CHICAGO — John Hancock is best remembered for his sweeping self-confidence and outsize signature, but there’s more to the story of the wealthy Boston merchant who risked his life for American independence.
The great champion of freedom from Britain owned two or three slaves, according to the 1980 biography “The Baron of Beacon Hill.”
That little-known fact is at the center of a battle brewing at Chicago’s John Hancock College Prep High School, where students are highlighting Hancock’s history as a slave owner in their drive for a new school name. Members of the school’s Social Justice Club published an opinion piece in the school newspaper calling for a new name last month. And a Change.org petition launched by junior Andrea Castillo has garnered more than 560 signatures.
“I feel like something Hancock (College Prep) really prides itself on is that we’re a selective enrollment school on the (Southwest) Side of Chicago,” said Castillo, 16, a member of the Social Justice Club.
“And if we’re praising Black and brown students for finally casting off statistics and stereotypes, why should we continue to (honor) this man who devalued us? We definitely have better options, and it’s something we really want to fight for.”
The Social Justice Club has suggested alternatives such as pianist Herbie Hancock and singer-songwriter Curtis Mayfield.
Officials at John Hancock College Prep could not be reached for comment.
John Hancock owned two or three enslaved Black people, including a man named Cato, whom he inherited from his wealthy uncle Thomas Hancock, according to ”The Baron of Beacon Hill,” by William M. Fowler Jr.
“Cato was apparently the last of the two or three household slaves kept by Hancock,” according to the book, which notes that Cato was eventually freed under the provisions of Thomas Hancock’s will.
The biographer goes on to offer the opinion, “It is no special condemnation of John Hancock that he owned slaves; it is merely a commentary on the general insensitivity of the eighteenth century to the evils of the people trade. It is to his credit that in all of his vast business dealings there is no evidence to suggest that he himself ever bought or sold (enslaved people).”
In her Change.org petition, Castillo acknowledged that John Hancock was not the worst of slave owners, but she said that’s not really the point.
“A school that is meant to educate Black and brown students cannot be named after someone who owned slaves,” she wrote.
“In order to create a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students at John Hancock College Prep, we must make sure our school honors people who demonstrate the values that Hancock College Prep has a duty to uphold.”
