William C. Nell

Born on Beacon Hill's North Slope, Nell was barred from an academic awards dinner as a boy because of his race — he attended anyway, as the busboy. He became a leading writer for Garrison's The Liberator, drove the decade-long campaign that ended Boston school segregation in 1855 (see the Roberts case), and in 1861 became the first Black person in the U.S. federal civil service. He organized around the African Meeting House.