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Yale Divinity School (YDS) honored James W.C. Pennington, an escapee from slavery who took classes at the school in the 1830s, in a series of events Oct. 6 and 7, 2016. The school named a classroom in Pennington’s honor, hosted two lectures on his life and legacy, and announced a new scholarship and bi-national conference to be held in the coming years.

Though he sat in on classes, James Pennington was refused formal enrollment in the YDS and was barred from speaking in class or borrowing books. Nonetheless, he holds an important place in history as the first African American to study at Yale. He went on to serve as pastor of several Congregational churches and to become a prominent advocate for the abolition of slavery and for international peace.

“I believe that Pennington is a model for all students”, said Gregory Sterling, Dean of YDS. Sterling announced a new scholarship to be awarded each year to a Pennington Fellow, with preference given to first-year Master of Divinity students, who is studying the African-American experience.

Sterling also considers Pennington as a model of someone who overcame enormous odds with great courage, and who demonstrated a level of skill that brought him not only national but international acclaim. And he did all of that serving a cause larger than himself.