© 1981 MICHAEL ROBERT HEINTZE All Rights Reserved IDH^ ^.»p«»!»)^,.A^*A!«»«»^i»»S3»y^^ r'SB*- A HISTORY OF THE BLACK PRIVATE COLLEGES IN TEXAS, 1865-1954 by MICHAEL ROBERT HEINTZE, B.A., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN HISTORY Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved August, 1981 V PREFACE Following the Civil War, black Texans began the long and arduous journey to integrate and advance them­ selves within the mainstream of American society. Not surprisingly, they judged education to be one of the best vehicles for facilitating that process. The record of this state-wide struggle has been partially recorded in such state studies as Frederick Eby, The Development of Education in Texas (192 5), and E. C. Evans, The Story of Texas Schools (1955). Regrettably, these works focused upon the problems surrounding primary and secondary education, while skirting or ignoring the issues and situations affecting higher education. To date, there have been only tw'o studies of black college education in Texas: The Development and Present Status of Negro Education in East Texas (193 4) by William R. Davis, and T. S. Montgomery, The Senior Colleges of Negroes in Texas (1944). Davis, in his regional study of black education, devoted a single chapter to the founding and development of colleges for blacks. While the white educator produced a pioneering work, its usefulness is diminished because it omitted Paul Quinn College, Tillotson College, Guadalupe College/ ii } 111 Samuel Huston College, and St. Philip's College which were located outside East Texas. Furthermore, the Davis study, which appeared in 1934, must also be considered somewhat dated. In The Senior Colleges for Negroes in Texas, white educator T. S. Montgomery presented a broad survey of such topics as purpose, availability, faculties, curriculum, and facilities. Montgomery failed to give the reader a complete picture of black higher education, however, be­ cause he neglected Mary Allen Seminary, Guadalupe College, and St. Philip's College. Since the study was published in 1944, it, too, is dated and provides only a fragmentary view of black higher education in the age of Jim Crow. Thus, this work is the first topical examination of the founding and developm.ent of the black church-related colleges in Texas from 1865 to 1954. Such a study is needed to evaluate significant controversies or problems such as institutional mission and purpose, administration and faculty development, academic and vocational curricula, institutional finances, and student life. It also provides a comparison of these colleges with the black public institutions of Texas, as well as other black colleges and universities in the United States. In the first chapter, a historiographical essay reviews the evolution of professional literature dealing with black colleges. The purpose of this chapter is to J IV show the divergence of opinion which has continued to exist concerning the quality, purpose, and relevancy of black colleges. Chapter two discusses the historical background and founding of these institutions. The roles of the various missionary and religious groups in the establish­ ment of these schools are surveyed in light of the educational atmosphere in Texas during the late nine­ teenth century. The third chapter explores the evolution of curriculum, which has as its theme the controversy betv/een those who advocated a formal liberal arts education and those who favored agricultural and mechanical training. In the course of examining developments in curriculum, special attention is given to community service programs in which the black colleges atten^.pted to utilize the academic and vocational training of their students to benefit the surrounding community. The developm.ent of administrations and faculties is analyzed in chapter four. This involves a review of the racial composition of the staffs of these institutions and an assessment of their relative quality and reputation. Also included are brief biographical sketches of presidents and teachers who made miajor contributions to their colleges Chapter five charts the problems of funding the physical and academic growth of these institutions. This •m J v section reviews the efforts of religious and philanthropic organizations which invested their resources in these educational ventures. The financial support of these denominations and foundations is examined at both the national and the state level. The fund-raising activities of the colleges themselves are also surveyed. Finally, since these institutions remained chronically short of adequate revenue, the chapter concludes with illustrations of how these deficiencies encouraged them to engage in a variety of cooperative ventures. The sixth chapter details student life including such topics as social fraternities and sororities, academic clubs and organizations, collegiate sports, band and choral groups, rules and regulations, and student activism. The concluding chapter analyzes the types of contributions