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Boston Black Heritage Trail
Item 3 of 10
The Phillips School is the third stop on the Black Heritage Trail in Boston. The school was opened in 1824 and only allowed white children to attend its classes. Black children at the time had to attend classes in either the first floor of the African Meeting House or the Smith School after 1834. During 1855 the Phillips School became one of the first schools in Boston to accept Black and white children together.

A current day picture of the Phillips School.

A current day picture of the Phillips School.

An old drawing picture of the school.

An old drawing picture of the school.
     As mentioned above, the Phillips School was originally built to be a school for white children only in 1824, while Black children were not allowed to attend. Black children would have to use the first floor of the African Meeting House and the Smith school for their education until 1855. This school would undergo many more changes before and after the admittance of Black children.
     The school originally opened under the name of English High School which only lasted until 1825. The school would become Phillip's Grammar School in 1844, which was named after the first mayor of Boston and the father of an abolitionist. The Grammar School mainly educated wealthy children and became one of the best schools in the area. In contrast, the Smith School was home to the Black children of the area and wasn't able to give its students an equal education to that of the Phillip's Grammar School. In 1855, Massachusetts passed a law that integrated schools and Phillip's Grammar School became one of the first schools in Boston to house both white and Black children. 
     In 1863, the school would once again undergo change when it moved to a new building on Phillips Street . It was once again renamed, and this time, it became the Wendall Phillip School. Wendall Phillip was the son of the first mayor of Boston and an abolitionist. The school would once again make history as Elizabeth Smith, daughter of John Smith, started teaching at Phillips School and became one of the first African American teachers to teach at an integrated school. Today the school stands as the third site of the Black Heritage Trail in Boston. 
Museum of African American History, Boston - Black Heritage Trail Site 3. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://www.afroammuseum.org/site3.htm The Phillips School (1824). (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://mass.historicbuildingsct.com/?p=68 United States. National Park Service. (2014, September 8). The Phillips School. Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://www.nps.gov/boaf/historyculture/the-phillips-school.htm