Its students were drawn from across the country, including mulatto children of Southern planters and black children from across the country. Rev. Hiram S. Gilmore was a philanthropist and clergyman from England. He was a minister for the New EnglandMethodist Episcopal Church.
Overview
Its goal was to provide a good and broad education for children who had little access to educational opportunities and prepare them for a college education. Some students from the school went on to attend Oberlin College where black students were allowed to attend. Students were taught classic subjects like English, Greek, and Latin. Students also learned dance and music at the school. It was considered "the first and only institution offering them the opportunity through training" by black people in Cincinnati. This was contrary to the primary approach to education blacks through vocational, or industrial, schools. Located on Harrison Street, the building had a chapel, five rooms, and outdoor gymnastic equipment. Gilmore paid for the building, and other expenses such as maintenance were paid through donations, school tuition from some of the students, and revenue from music concerts conducted in the state as well as in the state of New York and Canada. Money from the concerts was also used to provide for student's books and clothing, where needed. Gilmore was the school's principal and advanced classes were taught by his brother-in-law, Joseph Moore. There were 300 students each year that attended the school, taught by a total of five teachers.
Decline
Three schools, funded and ran by African-Americans, were established by the Colored Education Society in the 1850s. By the late 1850s, though, only 38% of the black children, while 72% of white children attended school. Schools like this one became less popular as African-American activists lobbied for their rights to public school education. In general, educational reform was needed throughout the state to ensure proper education, equally regardless of class. Where families had money, they put their children in private schools so that there children had an education without overcrowded classrooms, overworked and underqualified teachers, and short school terms. The disparity between public and private schools meant that the poor had little opportunity for professional achievement. There was a need for good public school education for black children. Property owners were paying a school tax, but that money was not going towards public school education for African-Americans, and the population of children was increasing such that private schools could not meet their demands. In 1849, a bill was passed that allowed for the creation of public schools for black children.
