People, Locations, Episodes

Tillotson University Begins Classes

*Tillotson College began education classes on this date in 1881. Now known as Huston-Tillotson University (HTU), it is one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America.

Bishop College, (Texas) is Founded

*The beginning of Bishop College is celebrated on this date in 1881.  This was a Historically Black College and University (HBCU).   Founded in Marshall, Texas, by the Baptist Home Mission Society, it was intended to serve Black students in east Texas, where most of the Black population lived.  Nathan Bishop, the superintendent of several major school systems in New England, started this effort.  (then) Baylor University President Rufus C. Burleson […]

Spelman College is Founded

This date recalls the 1881 founding of Spelman College. They are one of over 100 historically Black Colleges and Universities in America.

Tuskegee University is Founded

*Tuskegee University was founded on this date in 1881. Located in Tuskegee, Alabama, it is one of over 100 Historical Black Colleges and Universities in America.

The school was founded as a school for Black students by American educator Booker T. Washington. At that time it was called the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. It was renamed Tuskegee Institute in 1937 and adopted its current name in 1985. Tuskegee University awards bachelor’s, master’s, and professional degrees in a variety of fields.

Morristown College is Founded

*This date in 1881 celebrates the founding of Morristown College, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) located in Morristown, the seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee. It was founded by the National Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Before the 20th-century American Civil Rights movement, the college held the distinction of being one […]

Dudley Woodard, Mathematician born

*Dudley Weldon Woodard was born on this date in 1881. He was an African American mathematician.

Lane College is Founded

The founding of Lane College occurred on this date in 1880. Lane College is one of over 100 Historical Black Colleges and Universities in America.

Virginia State University is Founded

*Virginia State University was founded on this date in 1882. They are one of 100 historically Black colleges and university’s in America.

Paine College Begins Classes

*Paine College was founded on this date in 1882. It is one of over 100 Historical Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) in America.

Benjamin Brawley, Educator, and Author born

*Benjamin Brawley was born on this date in 1882.  He was a Black author and educator.   Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Benjamin Griffith Brawley was the second son of Edward McKnight Brawley and Margaret Dickerson Brawley.  He studied at Atlanta Baptist College (now Morehouse College), graduated in 1901, earned his second BA in 1906 from the University of Chicago, and received his master’s degree from Harvard University in […]

Julia Brooks, Teacher, and Sorority Founder born

*Julia Brooks was born on this date in 1882. She was a Black teacher, administrator, and community activist. Julia Evangeline Brooks was one of ten children born to Walter Henderson Brooks and Eva Holmes Brooks in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her father, a slave as a child, grabbed the chance for education, earning B.A. and theology […]

I. M. Terrell High School (Texas) Opens

*The opening of I.M Terrell High School is celebrated on this date in 1882. This was a Fort Worth, Texas, secondary school during the Jim Crow era. It was the city’s first Black school. Its original name was the East Ninth Street Colored School. Isaiah Milligan Terrell became its Principal and Superintendent of Fort Worth […]

Scottie Primus Davis, Educator born

*Scottie Primus Davis was born on this date in 1882.  She was a Black teacher.  Davis was born in Lebanon, Kentucky; she was the daughter of Addison Davis and Hattie Smith Primus Davis. When she was five, she relocated to Chicago with her parents. She enrolled at St. James Catholic School and later entered public […]

Laurence C. Jones, Administrator born

*Laurence Jones was born on this date in 1882.  He was a Black educator, administrator, and activist.  From St. Joseph, Missouri, his father worked as a porter at the Pacific House Hotel.  Laurence Clifton Jones came from a family of educators with an uncle who founded the Woodstock Manual Labor Institute in Michigan in 1846.   When he was 15, […]

The Norfolk Mission College Begins Classes

*The first class taught at the Norfolk Mission College (NMC) was on this date in 1883. This was a privately funded public school for African American students in Norfolk, Virginia. The United Presbyterians established the school. NMC taught thousands of students at various levels of education and provided for students who could not afford the […]