Taylor, A. A. Collection (Original), 1923-1954
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A Guide to the A.A. Taylor Collection, 1923-1954 Fisk University Archives Processed by Mattie McHollin Assisted by Lula Brooks, Katherine Harrell, Susie Harris, Jason Harrison and Vanessa Smith July, 2009 A. A. TAYLOR COLLECTION (Alrutheus Ambush Taylor) Biographical Note Alrutheus Ambush (A. A.) Taylor (1893-1954) a noted educator, scholar, researcher, author and administrator, was considered to be a brilliant scholar. Taylor was also one of the most outstanding early deans of a black liberal arts college in the United States. He was born November 22, 1893, to Lewis and Lucy (Johnson) Taylor in Washington, D.C. His elementary and secondary education was completed in the Washington, D. C. Public School System at the James A. Garfield Grammar School and Armstrong High School. He completed his undergraduate education in six years then spent two years teaching at the Tuskegee Institute from 1914-1915. He earned an A.B Degree in mathematics in 1916 from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). He continued his professional education by attending Michigan State Norman College at Ypsilanti, for a summer; Butler University (Indianapolis, Indiana) for one summer; University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois), Columbia University (New York) for one summer and later earned a master’s from Harvard in 1923. In 1936 he received his doctorate in history with a minor in economics and government from Harvard University. In 1947 he was honored with an honorary degree from Hobart and William Smith College. He held fellowships in the “Association for the Study of Negro Life and History” and the “Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial.” Dean Taylor’s field of specification was in history and political science. His extensive experience as educator and administrator includes: Teacher of English, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama; Social Worker (Industrial Secretary) New York Urban League; Membership and Social Secretary, Twelfth Street Branch YMCA, Washington, D.C.; Teacher of Mathematics, West Virginia Collegiate Institute, Institute West Virginia. Professor of History, Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee (1926); Professor of History and Dean of Men (1927-1928), Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee; Professor of History and acting Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (1929-1930), Fisk University and Dean of the College 1930-1951. After completing a distinguished career as dean of the college during some of its most difficult years, be became the distinguished research professor of Fisk University. During his tenure at Fisk he also served as research investigator for the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History from 1923-1954 During his deanship he continued to distinguish himself as a scholar in the area of black history. His scholarly publications include: “The Negro in South Carolina During the Reconstruction,” “The Negro in the Reconstruction in Virginia,” and “The Negro in Tennessee, 1865-1880.” It was stated that because of his indepth scholarly research and his thoroughness of documentation, “that hardly any treatise written after 1924 dealing with the period of reconstruction in the South does not have reference to these publications.” All of these scholarly works were published by the “Association for the Study of Negro Life and History” of which he was closely connected. With articles and book reviews in various magazines including: “The Journal of Negro History,” “The New England Quarterly,” “The Proceedings of the National Association of Collegiate Deans and Registrars in Negro School,” “Proceedings of the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes.” His scholarship includes additional research in compiling the completed but unpublished History of Fisk University and the massive research project, “Community Life of Negro Youth in the South (A cooperative study being made under the direction of the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes).” With his demanding academic responsibilities he continued to find time not only to publish but to give lectures and accept other speaking engagements throughout the South. During his administration, many outstanding men benefited from his leadership – such as Charles S. Johnson, the noted sociologist, who would later become Fisk University’s first Black President; Carter Woodson; James Weldon Johnson; Aaron Douglas; and John Hope Franklin, who would later become on of the most noted black historians in the world. These and many other noted black scholars flourished in the atmosphere of academic industry and achievement that Taylor created. Despite his demanding schedule he found time to be an active member in many organizations (civic and professional and Learned Societies) such as: the American Historical Association; Association for the Study of Negro Life and History; Southern Historical Association; the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences; President, Board of Trustees, Kent College of Law Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois; Board of Directors of the Fisk University Social Center, member of the Advisory Committee of Negro Encyclopedic and the National Association of Collegiate Deans and Registrars in Negro Schools. Other fraternal organizations were: Alpha Phi Alpha and the Sigma Pi Phi. He was also quite active in the Agora Club. Dean Taylor had a very distinguished career at Fisk University, and he was recognized nationally as one of the nation’s most noted scholars on the reconstruction period in U. S. history. Many academic accomplishments were recognized at Fisk during his tenure. The university became the first Black institution to receive an “A” rating by the Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges and to be placed on the approved list of the Association of American Universities. It was under the direction of Dean Taylor that the curriculum was altered and improved to such an extent that the program at Fisk today is recognized as one of America’s outstanding liberal arts college programs. During his administration the university’s academic program was divided into two parts. The Lower Division of the College which consisted of the freshmen-sophomore years and the Upper Division which consisted of the junior-senior years and the graduate level. As a student at the University of Michigan he met his wife Harriet Ethel Wilson, of Fowler, Indiana. Tragically on August 19, 1941, Harriet was killed in an automobile accident not far from Columbia, Missouri, and Dean Taylor was seriously injured. The event left a deep impression on the Dean. After an extended hospitalization, he returned to Fisk and resumed his administrative duties. He later established the Harriet Wilson Taylor Scholarship with its purpose being “to aid a student of junior or senior classification whose need, scholarship, and the promise of social usefulness makes him worthy.” After several years, Dean Taylor married Catherine Brummell Buchanan Taylor on September 9, 1943. She was the mother to five children: Archie, Harold, John Gilbert, Donald Irvin Buchanan and Leatrice Buchanan McKissack. Catherine was the niece of his first wife Harriet, and she would later become a member of the faculty at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee As Dean, Taylor was known for his deep concern for the interest and wellbeing of the students. His straightforward and direct manner was known throughout the campus. Because of his prominence and his relationships with his students, faculty, and other administrators of historical black colleges and universities many communicated with him throughout their careers and established deep bonds of friendships with the Dean. Because of his contributions to higher education and especially to higher black education, his work is noted in such publications as Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Colored America, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Who’s Who in American Education, and the Biographical Dictionary of American Scholars Dean A. A. Taylor died of cerebral hemorrhage at Hubbard Hospital in June 1954. He was buried in Fowler, Indiana, where he first wife was buried. SCOPE AND CONTENT The AA Taylor Collection is comprised of 133 boxes consisting of thirteen (13) series and sub-sub-series within certain series. Because of the administrative responsibilities of Dean A. A. Taylor of Fisk University, the collection’s arrangement consists of the following: Personal Materials, Trustees, Presidential Administrations, College Administrators, Academics (including Departments, Divisions, Institutes), Faculty, Students (Undergraduate and Graduates), Alumni, Administrative Correspondence and other administrative materials into a broad section called Fisk and Fisk Related Materials. Other correspondence located in the collection that was not pertaining to A. A. Taylor includes the last section. This section includes materials by Catherine Buchanan Taylor, former presidents, Jones and Johnson and George St. John who served as Johnson’s Administrative Assistant and was Acting Dean sometime in the early fifties. In summary, materials located in this vast collection consist of Taylor’s personal correspondence, writings, and other collections; General Correspondence; Board of Trustees correspondences; Office of the sitting College Presidents; Office of the Registrar; Office of Public Relations; Business and Finance; Public Relations/Publicity; Health Services Administrator; Faculty Committee Meetings and Minutes; Faculty and Staff; Alumni; Buildings and Grounds; Students (undergraduate and graduates); Addresses and Speeches; Fisk and Fisk Related Materials