made by these colleges to the academic growth of their students and, in a wider sense, to the general condition of black people in Texas. An attempt is also made to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these institutions and to reach some conclusions regarding their quality, mission, and significance as institutions of black higher education in the era of segregation. I want to thank the archivists and staff of the Amistad Research Center, the Lyndon B. Johnson Library, the Eugene C. Barker Collection, and the State Archives ^ \i'J vi of Texas for their assistance in locating manuscript materials for this study. I am also grateful to the librarians of Huston-Tillotson, Bishop, Wiley, Paul Quinn, and Jarvis Christian colleges for supplying me with relevant college and church publications, existing presidential papers , and suggestions for locating other sources. I would also like to acknowledge the critical readings and valuable suggestions of my committee, includ­ ing Alwyn Barr, chairman, Joseph E. King, Otto M. Nelson, Charles L. Wood, Jayme A. Sokolow, and Robert G. Campbell. By following their advice, the study has undoubtedly been improved. Although an earlier dissertation by Lloyd K. Thompson cited the W. R. Banks papers as being at Texas College, the author found no such collection there. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ii Chapter I. PERSPECTIVES ON THE PURPOSE, QUALITY AND MISSION OF BLACK COLLEGES 1 II. THE EMERGENCE OF THE CHURCH-RELATED BLA.CK COLLEGES IN TEXAS 32 Paul Quinn College 40 Wiley College 4 5 Tillotson College 49 Bishop College 53 Guadalupe College 5 8 Mary Allen College 62 Texas College 63 St. Philip's College 66 Samuel Huston College 69 Butler College 71 Jarvis Christian College 71 Colleges in Name Only 73 Institutional Purposes 75 Early Conditions 81 III. CURRICULUM 84 Development of Liberal Arts Curricula . 104 Developmient of Vocational Curricula .... 116 Curriculum-Related Service Programs .... 136 Conclusion 141 IV. ADMINISTRATION AND FACULTY 146 Racial Composition 14 7 Administrators 154 Faculty 201 Conclusion 208 V. FINANCES 214 Major Sources of Incor.e 214 vii Vlll Minor Sources of Income 237 Institutional Cooperation 244 Conclusion 254 VI. STUDENT LIFE 2 60 Religious Emphasis 260 Rules and Regulations 2 66 Organizations and Sports 278 Conclusions 288 VII. CONCLUSION 29 3 BIBLIOGRAPHY 309 LIST OF TABLES Bachelor of Arts Curriculum Requirements for Wiley College for 1892, 1920, 1930, and 1950 109 Breakdown of Enrollments for Private and Public Black Colleges in Texas by Educational Level and Sex for the Year 1915 122 Survey of Vocational Course Offerings in Private and Public Black Colleges in Texas as of 1915 124 Breakdown of Enrollments for Private and Public Black Colleges in Texas by Educational Level for the Year 1927 126 Survey of Vocational Course Offerings in Private and Public Black Colleges in Texas as of 1927 127 Organization of Vocational and Terminal Curricula of Ten Black Colleges in Texas for the Year 1942-1943 130 7. Enrollments for Private and Public Black Colleges in Texas, 1942-1954 134 Survey of Church Appropriations to Private Black Colleges in Texas for 1914 and 1915 219 Survey of Tuition and Fee Income for the Private Black Colleges in Texas in 1914 and 1926 \ 224 10 Survey of Room and Board Income and Expenses for the Private Black Colleges in Texas in 1914-1915 228 11 United Negro College Fund, Inc. Distribution of Net Proceeds to Member Colleges in Texas, 1944-1954 \ 255 IX V CHAPTER I PERSPECTIVES ON THE PURPOSE, QUALITY, AND MISSION OF BLACK COLLEGES As the decade of the 1980's dawns, m.ost of the private and church-related black colleges in Texas have celebrated, or soon will be celebrating, their hundredth year of service. During this lengthy period of time, historians, educators, and other social scientists have viewed, from widely divergent perspectives, the signif­ icance of black higher education. Under the scrutiny of such observers, the nation's black colleges have been the subject of much criticism and little acknowledgment. With the exception of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois, it has been primarily in the past twenty years that scholars have begun to construct a more balanced view of these institutions, by examining their accomplishments as well as their weaknesses. To understand better the issues surrounding black colleges in Texas and elsewhere, it seems appropriate to begin this study with a survey of the more significant analyses, on the national and state levels, of the development of these institutions. Tv7o of the earliest works devoted to examining black colleges came from the pen of W. E. B. DuBois. J. i A' 1 first of these. The College Bred Negro, which appeared in 1900, surveyed the social and economic conditions of black college graduates in the South. Another report. The College Bred Negro American, followed closely in 1910. In the second study, DuBois evaluated the character and quality of the education offered by black colleges.