Historical Context

In 1866, the first year after emancipation of the slaves in the United States, about 90 to 95% of the Black adult population was functionally illiterate (Thompson, 1978).

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To address their needs, the institutions they created focused primarily on training teachers. The majority of HBCUs were created in the South because that was where the majority of Black people resided. Institutionalized racism prevented Blacks from enrolling or participating in White educational institutions. Thus, in order to obtain an education they created their own educational institutions.

The Negro or Black population constituted over one-third of the population in the South and formed a majority in several states – South Carolina, Mississippi and

Louisiana. In Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Virginia, the Black population ranged from 42 to 49% of the total population, while North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas reported their Black population as 37%, 26%, and 31%, respectively. With the Black population freed by the Civil War in 1865, a large, potentially political and social body that had heretofore been invisible and impotent became a presence to be dealt with in the South (Anderson, 1988). See Figure 2.1.

http://www.ushistoricalarchive.com/cds/1890.html

Figure 2.1 Colored Population in the United States in 18905

Black churches and Northern White missionaries were primarily responsible for the creation of many Black schools. While many of the early higher education

institutions used the title of “college”, most of them were teaching the majority of their classes at the elementary and secondary school level. The great need for teachers who could provide this education led to many of the schools adopting teacher training as all or part of their mission. And in this they were successful. Illiteracy rates for the Black population declined considerably (70% in 1880 to 16.3% in 1930) (Davis, 1933).)

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Conditions at White schools during this period were not much different. In 1865, the General Superintendent of Education conducted an inspection that included Negro colleges and observed that “in the District of Columbia, 75% of the Negro children attended school as against only 41% of the white children; that in Memphis, Tennessee 72% of the Negro children attended school, in Alabama 79% and in Virginia 82%” (Jones & Weathersby, 1978). He compared these figures with an attendance of 43% White students in the public schools of New York State and 93% in Boston, which probably ranked first in this respect among the cities of the entire country. Even as late as 1895, all of the White colleges in Alabama except the University of Alabama reported students at the elementary and high school levels. The University of Massachusetts, Boston College and Tufts reported pre-college enrollments in 1895 (Jones & Weathersby, 1978). For Black colleges, however, the presence of secondary education at the college level extended well into the 1930s while such practices faded at TWIs prior to 1910.

The American educational system is known for its plethora of institutions of higher education in contrast to the European system from which it emanated (Lucas, 1994). In this respect, Black colleges followed the American model by creating many institutions of higher learning. White colleges continued their path toward higher education, challenged by the obstacles of finding funds but undeterred by philanthropic interests seeking to derail their pursuits. Linkages are built on trust and relationships. The trust was undermined by industrial philanthropists’ support and funding of industrial education, which most Negores opposed. They belived it to be another action preventing them from acquiring the education needed to move ahead.

Black higher education was derailed by one of the three philanthropic groups that formed the power structure in black higher education. From 1865 to 1950, missionary philanthropy (northern white benevolent societies and denominational bodies), Black philanthropy (black religious organizations), and industrial philanthropy (large corporate foundations and wealthy individuals)6 exerted great influence on the development of higher education for Blacks. The ideologies and philosophies of the different

philanthropic groups were in sharp disagreement over the value and purpose of Black higher education. Each group imposed its educational policy and practices on their vision of the role Blacks should play in the New South.

Both missionaries and Black philanthropists believed Blacks could be

contributing equal partners in the new society. They promoted and pursued classic liberal arts education for Blacks – languages, math, science, English and culture. The industrial philanthropists, the most influential, powerful and well financed group of the three favored industrial education. They were opposed to the potential political and social power which the Negro represented and thus supported the premise of teaching the Negro the “dignity of manual labor.” Industrial education focused on applied training in

agriculture, mechanical engineering, and military arts. It provided no instruction above the secondary level (high school), and no teaching of subjects that constituted a liberal arts education (Anderson, 1988; Holmes, 1934; LeMelle & LeMelle, 1969).

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Prominent individual industrial philanthropists included Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Julius Rosenwald, and others. The most well known industrial

foundations included the John E. Slater Fund, the General Education Board, Ana T. Jeanes Foundation, the Phelps-Stoke fund, Carnegie Foundation, Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund, and the Julius

It is noteworthy that the industrial philanthropists opposed higher education because industry and its ancillary organizations is responsible for most of the research funding today. Thus, for the hypothesis that linkages are responsible for the development of science and technology at universities to hold true for HBCUs, some of the racism industry had towards HBCUs and the distrust HBCUs had for industry must have been overcome.

HBCUs faced a choice. They could remain distinct entities that employed unique strategies or become more like TWIs and utilize strategies identified earlier in this study such as linkages. HBCUs took both paths. They remained distinct institutions that initiated new strategies; however, they also adopted strategies utilized by TWIs.