Today, July 25, 2024, we’re proud to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Boyer Vashon, Class of 1844, the first Black graduate of Oberlin College. A prominent educator, writer, and abolitionist, he was the first Black lawyer in the state of New York and a founder of (and the first Black professor at) Howard University. Vashon also contributed to Frederick Douglass’s The North Star and was the corresponding secretary and a speaker at notable anti-slavery conventions. During May's Commencement Weekend, Oberlin honored Vashon’s historic ties to the college by planting an elm tree in Tappan Square. At the dedication ceremony, Vashon’s great-great grandson, Paul Thornell, gave remarks, as did Oberlin President Carmen Twillie Ambar and A.G. Miller, emeritus professor of religion and Africana studies.