Page 23 - BLACK HISTORY IN BERMUDA red

The Friendly Societies
Joseph Henry Thomas On August 1, 1834 two Acts of

Parliament came into effect in
Although slavery was abolished in 1834,
many freed slaves faced great obstacles Bermuda. The first abolished slavery
because of lack of access to education and while the second gave blacks the
lack of support for people in need. Joseph same rights and freedoms as
Henry Thomas, who was born before Eman- whites. However, nothing in these
cipation, played a leading role in education Acts provided resources for these
and in establishing the Friendly Societies newly free men and women, and
which helped people facing hard times.
nothing prevented them from being
courtesy bermuda biographies Thomas first formed libraries and then, in 1846, evicted from their previous owners’
lands. Consequently, many blacks
when he was in his 20s, became the second
became trapped in a cycle of unem-
headmaster of the Lane School, one of the
ployment and poverty. After more
first schools founded for newly freed slaves.
than 200 years of enslavement, it
He taught there for more than a decade.
is no surprise that although blacks
He later founded a school, the Chester School, which was described by a visitor from had been made the legal equals of
London in The Royal Gazette as being comparable to the best schools in England.
whites there was deep social and
Throughout his life, he fought for desegregated schools, and he was a supporter economic inequality between them.
of an interracial school in Hamilton called St Paul’s College which closed after
three years due to opposition from whites. The black community formed
“Friendly Societies” to meet the needs
In 1879, he was one of the group of six men who met at Wantley, the home of his of newly freed slaves. The first Friendly
son-in-law Samuel David Robinson on Princess Street, Hamilton, on October 6, 1879
to discuss the feasibility of establishing a high school that would be racially inte- Society was formed in Pembroke in
grated. Five more men joined the original six at a second meeting on October 9 1832, and by 1859 there were over
when the Berkeley Educational Society was formed with Mr. Thomas as chairman. 15 societies throughout the island.
It would take 18 years of effort, but in 1897 The Berkeley Institute opened. It con- These societies had the goal of
tinues to serve the Bermuda community to this day. self-improvement and accumulating
in-house savings to help those in
In 1859, Mr. Thomas became one of the first black Bermudians eligible to sit on a need such as sick members, widows
jury because he owned sufficient property. He was also instrumental in establishing
Friendly Societies and what is now the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and orphans. They also raised funds
in Bermuda. to build black schools since Bermuda
remained deeply segregated, with
Friendly Societies like the Oddfellows and Freemasons Lodges began in England blacks barred from white schools.
during the Middle Ages and had a goal of self-improvement, in-house savings, Joseph Henry Thomas, who was
helping people with finances for funerals and financial support for widows, orphans born before Emancipation, played
and others in need. After slavery ended, many newly freed slaves needed help. Through a leading role in in establishing
the efforts of Mr. Thomas and others, the Somers Pride of India Lodge opened in St
George’s in 1848. Thomas helped to found more lodges in Hamilton and Sandys. the Friendly Societies and worked
relentlessly for better education for
In 1870, following a visit of Bishop Willis Nazrey to Bermuda that year, Mr. Thomas Bermuda’s blacks. Mr. Thomas also
and several others instituted proceedings to establish the British Methodist Episcopal helped found lodges in St. George’s,
Church, the forerunner of the AME church.
Hamilton and Sandys which still exist
Through schools, lodges and churches, Mr Thomas established institutions dedicated today. Although the government now
to helping black Bermudians take their rightful place in society. Many of these does much more to assist people, the
institutions still exist today and are his legacy. lodges continue to help those in need.

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