Tunis Campbell

Campbell was the principal waiter at the Howard Hotel in New York City for some time (at least from 1842–45). He later wrote a well-regarded 1848 guide to hotel management, Hotel Keepers, Head Waiters, and Housekeepers' Guide (1848), the first book of its kind. It is both a collection of culinary recipes and a program to organize and manage African-American workers in one of the available sources of paid employment.[4]

At the same time, Campbell was active in establishing schools for "colored children" in New York, the city of Brooklyn, New York, the village of Williamsburg, New York (both part of the borough of Brooklyn since 1898), and Jersey City, New Jersey. He assisted fugitive slaves whenever possible. He received a contract to raise 4,000 United States Colored Troops.[1]

In March 1865, he was sent as Military Governor to the Sea Islands of Georgia: Ossabaw, Colonels, St. Catherine's, and Sapelo Island. During two years he established schools and a government.[1] When Georgia enslavers, through pardons from President Andrew Johnson, regained the islands in 1866, expelling the Black farmers, Campbell bought 1,250 acres (510 ha) at Belle Ville in McIntosh County, Georgia, where he established an association of black landowners to own parcels.[5] Effectively, he established colonies on these islands.[4]

In 1867, to help freedmen vote, Campbell was appointed to the Board of Registration in Georgia. He and another Black registrar were poisoned; the other registrar died, according to Campbell.[6] He joined the Georgia Educational Association, a launching pad for several Black political careers in the Reconstruction era. He was elected state senator in Georgia in 1868. He also campaigned for his son Tunis Gulic Campbell Jr. to be a state representative. Both won,[7] only to be expelled from office because a majority of white Georgia legislators agreed that even though blacks had the right to vote, North Carolina law prohibited them from holding office. (See Original 33.) Campbell Sr. was able to return to office in 1871, but lost a bid for re-election in 1872. During his time as state senator, Campbell served on the Senate's Petitions and General Education committees. His post-legislative work as Justice of the Peace enraged former slave owners (a Black with authority over whites).

"Campbell would be indicted on multiple charges in the mid-1870s, largely trumped up by those who saw the opportunity to finally oust him from the Georgia political arena... a judicial lynching.".[6] He served hard labor on a Georgia prison chain gang. When released, he left Georgia for good.[6] He published in 1877 a pamphlet about his experiences: Sufferings of the Reverend T. G. Campbell and His Family in Georgia,