By Lestey Gist, The Gist of Freedom Sarah Smith Tompkins Garnet was the first African-American female principal in the New York public schools. The eldest of eleven children, she was born Minsarah Smith in Brooklyn in 1831. Her parents were prosperous farmers, and one of her sisters, Susan Smith McKinney Steward (1847-1918), was the first African-American female […]
