Sarah Remond Ejected from Boston Theater
On this day in 1853, Sarah Parker Remond and two other African Americans entered a Boston theater intending to enjoy a Mozart opera. When the manager discovered they were people of color, he directed them to the segregated balcony. Remond and her companions refused to sit there. When they were asked to leave, an argument ensued, and the police were summoned. One of the officers handled Sarah roughly. Refusing to be intimidated, she sued and won $500 in damages. The Remond family challenged discrimination on all fronts. Sarah's brother Charles was the first black man to testify before the Massachusetts House when he protested being forced to sit in segregated railway cars, another example of the racism Massachusetts blacks faced in their home state.
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