Sarah Remond and two other women are refused seating at the Howard Athenaeum.

Remond, the sister of Charles Lenox Remond, her sister Caroline Remond Putnam, and William Cooper Nell are forcibly removed from the Howard Athenaeum after refusing to leave their seats in the “family circle” at the The Howard Athenaeum due to their race.  They had obtained orchestra tickets to a performance of a Mozart opera by mail. When they arrive at the theater, they are told they must sit in the balcony section reserved for African-Americans, but refuse and are treated roughly and denied entrance. Remond is injured in the melee. She subsequently goes to court and wins a $500 damage complaint against the theater in June 1853.