SYMHC Classics: Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker, a man of color in Colonial America, overcame limited formal education. He became an accomplished scholar, publishing respected almanacs, surveying Washington DC, and excelling in math, mechanics, astronomy, and music. Banneker's clockmaking, friendship with the Ellicott family, activism against slavery, and correspondence with Thomas Jefferson are also discussed. His challenges to the founding fathers' talk on equality and his legacy as an early abolitionist are explored.