Richard Greener, First Black Graduate of Harvard College Uncompromising Activist Richard Greener, First Black Graduate of Harvard College
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UNCOMPROMISING ACTIVIST The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science 132nd series (2017) Seth A. Johnston, How NATO Adapts: Strategy and Organization in the Atlantic Alliance since 1950 Katherine Reynolds Chaddock, Uncompromising Activist: Richard Greener, First Black Graduate of Harvard College Uncompromising Activist Richard Greener, First Black Graduate of Harvard College KATHERINE REYNOLDS CHADDOCK JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS BALTIMORE © 2017 Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2017 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www.press.jhu.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Chaddock, Katherine Reynolds 1945– author. Title: Uncompromising activist : Richard Greener, first black graduate of Harvard College / Katherine Reynolds Chaddock. Description: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017. | Series: The Johns Hopkins University studies in historical and political science. 132nd series (2017) ; 2 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016052558| ISBN 9781421423296 (hardcover : ac- id-free paper) | ISBN1421423294 (hardcover : acid-free paper) | ISBN 9781421423302 (electronic) | ISBN 1421423308 (electronic) Subjects: LCSH: Greener, Richard Theodore, 1844-1922. | African Americans—Biography. | African American political activists— Biography. | African American scholars—Biography. | African American diplomats—Biography. | Harvard College (1780– )—Students —Biography. | University of South Carolina—Faculty—Biography. | Howard University. School of Law—Faculty—Biography. | Passing (Identity)—United States—Case studies. | United States—Race rela- tions—Case studies. | BISAC: HISTORY / United States / General. | SOCIAL SCIENCE / Black Studies (Global). Classification: LCC E185.97.G796 R48 2017 | DDC 327.730092 [B] —dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016052558 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at 410-516-6936 or specialsales@ press.jhu.edu. Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent post-consumer waste, whenever possible. For Adrienne and Brett Reynolds, my most valued and essential sources of support This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Introduction: A Search for Identity 1 1. Boyhood Interrupted 7 2. Being Prepared 15 3. Experiment at Harvard 24 4. An Accidental Academic 35 5. Professing in a Small and Angry Place 48 6. The Brutal Retreat 64 7. Unsettled Advocate 74 8. A Violent Attack and Hopeless Case 89 9. Monumental Plans 106 10. Off White 117 11. Our Man in Vladivostok 129 12. Closure in Black and White 144 Epilogue: The Passing of Richard Greener 161 Acknowledgments 169 Notes 171 Bibliography 191 Index 199 This page intentionally left blank UNCOMPROMISING ACTIVIST This page intentionally left blank INTRODUCTION A Search for Identity he abandoned row house in the Englewood area of Chicago’s South Side had suffered years of human and animal squatters. Termites Thad bored into the wood, and vandals had made off with anything of even minimal value. But just before the structure’s scheduled demolition in 2009, Rufus McDonald of the contracted clean-out crew spotted something still untouched. A heavy old steamer trunk in the attic had somehow es- caped scavengers. Although his fellow crew members advised pitching the bulky trunk, McDonald opened it. He put some of its contents—do cuments, papers, and a few books—into a paper bag. Later, he took them to a rare book dealer, who quickly identified two crumpled items: an 1870 Harvard College diploma and an 1876 University of South Carolina Law School di- ploma. Surprised and pleased to recognize the still-readable name of the graduate, the dealer immediately asked McDonald, “Do you know who Richard Theodore Greener was?”1 • • • Richard T. Greener, widely acclaimed as one of the most eloquent and ef- fective voices for the cause of racial equality during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was also well known as the first black graduate of Harvard College (class of 1870). Later, he became the first black professor at a southern public university, a law school dean, an inspiring writer and orator, a black diplomat to a country of white citizenry, and more. Yet, curi- ously, his name is now scarcely mentioned among the historic figures who have battled for extending the rights of US citizenship across color lines. Beginning as the tale of a scrappy black kid learning street smarts, Greener’s life story could be viewed almost as a classic American narrative of bootstrapping determination and well-earned achievement. However, his extraordinary journey was punctuated with plenty of wrong turns, missed opportunities, professional frustrations, personal tragedies, and bitter disappointments. Most crucial, there was always the race issue. A hand- 2 Uncompromising Activist some, light-skinned “black” man with mixed ancestry, Greener faced ac- cusations from fellow blacks that ranged from getting too cozy with white folks to attempting to pass as white. On the other hand, he experienced race discrimination in employment, housing, transportation, and services. His opportunities sometimes expanded due to his pale complexion; they also contracted due to his African American ancestry. His straddle of the black and white divide became as much a part of his life story as did his numerous accomplishments and setbacks. Born in Philadelphia (1844) and raised in Boston and Cambridge, Mas- sachusetts, the young, energetic Greener quickly developed an ability to be everywhere and know everyone. He was still in his teens when he rowed on the Charles River with his friend Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., read Latin with George Herbert Palmer, attended lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Ward Beecher, helped guard Wendell Phillips from an angry mob at a rally of abolitionists, and sat spellbound at numerous antislavery meetings graced by Frederick Douglass and Senator Charles Sumner. When his father departed for the California gold mines and never returned, eleven-year-old Richard left school for a succession of jobs that would help support him and his mother. His avid networking among employers and acquaintances eventually landed him a benefactor and some generous friends who helped him get to Oberlin Collegiate Institute, Phillips Academy at Andover, and Harvard College. His employment after graduation was again a rapid succession of jobs. In 1873, after a brief teaching stint at one black high school and a short time as principal at another, he gained an appointment as a professor, and soon also as librarian, at the University of South Carolina, which had been newly integrated during the Reconstruction era. There, he enjoyed little notice- able color discrimination and much meaningful work with students and colleagues. During that time, he married a lady from an elite black family in Washington, DC, earned a law degree, undertook political and academic oratory throughout the state, and welcomed the birth of his first child. At the close of his fourth year of academic work, Reconstruction ended, and the university returned to its original segregated condition. Although Greener would never again reside in South Carolina, he would long refer to it as “my adopted State.”2 A move to the nation’s capital yielded a patronage appointment at the Treasury Department for several years, a two-year-long deanship at How- Introduction 3 ard University Law School, and a partnership in a law practice. He delivered public lectures and published essays for the black cause, campaigned for liberal presidential candidates, and had more children. Later, he worked in New York City as secretary and chief fund-raiser at the Ulysses S. Grant Monument Association. Finally, in 1898, Greener went to Russia after being appointed by President William McKinley as the first US diplomatic repre- sentative to the Siberian city of Vladivostok. For all his education, way with words, recognition, and networks of friends and colleagues, Greener perpetually faced professional and financial crises. Personal dramas and changes in political sentiments led to stretches of underemployment or unemployment. He launched into seemingly at- tractive, but unsuccessful, business investments. His public speaking and political campaigning took time away from building his law practice and enjoying his family. And something always happened to shorten his var- ious professional stints. Integration ended at the University of South Car- olina, and Greener was out. Howard University Law School suffered low enrollment during his time as its dean, and Greener was out. The Grant Monument Association board experienced infighting and resignations, and Greener was out. After McKinley’s assassination, the new president Theo- dore Roosevelt had his own ideas and obligations for diplomatic patronage assignments. Once again, Greener was out. It is possible that Greener could have better weathered changing winds in professional and political assignments if he had been someone else. But he was a black man who could be outspoken about his opinions, assertive for his race and himself, and blatantly self-confident about his abilities and worth. The