Tuskegee University

There is also the Tuskegee Airmen, a corps of African-American military pilots trained at the Tuskegee Institute during World War II

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was conducted at this university, a controversial study of syphilis on black men

Tuskegee University is an American institution of higher learning located in Tuskegee, Alabama.

History

Planning and establishment

The school was the dream of Lewis Adams, a former slave and George W. Campbell, a former slave owner. Adams could read, write and speak several languages despite having no formal education. He also was an experienced tinsmith, harness-maker and shoemaker and an acknowledged leader of the African-American community in Macon County, Alabama. Adams was especially concerned that, without an education, the recently freed former slaves would not be able to support themselves. Campbell was a merchant and a banker. He had little experience with educational institutions, but was always willing to contribute all of his resources and efforts to make the school a success.

W.F. Foster, a white candidate for the Alabama Senate, came to Adams with a question. What would Adams want in return for securing the votes of African Americans in Macon County for Foster and another white candidate? Adams asked for a normal school for the free men, freed slaves and their children. (A normal school is one that trains teachers).

Foster and the other candidate were elected. He worked with the other fellow legislator Arthur L. Brooks to draft and pass legislation authorizing $2,000 to create the school. Adams, Thomas Dyer, and M.B. Swanson formed Tuskegee's first board of commissioners. They wrote to Hampton Institute in Virginia, asking the school to recommend a teacher. Principal Samuel C. Armstrong of Hampton sent 25 year-old Booker T. Washington.

Booker T. Washington's leadership

Under Washington's leadership, the new school opened on July 4, 1881 in space borrowed from a church as a normal school (for the training of teachers). The following year, Dr. Washington bought the grounds of a former plantation which the campus is still centered on. The buildings were constructed by students, many of whom earned all or part of their expenses. The school was a living example of Dr. Washington's dedication to the pursuit of self-reliance. One of his great concerns was to teach African-American former slaves the practical skills needed to succeed at farming or other trades. One of its most noteworthy professors was Dr. George Washington Carver, who was recruited to teach there by Dr. Washington.

Washington had his students do not only agricultural and domestic work, but also erect buildings. This was done in order to teach his students to see labor not only as practical, but also as beautiful and dignified.

In addition to building Tuskegee, Dr. Washington became a famous orator and secured major funding from wealthy American philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie, Collis P. Huntington, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Huttleston Rogers. According to Dr. Washington's papers, Rogers who had a poor public image as a leader of Standard Oil, was actually warm and generous with his friends, family and what he felt were worthy causes. An early champion of the concept of matching funds, Henry Rogers was a major anonymous contributor to Tuskegee and dozens of other black schools for more than 15 years. In June 1909, Dr. Washington made a famous speaking tour along the newly-completed Virginian Railway in Rogers' personal railcar Dixie, stopping at rural points in southern Virginia and southern West Virginia where the railroad was providing a new transportation link for commerce. His traveling companion on the tour recorded that Dr. Washington was warmly received by blacks and whites alike.

Despite his travels and widespread work, Dr. Washington remained as principal of Tuskegee. In 1915, he died at the age of 59, reportedly from overwork. At his death Tuskegee's endowment exceeded US$1.5 million. He was buried on the campus near the chapel.

World War II

In 1941, in an effort to train black aviators, a training squadron of the U.S. Army Air Corps was established at Tuskegee Institute. These aviators became known as the Tuskegee Airmen and an Air Force R.O.T.C. program still exists there today.

Present day

The Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site is located on the campus, and includes the George Washington Carver Museum.

To this day Tuskegee University still stands for the academic excellence Booker T. Washington built, and is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Colleges".

Campus panoramic

Sports

Tuskegee University is a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The baseball program has won thirteen SIAC championships and has produced several professional players, including big-leaguers Leon Wagner, Ken Howell, Alan Mills and Roy Lee Jackson. Tuskegee also has the winningest HBCU football program, with over 570 wins, over 24 SIAC Championships, 7 National Black College National Championships, and 24 NFL Draft Picks including Anthony Mitchell and Frank Walker. Tuskegee was also the first black college to have a football stadium, Abbott Stadium.

Notable Faculty and Staff

Other notable alumni

In addition to Dr. George Washington Carver, Claude McKay studied at the University briefly in 1912. The seminal writers Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray both studied at Tuskegee. The 70s R&B band The Commodores, including musician Lionel Richie met on the school's campus. Tom Joyner studied sociology at Tuskegee. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin also earned his undergraduate degree there. Also actor/director/producer/comedian Keenan Ivory Wayans attended Tuskegee University

External link

Tuskegee University

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