A Week of Wonders

This is the kind of week that might blow Alexander Crummell's mind.

If, Crummell, son of an ex-slave and a free black woman, were here today, I'm certain he would be surprised to learn that tomorrow, St. Mary's Church in Foggy Bottom, the city's oldest founded African American Episcopal parish, will celebrate its 141st anniversary.

In June 1873, Crummell became the first rector of St. Mary's. He left the church three years later, taking most of the congregation with him to start a new Episcopal church -- St. Luke's -- on 15th Street NW.

Crummell would be pleased that both houses of worship survived his death in 1898. St. Mary's is the only 19th-century building standing in the 700 block of 23rd Street NW.

I can also imagine Crummell's delight had he been with me Thursday at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Northwest.

He would have been knocked out by the high-powered interracial leadership on hand and the grand purpose of the gathering. Mayor Adrian Fenty, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray, at-large council member Carol Schwartz and Washington Post Chairman Don Graham were present for the naming of the school's auditorium in honor of Vincent Reed, who was the best school superintendent in D.C. history.

Crummell would have loved hearing the tributes to Banneker -- now ranked among the 50 best high schools in the nation -- and to Reed, who tirelessly championed the creation of a model academic high school.

And he would have been thrilled to hear that Banneker's entire graduating class of 73 seniors has received college acceptances and, as a group, garnered more than $5 million in scholarships.

Crummell would have contrasted those achievements with his own life experiences.

His enrollment at Noyes Academy in New Hampshire ended abruptly when a white mob, angered by his presence, dragged the school building into a swamp.

Crummell would have recalled his own tortuous journey to the priesthood. The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church denied his application because he was black. Even after completing private studies with sympathetic clergy and being ordained as a priest by the Episcopal bishop of Delaware in 1844, Crummell wasn't accepted by many of his white clerical counterparts.

Frustrated, Crummell took his family to London to raise money for a small church mission in New York and to spread the word about the abolitionist movement in America. While in England, he was given the financial means to attend Queen's College, where he acquired a theology degree. From London, Crummell sailed to Liberia and served as a missionary in West Africa for 20 years.