Today in Black History: Feb. 17, 1867

Today in 1867, 2 years after the ending of the Civil War, the Augusta Institute was founded in Augusta, GA by William Jefferson White, Rev. Richard C. Coulter & Rev. Edmund Turney. Located in the Springfield Baptiste Church, the oldest black church in the US, to educate African-American men in theology & education. 12 years later in 1879, the institute moved it's location to Atlanta, GA and changed it's name to Atlanta Baptiste Seminary. In 1885, under the leadership of it's second president, Dr. Samuel T. Graves, Atlanta Seminary moved to land donated by John D. Rockerfeller, to it's present location in Atlanta, GA. 1890 Dr. George Sale became the seminary’s third president, and in 1897 the school was renamed Atlanta Baptist College.
"In 1906 Dr. John Hope became the first African-American president and led the institution’s growth in enrollment and academic stature. [1] He envisioned an academically rigorous college that would be the antithesis to Booker T. Washington’s view of agricultural and trade-focused education for African-Americans. In 1913, the seminary was renamed Morehouse College, in honor of Henry L. Morehouse, corresponding secretary of the Northern Baptist Home Missions Society. [1] Morehouse entered into a cooperative agreement with Clark College and Spelman College in 1929 and later expanded the association to form the Atlanta University Center.[1]
Dr. Samuel H. Archer became the fifth president of the college in 1931 and selected the school colors (maroon and white) to reflect his own alma mater, Colgate University. Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays became president in 1940.[1] Mays, who would be a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr., presided over the growth in international enrollment and reputation. During the 1960s, Morehouse students were actively involved in the civil rights movement in Atlanta.[1] Mays’ speeches were instrumental in shaping the personal development of Morehouse students during his tenure.
In 1967, Dr. Hugh M. Gloster became the seventh president. The following year, the college’s Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society was founded. In 1975, Dr. Gloster established the Morehouse School of Medicine, which became independent from Morehouse College in 1981." (source: wikipedia)