John Rock (abolitionist) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other people named John Rock, see John Rock (disambiguation). John S. Rock John Rock Born John Stewart Rock October 13, 1825 Salem, New Jersey Died December 3, 1866 (aged 41) Boston, Massachusetts Nationality American Occupation teacher, doctor, dentist, lawyer, and abolitionist John Stewart Rock (October 13, 1825 – December 3, 1866) was an American teacher, doctor, dentist, lawyer and abolitionist, historically associated with the coining of the term black is beautiful (thought to have originated from a speech he made in 1858, however historical records now indicate he never actually used the specific phrase on that day).[1] Rock was one of the first African-American men to earn a medical degree.[2] In addition, he was the first black person to be admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.[2] Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Abolitionist 3 Lawyer 4 Death 5 References 6 External links Early life and education John Stewart Rock was born to John and Maria (Willett) Rock, free African-American parents, on October 13, 1825 in Salem, New Jersey. In Rocks formative years, it was relatively uncommon for white children to complete grammar school, and significantly rarer for blacks. Rock’s parents, however, encouraged their diligent son in his studies and, despite having little in terms of financial resources, provided for him to follow through with formal schooling. By the age of 19, Rock had received the necessary amount of education to take up a position as a teacher. He started out in 1844 in a one-room school in Salem, where he would continue to work for the next four years, garnering the attention and approval of veteran schoolteachers. Rock had an impressive work ethic, consistently holding class for six hours, conducting private tutoring sessions for two hours, and studying medicine under two white physicians, Dr. Shaw and Dr. Gibson,[3] who allowed him to study their textbooks and use their personal book collections for eight hours daily.[2] Medical students at the time commonly undertook apprenticeships with practicing doctors, as Rock did, as a means of gaining medical training. In 1848, Rock applied to medical school, but faced rejection on the basis of his race.[4] John Rock then decided to transfer into the field of dentistry and, after an 1849 apprenticeship with Dr. Harbert, a white dentist, opened a dental practice in Philadelphia in January 1850. Just one year later, he was rewarded with a silver medal for his expert work on a set of silver dentures that he crafted and later displayed.[2] After finally gaining admittance to medical school, Rock graduated from American Medical College in Philadelphia in 1852, becoming one of the first African Americans to attain a degree in medicine.[2] At the age of 27, he had established himself as a talented and well-respected teacher, dentist, and physician. In 1853, Rock decided to change locations to Boston, which many at the time considered to be the most liberal city in the United States for African Americans. There he set up his own practice in dentistry and medicine. Many of his patients turned out to be ill fugitive slaves making their way through Boston on the Underground Railroad, fleeing towards Canada. He also provided care to members of an integrated abolitionist organization called the Boston Vigilance Committee, which aimed to aid and protect fugitive slaves targeted by the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.[2] Rock was the second black to gain acceptance to the Massachusetts Medical Society, sometime after the induction of Dr. John De Grasse in 1854.[5] Abolitionist Rock, a passionate abolitionist and civil rights leader, held a strong belief in the dignity and rights of all Americans. Like other abolitionists in the movement, such as George T. Downing and Robert Purvis, John Rock became a renowned public speaker and campaigned for equal rights. Initially, Rock’s speeches were public notice; however, they soon began to receive positive public reviews, which led him to travel throughout New England and, occasionally, westward. In 1855, Rock took part in the campaign responsible for the legal desegregation of Boston public schools.[5] Although he and other abolitionists were determined to see that equality for black Americans was achieved, there were several significant setbacks in the push for civil rights. The infamous Dred Scott decision was just one example of the rejection of this movement. Dred Scott, a slave, wanted to sue for his freedom, but on March 6, 1857 it was decided that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional, and that African Americans were not intended to be citizens under the law. This established that Scott would not, in fact, receive his freedom. It was the verdict of this important court case that spurred Rock to continue in his pursuit as an abolitionist and later ignited his determination to start a new career. Rock is credited with coining the phrase black is beautiful during a speech he gave in Faneuil Hall in March 1858 as a refutation of the western idea that the physical features of African Americans were unattractive. However, research on Rocks speeches in the Black Abolitionist Digital Archive have shown that he in fact did not say the exact words black is beautiful, but did in essence about the beauty of the black people.[1] Rock’s polished speeches were printed in William Lloyd Garrisons The Liberator as well as in general newspapers,[6] promoting these central ideas. Lawyer Troubled by health-related problems, Rock went to Paris to seek the medical treatment of two leading French surgeons, Auguste Nelaton and Alfred Armand Velpeau.[2] He returned to Boston in February 1859, and in 1860, under his doctors stipulations to cut back on his workload, he gave up his medical and dental practices and began to study law. On September 14, 1861, T. K. Lothrop, a white lawyer, made the motion before Judge Russell to have Rock examined.[2] Rock passed and gained admittance to the Massachusetts Bar. He then opened a private law office, through which he advocated even more diligently for the rights of African Americans. In 1862, he spoke at the Anti-Slavery Society in Boston, where he voiced his opposition to Lincoln’s plan for the so-called negro colonization in Haiti and sided with Frederick Douglass on several issues.