Historical Analysis

Historical Analysis

African American Education in Georgia

Marie Jarra

EDLD 7432

July 11, 2016

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Historical Analysis

Introduction

Its hard to imagine that a few decades ago African Americans were fighting for the right to get

an education. Much growth has been made over the past years as it relates to diversity,

warranting that all Americans no matter what race, gender, or sex have the opportunity to receive

equal opportunity in higher education. Before the end of the civil war there were only less than a

handful of colleges in the United Stated for the advancement of black people. After the Civil

War the nation began to see the emergent of the black colleges. In Georgia alone, there are 10

colleges that are considered historically black colleges (HBCU). This analysis will focus on the

history of African Americans education trends specifically in the state of Georgia.

History

Pre-Civil war legislation that was passed made it illegal to teach slaves how to read and write

which made it hard to establish any form of education institutes for blacks. Cheyney University

was founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth in Pennsylvania, it is known as the first

institution of higher learning for African Americans. It was founded by a Quaker philanthropist,

who donated $10,000, one tenth of his estate, to design and establish a school to educate the

descendants of the African race. This marked the beginning of the idea to create universities to

educated African Americans in the United States.

In post-civil war Georgia, whites discouraged literacy for the black community, but by the end of

the first year after the abolishment of slavery at least 8,000 former slaves were attending schools

in Georgia. Free men of the north aided organizations to begin establishing schools in the south.

As the institutions began to grow the idea that education as a key to freedom and success began

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Historical Analysis

to settle in the minds of former slaves. Blacks adopted the concept that education would uplift

the race (Perkins, 1978). In 1865 in Georgia, Atlanta University and Clark College Heritage was

established to accommodate African American students. In 1865 Clark Atlanta University was

formed by the consolidation of Atlanta University and Clark College. Clark was founded by the

Freedman's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church that later became the United

Methodist Church. The school was named for Bishop Davis W. Clark, the first president of the

Freedman's Aid Society. By the late 1870s the university had begun granting bachelor's degrees

to its students. Clark eventually became a research university and was classified by the Carnegie

Foundation as a private research university/ high research activity.

Morehouse College was founded in 1867 two years after the civil war. It was originally founded,

as Augusta Institute in the basement of Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta GA. Originally the

purpose was to prepare black men for ministry and teaching. The college later moved to Atlanta

and students were attending class in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church. In the 1880s

John D. Rockefeller donated land in Atlanta were the present location is for the mens college. In

1913 the institution received a name change to Morehouse College under the leadership of the

colleges first African American president, John Hope. Students at Morehouse learn to personify

a set of characteristics known as the Morehouse Mystique, which consisted of five tenets to

uphold (1) academic excellence, (2) the elocutionary arts, (3) high moral values, (4) social

commitment, and (5) the belief in a higher power (Brawley, 1917). As a private historically black

college for men Morehouse offers twenty-six majors in three academic divisions: Business

Administration and Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Mathematics.

The school has showed tremendous growth from the time of Reconstruction and has produced

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three Rhodes, five Fulbright, and five Marshall Scholars. Its distinguished alumni include Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr., a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and civil rights leader, and also Maynard

Jackson, former mayor of Atlanta.

Other traditionally African American schools in Georgia include Spelman College, originally

founded in 1881 as a college for African American women. It started its focus of studies on

teacher training, and eventually initiated a nursing program. Spelman now offers 26 majors and

25 minors as a private institution, and students can also register with any of the five partner

institutions in the Atlanta University Center, including Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta

University. Savannah State University is another institution considered as historically black that

was founded in Georgia. It is the oldest public historically black college in the state, originally

named Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youth.

Key Case that affected African American Education in Georgia

Post-civil war and the abolishment of slavery did not mean that African Americans had equal

rights in America. The second Morrill Act in 1890 was directed at southern confederate states

and gave support for higher education for black students. The act required each state to show

that race was not an admissions criterion, or else the state would have to designate a separate

land-grant institution for persons of color (Johnson, 1981). Several of Georgias black colleges

emerged from the second Morrill Act like Savannah State University, which at the time offered

courses in, agricultural, mechanical, and industrial subjects to its students.

