School Committee Meeting
May 21st, 2024 | 6 PM
About Us:
We are a group of citizens from diverse backgrounds who came together with the goal of honoring the life of Ellen Garrison and recognizing this courageous educator and civil-rights activist by naming Concord’s new middle school Ellen Garrison Middle School.
In spring 2024, the Town of Concord came together at its annual Town Meeting and overwhelmingly passed Article 22, which asked the School Committee to name the new middle school in honor of Ellen Garrison. The School Committee decided to name the new building The Ellen Garrison Building at Concord Middle School.
Inspired by Ellen’s life’s work and Concord’s unique historical legacy, we aim to:
Continue to pursue our goal of honoring Ellen Garrison in a manner that is equal to other luminaries of our town.
Advance the underrepresented voices in our community through education, outreach, connection, and celebration.
Advocate for equal educational opportunities for all Concord Public School students
Support and endorse leaders in our community who are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
We stand for the values that Ellen Garrison has inspired in so many of us. Her work and our work continues.
– The Friends of Ellen Garrison
ADL of New England Supports Ellen Garrison Middle School
Ellen stood up for others her whole life. It's time for us to stand up for her.
A grassroots group of community members is working together to help Concord do the right thing and joyously name our new middle school after our native daughter and heroine Ellen Garrison. Come join us and Stand Up for Ellen!
Ellen Garrison was born in Concord, Massachusetts , daughter and granddaughter of enslaved men. Her Grandfather Cesar Robbins was a Patriot of Color who we believe stood at the Old North Bridge on April 19, 1775.
In The News
The School Committee has voted to christen the town’s newest hall of learning “Concord Middle School.” But Monday’s Select Board meeting surfaced continuing support for naming the building in honor of Civil War-era racial justice advocate Ellen Garrison.
Concord School Committee members are trying to find clarity on an issue that is quickly gaining steam among town residents: whether to open a public process to choose a new name for the middle school building taking shape at 923 Old Marlboro Road.
Ellen Garrison Middle School Imagined
Funded by the residents of Concord, this beautiful new school opens in February, 2025
Show Your Support
If you would like to volunteer, be kept up to date and add your name to our list of supporters, please submit your name and email address here.
Learn More
Lights, Camera, Activism!
Tufts film production students work on a Hollywood-caliber video about an unsung 19th century civil rights activist Ellen Garrison.
The Robbins House Presents: The Life of Ellen Garrison
To learn more about the residents of the Robbins House and African-American history in Concord, visit their website here: robbinshouse.org
Learn Why To Vote YES!
Citizens Speak: Concord Select Board Hearing
Additional Videos
What People are Saying
‘Concord Middle School’ fine — but not as good as ‘Ellen Garrison’
White Concordians should back ‘Ellen Garrison’ school naming
Let Ellen Garrison’s legacy chart path to future
Vote yes on Article 22 to urge naming school for Garrison
Seize the chance to name middle school for Ellen Garrison
Flawed reasoning blocked Garrison school naming
Stand With Us
Sandra Petrulionis
Elise Lemire
Sam Williams
Lea Delacour
Grant Hightower
Rob Morrison
Kara Angeloni
Elizabeth Rust
Maria Madison
Liz Clayton
Leslie Flinn
Grady Flinn
Jim Tull
Joseph Wheeler
Sue StCroix
Ronni Olitsky
Rob Munro
Arthur Rogers
Nikki Turpin
Pat Brewer
Carol Ann Boughrum
Stacey McCarthy
Lori Hodin
And more…
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“Being a survivor now, I realized I was not educated or aware about what breast cancer actually was and how it impacted and affected people.”
Rena Hart
Breast Cancer Survivor & Caridad Supporter
Help Honor Her Legacy
Help Honor Her Legacy
PROVIDE YOUR ADDRESS AND WE'LL DROP THEM OFF TO YOU
- Ellen Garrison was born in Concord, Massachusetts , daughter and granddaughter of enslaved men. Her Grandfather Cesar Robbins was a Patriot of Color who we believe stood at the Old North Bridge on April 19, 1775.
- As a product of Concord’s public schools, a woman, educator, administrator, and champion of civil rights, Ellen Garrison stood for Concord’s values, and contributed to our town’s rich history.
- She is an American Patriot who fought for the expansion of freedom and democracy.
- Ellen Garrison’s life and legacy will be a rich and rewarding example to the students and families of Concord over the next 50 years and beyond in the life of this new school.
- Ellen Garrison would be the first alumni of the Concord Public Schools and the first person of color to have a public building named after them in nearly 400 years in Concord,
- Ellen Garrison is an American Patriot who fought for the expansion of freedom and democracy.
Read More
Ellen Garrison was born in Concord, Massachusetts , daughter and granddaughter of enslaved men. Her Grandfather Cesar Robbins was a Patriot of Color who we believe stood at the Old North Bridge on April 19, 1775. . Ellen attended Concord Public Schools and as a child marched in the 1835 town parade as the only Black child “beneath the gaze of curiosity, surprise, ridicule and admiration” of the residents. After graduating from Concord Public School She spent her life as an educator teaching formerly enslaved people how to grow and prosper as free men and worman.
Ellen Garrison explained her motivation to teach in a letter written in June 1863:
“I have a great desire to go and labor among the Freedmen of the South. I think it is our duty as a people to spend our lives trying to elevate our own race. Who can feel for us if we do not feel for ourselves, and who can feel the sympathy that we can, who are identified with them? … My motto is educate…educate…educate”
Almost a century before Rosa Parks, Ellen became one of the first African Americans in the United States to challenge the legitimacy of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Garrison and another female teacher were forcibly removed from a white only waiting room in a Baltimore train station.It is believed that Ellen’s lawsuit was later cited as precedent in the Rosa Parks case in 1955
Ellen Garrison felt it was her duty to test the new law. “I feel as though I ought to strive to maintain my rights… it will be a stand for others….”
Ellen Garrison is an American Patriot who fought for the expansion of freedom and democracy.