Charles W. Cansler

Who was Charles W. Cansler?

Charles Warner Cansler was an American educator, civil rights advocate, and author, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. A grandson of William Scott, a pioneering African-American publisher, and the son of Knoxville's first African-American teacher, Cansler was instrumental in establishing educational opportunities for the Knoxville's African-American children in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His 1940 biography, Three Generations: The Story of a Colored Family in Eastern Tennessee, remains an important account of black life in 19th century East Tennessee.