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Historical Analysis

In the 1896 the supreme courts decision in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson established a separate

but equal code in public education. This included educational facilities where the resources and

institutions had to be equal for both whites and black, but it could also be separate. This

decision was hardly equal by any standards, where white students were given the best of

education and all it had to offer, black students were given the bare minimum. In Georgia black

college students in Atlanta staged sit-ins to force the desegregation of education facilities. In

1941 Eugene Talmadge triggered nationwide uproar by discharging three educators in the state

of Georgia university system that were alleged to have advocated racial equality in the schools.

The state university system lost its accreditation for a time as a result of Talmadge's action; it

was later restored in 1943.

In 1954 Brown v. Board of Education overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. It declared that separate

but equal educational facilities are unconstitutional. After the ruling many white Georgians

were still opposed to integration. In many cases in Georgia, white established institutions we still

denying admissions to black students. In the case of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter in

1961 after several attempts to get admittance into the University of Georgia they were repeatedly

denied. With the help of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

(NAACP), a campaign was launched for desegregation of southern colleges and universities.

Soon after U.S. District Court Judge William Bootle ordered the admission of Hamilton Holmes

and Charlayne Hunter to UGA. Other white established colleges such as Georgia Tech, and

Emory University soon followed with accepting black students.

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Historical Analysis

Progression in the 20th and 21st century

These days the challenges for African American students to get a higher education in Georgia is

no longer the issue of race but rather the issues of funding. Georgias higher education systems

have come a long way in the past years since the times of separate but equal. Shortly after

Brown v. Board of Education decision congress passed Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,

which prohibited discrimination against anyone because of their race, color, or national origin in

programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. This act did not fix the issue of

segregation and discrimination overnight in Georgia, however it sparked and change and allowed

black students in the state who needed federal assistance to have access to it. In Georgia one of

the aids that gave many black students an opportunity to pursue higher education is the HOPE

scholarship. It was created in 1993 by Georgia Governor Zell Miller to reward students with

financial assistance in degree, diploma, and certificate programs at eligible Georgia public,

private colleges and universities, and public technical colleges. The money would be funded by

revenue from the Georgia Lottery and is administered by the Georgia Student Finance

Commission (GSFC).

Conclusion

The African American student in Georgia has faced many obstacles in the past centuries.

Although the harsh challenges are mostly matters of the past, there are still challenges that the

black student faces every day in Georgia and the U.S. Nowadays the ability to afford a higher

education is the impediment to overcome. With a lot black students growing up in urban low

income neighborhoods, where the resources are not available the opportunity for many are

limited, there are a lot of scholarships and aids available specifically to black students. However

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Historical Analysis

if generations after generations dont have the tools to obtain those aids it would be rigid for

them to educate their youths on how to attain these scholarships. Poverty is a big part of the

black community, but without education one will continue to drown in it. There is however still

hope for the African American student especially in Georgia. With colleges like Georgia State

University which continue to lead the nation in graduating minority students, ranking No.1 in the

nation among not-for-profit institutions in awarding bachelors degrees to African-American

students. This shows that Georgias Higher education system has not only evolved throughout

the centuries but also exceeded with the improvement of African American student.

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Historical Analysis

References

Brawley, B. G. (1917). History of Morehouse College: Written on the Authority of the Board of Trustees .
http://www.morehouse.edu. Retrieved from http://www.blackpast.org/aah/morehouse-
college-1867

Diractory of Georgia Colleges. (2016). Emmis Communications Corporation, 128-141. Retrieved from
Emmis Communications Corporation.

Hatfield, E. A. (2016, June 24). Desegration of Higher Education. Retrieved from New Georgia
Encylopedia: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/desegregation-
higher-education

History. (2015). Retrieved from State of Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission:
http://gnpec.org/about-gnpec/history/

Johnson, E. L. (1981). Misconceptions About the Early Land-Grant Colleges. The Journal of Higher
Education, 333-351. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1981282 doi:1

Perkins, L. M. (1978). Fanny JacksonsCopping and Institute for Colored Youth: A model of nineteenth
century black female educational and community leadership, 1837-1902. University of Illinois.

Seupersad, L. (2012, June 8). Georgia State University Top in Nation for African-American Student
Graduation. Retrieved from Georgia State University: http://news.gsu.edu/2012/06/08/georgia-
state-university-top-in-the-nation-for-african-american-student-graduation/

Special Collections and Archives: Georgia State University History: Brief History; Admin. Org. (2016, May
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http://research.library.gsu.edu/c.php?g=115683&p=754351

Top 100 Degree Producers: Baccalaureate. (2016). Retrieved from Diverse Issue in Higher Education:
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