Faith and Freedom: The Spiritual Foundation of Resistance
Thomas and Rebecca Downing stood at the center of founding the African American Antislavery Society of New York City. Thomas served on the organization's executive committee until 1839, when it merged with the New York City Antislavery Society. Thomas also served as a trustee of the New York Society for the Promotion of Education Among Colored Children, started in 1848. Around the same time, the Downings helped found the first high school for African Americans in New York City. Notice the pattern: the Downings didn't just protest injustice—they built alternatives. They created schools, organizations, and institutions that would outlast them. This is what sustainable activism looks like. Protest disrupts; institution-building transforms.