I've told this story on ContrabandCamp but it's worth sharing for BHM because it's one of the greatest stories ever. A thread.

On Sept. 13, 1834 Lane Seminary in Oberlin, OH held an abolitionist debate Students & locals came. ALL the abolitionists showed up. Abolitionst preacher Owen Brown, who built Western Reserve U came. Lane's president, who supported sending freed slaves back to Africa, even brought his young daughter

These debates happened all the time, but this one was different. James Bradley, a formerly enslaved man, debated Lane's president After he spoke for 2 hours, the audience was radicalized The students voted to oppose slavery & help fugitive slaves, so the president banned abolition groups on campus

7 students, the "Lane Rebels," refused to obey the order & resigned. So did James Bradley. The preacher stopped supporting the college HE BUILT bc of segregation, so Oberlin College was like: "Be on our board of trustees." He did, and helped Bradley & the Lane Rebels get admitted to Oberlin

Now some ppl think Bradley was Oberlin's 1st Black student. But Charles & John Langston were already there. They hung out with Lewis Leary, who'd eventually marry Mary, the first Black woman at Oberlin. John Copeland also hung out with them, along with the Lane Rebels & the trustee/preacher's son

So on Sept. 13, 1858, two slavecatchers heard a runaway named John Price was in Oberlin. They contacted 2 US Marshalls, who got a warrant & said: "Let's go get him." The slave hunters were like: "Are you crazy? You can't just go into Oberlin like that! That town is about that abolitionist LIFE!

The marshals contacted Price & told him to meet them a few miles away in Wellington for a job. They kidnapped him, hid him at a hotel, & waited for the train. When the old Oberlin Crew found out, they sent the trustee's kid home & said: "Let's go stop these MFs" Y'all... THE WHOLE TOWN rode out

They helped Price escape to Canada but the state indicted 37 of the Oberlin Rescuers but the locals were so outraged, they began protesting. Then they locked up the slave catchers for kidnapping. Ppl came from everywhere to protest, so the govt made a deal They convicted 1 white man & 1 Black man

They chose Charles Langston and Simeon Bushnell because they knew Charles could speechify his ass off. When he was finished speaking at his sentence, 10,000 people were outside. When the judge gave him the lightest sentence possible, the townspeople STILL would not let it slide.