[2] Rock achieved much success as a lawyer, but did not feel that he had truly gained success given the lack of freedom that blacks continued to experience. Rock also stated sadly that an educated negro feels the oppression much more than does an uneducated one.[2] It was thoughts similar to this one, in addition to the lack of executive action for African Americans, that led him to strive to attain the next level of achievements. On February 1, 1865, the day after Congress approved the Thirteenth Amendment ending slavery, Charles Sumner introduced a motion that made Rock the first black attorney to be admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. Rock became the first black to be received on the floor of the United States House of Representatives.[3] There was much celebration the day he appeared there. Death On April 9, 1866 the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed which enforced the 13th Amendment. Rock enjoyed this honor for less than a year. He became ill with the common cold that weakened his already failing health, and limited his ability to commute efficiently. On December 3, 1866, John S. Rock died in his mothers home in Boston of tuberculosis at the age of 41. He was laid to rest in Everetts Woodlawn Cemetery, and was buried with full Masonic honors.[2][3] His admittance into the Supreme Court is recorded on his tombstone.[2] References Davis, Arthur P.; Quarles, Benjamin (October 1969). Black Abolitionists. The Journal of Negro History (Association for the Study of Negro Life and History) 54 (4): 405–406. doi:10.2307/2716735. Contee, CG (May 1976). John Sweat Rock, M.D., Esq., 1825-1866. Journal of the National Medical Association 68 (3): 237–242. PMC 2609666. PMID 778394. ABA Division for Public Education: Black History Month 2001, Profile 1: John Rock. American Bar Association. 2001. Archived from the original on 12 Feb 2009. Retrieved 15 Nov 2010. Contee, Clarence G. (1975). The Supreme Court Bars First Black Member. The Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2008. Logan, Rayford W.; Winston, Michael R., eds. (1982). Dictionary of American Negro Biography. W.W. Norton and Co. Garraty, John A.; Sternstein, Jerome A., eds. (1996). Encyclopedia of American Biography, 2nd Edition. Harper Collins. External links Speech of John S. Rock, Esq. at the Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Jan. 23, 1862, University of Detroit Mercy - Black Abolitionist Archive, accessed 20 May 2009[dead link] [hide] v t e Boston African American community prior to the Civil War Boston African American National Historic Site Black Heritage Trail Slavery in the colonial United States Prominent individuals Macon Bolling Allen (lawyer, judge) Crispus Attucks (killed during Boston Massacre) Leonard Black (minister, slave memoirist) John Coburn (abolitionist, soldier) Ellen and William Craft (slave memoirists, abolitionists) Rebecca Lee Crumpler (physician) Lucy Lew Dalton (abolitionist) Thomas Dalton (abolitionist) Hosea Easton (abolitionist, minister) Moses Grandy (abolitionist, slave memoirist) Leonard Grimes (abolitionist, minister) Primus Hall (abolitionist, Rev. War soldier) Prince Hall (freemason, abolitionist) Lewis Hayden (abolitionist, politician) John T. Hilton (abolitionist, author, businessman) Thomas James (minister) Barzillai Lew (Rev. War soldier) George Latimer (escaped slave) Walker Lewis (abolitionist) George Middleton (1735–1815) (Rev. War soldier, Freemason, activist) Robert Morris (lawyer, abolitionist, judge) William Cooper Nell (abolitionist, writer) Susan Paul (teacher, abolitionist, author) Thomas Paul (minister) John Stewart Rock (dentist, doctor, lawyer, abolitionist) John Brown Russwurm (college grad., teacher) John J. Smith (abolitionist, politician) Maria W. Stewart (abolitionist, public speaker, journalist) Baron Stow (minister) Samuel Snowden (minister, abolitionist) Edward G. Walker (abolitionist, lawyer, politician) David Walker (abolitionist) Phyllis Wheatley (poet, author) Relevant topics and associated individuals Black nationalism Back-to-Africa movement (See Paul Cuffee - William Gwinn) Legal cases Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857 Supreme Court decision Freedom suits of 1781 (See Elizabeth Freeman - Quock Walker) Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (See: Anthony Burns - Shadrach Minkins - Thomas Sims) Slave trade Charles Apthorp Bunch-of-Grapes Merchants Row Organizations Abolitionism Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (interracial) Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society (interracial) Massachusetts General Colored Association (abolitionism, equality) New England Anti-Slavery Society (interracial) Prince Hall Freemasonry Education Home of Primus Hall (1798-1806) African Meeting House (1806-1835) Abiel Smith School (1835-?) Religion African Meeting House Charles Street Meeting House Rowe Street Baptist Church Other Bucks of America (Mass. Rev. War soldiers) Prince Hall Freemasonry Historic sites or neighborhoods Abiel Smith School African Meeting House and Museum Black Beacon Hill (Joy Street, Southack Street (now Phillips)) Black Heritage Trail Boston African American National Historic Site Charles Street Meeting House John Coburn House Lewis and Harriet Hayden House George Middleton House William Cooper Nell House Phillips School John J. Smith House Influential publications Freedoms Journal The Liberator (anti-slavery newspaper (white owned)) Walkers Appeal Related Copps Hill Burying Ground Authority control VIAF: 48938823 Categories: 1825 births 1866 deaths History of African-American civil rights African-American abolitionists African-American lawyers African-American physicians People from Salem County, New Jersey Colored Conventions people Massachusetts lawyers Navigation menu Create account Log in Article Talk Read Edit View history Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Wikimedia Shop Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact page Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Data item Cite this page Print/export Create a book Download as PDF Printable version Languages Edit links This page was last modified on 16 May 2014 at 02:48. 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