Charles Lewis Reason was born on July 21, 1818 in New York City to Hatian immigrant parents Michiel and Elizabeth Reason. He attended the New York African Free School with his brothers Elmer and Patrick. His parents placed importance on education, and from a young age Reason had a talent in mathematics. Reason began teaching in 1832 at the age of 14, and saved the small salary he earned to pay for tutoring to continue his own education.  Reason was rejected by the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in New York City for this career because of his race. He then studied at McGrawville College in McGraw, New York. 

     Reason was a political activist and abolitionist who played a large role in the Negro Convention Movement in New York. He advocated a manual-labor school to provide training in the industrial arts for Blacks. Later on, he created a “normal” school as a response to the accusation that Black teachers were “inefficient and incompetent.” He contributed verse to the Colored American in the 1830s and was a leader of New York City’s Phoenix Society in the 1840s. His poem, “Freedom” celebrated abolitionist Thomas Clarkson and was published in Alexander Crummell’s 1849 biography of Clarkson. 

     Reason founded and was executive secretary of the New York Political Improvement Association, which won for fugitive slaves the right to a jury trial in the state.  In 1841 he lobbied successfully for the abolition of the sojourner law, which permitted slave owners to visit the state briefly with their slaves. In 1847, Reason and Charles B. Ray founded a Black organization authorized by the state legislature to oversee Black schools in New York City called the “Society for the Promotion of Education among Colored Children.” During the American Civil War, Reason served on New York City’s Citizen’s Civil Rights Committee, which lobbied the New York legislature for expanded Black Civil Rights.  After the war he was vice president of the New York State Labor Union.

    Reason was a very influential figure in the improvement of black education. He spoke out against the American Colonization Society and Garnet’s African Civilization Society. Reason served on New York City’s Citizen’s Civil Rights Committee, which lobbied the New York legislature for expanded Black Civil Rights.  After the American Civil war he was vice president of the New York State Labor Union. His many contributions and emphasis on the importance of education lead to not only his success, buit the success of others. Reason had two strokes, which, after a recovery period, required him to go to work in a carriage, as he could not walk. He retired five months before his death. He died in his 53rd St. home in New York City in 1893.