"Fifty Years A Detroiter:
William Lambert, The Representative Negro Of This Vicinity"
Detroit Free Press, January 5, 1890

Fifty years ago last Wednesday William Lambert, the veteran negro citizen of Detroit, reached this city to remain here permanently. He had been here three years before, but he remained but a few weeks. His first visit to Detroit was as cabin boy on a steamboat. Mr. Lambert was born free at Trenton, N.J., his father having been a slave who had bought his own freedom. In those days all negro children who received education in the common school branches, received it at the hands of Quakers and other philanthropic white people, and young Lambert was one who was so favored. After the historical Watt Tyler massacre the feeling against all people having African blood in their veins was so strong that it was very uncomfortable for them to live in counties bordering the southern states and so many of them moved into Canada. Young Lambert, about this time, accepted an invitation to accompany his schoolmaster, also a negro, on a visit to Canada. Reaching Buffalo, the teacher changed his mind and left the boy at that city while he took a run over to Toronto. The boy passed his leisure by haunting the wharves, and when the teacher returned to Buffalo he learned that Will Lambert had shipped aboard a steamboat. Upon reaching Detroit Lambert had had enough of sailing and so stopped off. He had no shoes or stockings, no coat and no hat, but he had a good constitution and could read, write and cipher quite well. More than that he had energy, self-confidence and ambition.

Three years after reaching Detroit to remain here permanently, he was the secretary of the first state convention of colored citizens of Michigan ever held and the following winter he made an able argument before the judiciary committee of the State Legislature in support of a resolution?adopted at the convention named?and of a petition signed by Judge Wilkens and forty other leading citizens of Michigan asking that the word "white" be stricken from the State Constitution. From that time to the time of John Brown he was an indefatigable worker in the cause of anti-slavery and it was at his house in this city that many meetings were held by John Brown and his followers, Mr. Lambert being one of them.

Go to an 1886 interview with Lambert.

Go back to this lesson plan:

• A Life of Action

Contact the Michigan Historical Center.

Updated 08/26/2010