People, Locations, Episodes

Bluefield State College is Founded

*This date in 1895 marks the founding of Bluefield State College.

One of over 100 historically black colleges and universities in America, it was established as a Black teachers college by an act of the West Virginia Legislature. In February of that year, Senator William M. Mahood sponsored the bill.

Benjamin E. Mays, Educator, Administrator, Clergyman, and Activist born

On this date in 1895, Benjamin Elijah Mays was born. He was an African American educator, college president, activist, clergyman, and administrator.

Mays was from Ninety Six, South Carolina, the youngest of eight children; his parents were tenant farmers and former slaves. After spending a year at Virginia Union University, he moved north to attend Bates College in Maine, where he obtained his B.A. in 1920. He then entered the University of Chicago as a graduate student, earning an M.A. in 1925 and a Ph.D. in the School of Religion in 1935.

Fort Valley State University Begins Classes

The founding of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) in 1895 is celebrated on this date. It is one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America.

Elbert F. Cox, Mathematician born

Elbert Frank Cox was born on this date in 1895. He was an African American mathematician and educator.

Inez Beverly Prosser, Educator and Psychologist born.

*Inez Beverly Prosser was born on this date in 1895. She was a Black teacher and school administrator and one of the first Black women to receive a Ph.D. in psychology in America. She was born to Samuel Andrew and Veola Hamilton Beverly in Yoakum or San Marcos, Texas, a small town between Austin and […]

Albany State University is Founded

*This date celebrates the founding of Albany State University in 1903. It is one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America.

South Carolina State University is Founded

*On this date in 1896, South Carolina State University (SCSU) became a Historically Black College or University (HBCU).  It is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public HBCU land-grant institution in South Carolina.   SCSU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).  The university’s beginnings were as the ‘South Carolina Agricultural […]

Melnea Cass, Educator, and Activist born

Melnea Cass was born on this date in 1896. She was an African American educator and activist.

She was the oldest of three daughters of Mary Drew Jones and Albert Jones. She grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where her father was a janitor and her mother a domestic worker. They moved to the South End of Boston, MA, when Cass was five years old. Three years later her mother died. Her father and their Aunt Ella raised her and her sisters. After a few years, their aunt moved the girls to Newburyport, MA, and placed them in the care of Amy Smith.

Hattie Mae Annette Dulin, Educator born.

*Hattie Mae Annette Dulin was born on this date in 1896.  She was a Black teacher and sorority administrator. Hattie Mae Annette Dulin was born in Greenville, Kentucky. Her parents were James and Mary Elizabeth Dulin. Like a growing number of African Americans in the early twentieth century, her family left the South for the […]

Oakwood College, UNCF School Opens

On this date, we celebrate the 1896 founding of Oakwood College, a certified United Negro College Fund (UNCF) institution.

For over 100 years, Oakwood has provided students the opportunity of to learn in preparation for service to community, country, and the world. The college is regionally accredited by the Southern Accrediting Association of Colleges and Schools and the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Department of Education. It offers a liberal arts curriculum in a religious atmosphere.

Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little, Educator born.

*Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little was born on this date in 1896.  She was a Black teacher and sorority administrator. Mary Lou Allison was born in Kentucky and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, with her parents. After their parents were killed in late 1899, she was separated from her brother and raised by a family friend, […]

Rayford Logan, Educator, and Pan-Africanist born

*Rayford Logan was born on this date in 1897.  He was a Black historian and Pan-African activist.   Rayford Whittingham Logan was born and raised in Washington, DC. He won a scholarship to Williams College, graduating in 1917. During the First World War, he joined the U.S. Army and served as a first lieutenant in […]

The American Negro Academy Begins

*On this date in 1897, the American Negro Academy (ANA) was founded. Originated in Washington, D.C., the ANA was the creation of Rev. Alexander Crummell, the son of a West African Tribal Chief (Temme Tribe) and an American literary giant.

Langston University is Founded

*On this date we celebrate the founding of Langston University, Oklahoma’s only Historical Black College or University (HBCU).

Over one hundred years old Langston U. moves with confidence toward a second century of excellence. On November 16, 1907 (the year Oklahoma became a state), Langston City was officially established. Since African Americans were not permitted to attend any of the institutions of higher education in Oklahoma Territory, Black citizens appeared before the Oklahoma Industrial School and College Commission in July 1892 to petition that Langston have a college.

Violet Lewis, Businesswoman born

*Violet Lewis was born on this date in 1897.  She was a Black businesswoman and educator.  Born Violet Harrison in Lima, Ohio, she was the daughter of William David Harrison and Eva Brown Harrison, the second child of six.  In 1915, Harrison graduated from Lima High School and enrolled in the secretarial program at Wilberforce […]