# Lesson 6-The Institute for Colored Youth (ICY)

# 🏫 **Lesson 6 – The Institute for Colored Youth**

**This lesson highlights the pivotal role Black communities played in defending and shaping public education in Philadelphia**. Students begin with the 1824 campaign to save public schools, then trace the founding and development of the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY)—an institution that combined academic rigor with civic purpose. Through biographies, archival materials, and primary documents, students uncover the stories of graduates and professors who carried their education into public life. The lesson ends with student writing projects that reflect on the legacy of ICY and its relevance for education today.


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# 🎯 **Lesson Objectives**

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

* Describe how Black Philadelphians **organized to protect public schools** in the early 1800s.
* Trace the founding, mission, and **evolution of the Institute for Colored Youth**.
* Analyze archival documents to uncover **the lives and contributions of ICY graduates and faculty.**
* Evaluate **the role of education as both a right and a tool for civic leadership**.
* **Develop written reflections** that connect historical educational struggles to current issues in public schooling.




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**SOURCES**

This unit is grateful to the work of Dr. Charlene Conyers and Dr. Judith Giesberg.

* Conyers, C. F. (1960). *A history of the Cheyney State Teachers College, 1837-1951*.
* “A Great Thing for Our People: The Institute for Colored Youth in the Civil War Era.” 2015. Falvey Library Exhibits. 2015 <https://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/institute-colored-youth>

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**Documents**

- [Lesson 6: Day 1 - Black Public Schools](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/lesson-6-day-1-black-public-schools-pdFe9Z94BW)
- [Lesson 6: Day 2 - Intro to ICY](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/lesson-6-day-2-intro-to-icy-BoMBMeJj0D)
- [Lesson 6: Day 3 - History of ICY](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/lesson-6-day-3-history-of-icy-giw18kXYhr)
- [Lesson 6: Day 4 - Writing About ICY](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/lesson-6-day-4-writing-about-icy-1hDxqxgAbd)
- [Lesson 6: Day 5 - Essay Peer Review](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/lesson-6-day-5-essay-peer-review-nX4wzoWhPx)