RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) – A Rutland native born more than 200 years ago is being remembered for breaking barriers in higher education.
Martin Henry Freeman became one of the first Black graduates of Middlebury College and later one of the first Black college presidents in the country.
A sculpture honoring the trailblazer now stands in the city where his family’s story began.
Historian William Hart taught at Middlebury College for more than three decades, studying Freeman and Alexander Twilight, two of the first Black students to attend the school.
“It’s quite a reminder that I’m walking on the same grounds where Alexander Twilight walked, where Martin Freeman walked,” Hart said.
Freeman’s family story began with his grandfather, who gained freedom after the Revolution and settled in Rutland.
At Middlebury, Freeman excelled academically, even as he navigated prejudice on campus.
“Freeman felt like sometimes he really didn’t belong there. And the Middlebury faculty reminded him, you are here. You belong here. You are here because you’re a smart young man and on the strength of your abilities. We’re going to make sure that you graduate,” Hart said.
After graduating, Freeman emerged as a prominent voice against slavery. Before the Civil War, he led Avery College in Pittsburgh, becoming one of the first Black college presidents in the country.
“And he said, I don’t think the United States is a great place for an educated man like myself,” Hart said.
Seeking broader opportunities, Freeman relocated to Liberia, where he later served as president of Liberia College.
His statue in Rutland, installed in 2021, honors a life rooted in education and public service. Hart said Freeman’s values still resonate.
“It’s about making people who study in these places the best citizens they can be. So that you understand what your society is all about and what your role in society is and should be. And I think that’s what Martin Freeman took away from Middlebury College,” Hart said.
