Black History: Special Delivery!!

morehouse-otm

Morehouse College is a private historically black college (HBCU) for men. Morehouse opened its doors in 1867 to educated black males who were formerly enslaved to become ministers and teachers. It opened approximately 2 years after the close of the Civil War. Its original name was Augustus Institute and it was located in Augustus Georgia. The Augustus Institute relocated to Atlanta in 1879 and became the Atlanta Baptist Seminary. Classes were first held in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church. The school moved to its current location in the 1880’s after John D. Rockefeller donated land to the college.

Its first African American president was John Hope. It was under Hope’s leadership that the name of the school switched to Morehouse College in honor of Dr. Henry Lyman Morehouse. Henry Morehouse, a white, Baptist Minister, who donated money to the college.

Morehouse students are encouraged to exemplify 5 traits known as the “Morehouse Mystique” 1)Academic Excellence 2)Elocutionary Arts 3)High Moral Values, 4)Social Commitment 5)The Belief In a Higher Power. The Morehouse Mystique was developed by Dr. Benjamin Mays while he was president of the college (1940-1967). Morehouse’s current enrollment is approximately 3,000 students. The school offers 26 majors. Famous graduates include, Spike Lee, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Samuel L. Jackson

Sources:

http://www.blackpast.org/aah/morehouse-college-1867#sthash.G6wjbVCg.dpuf

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/education/morehouse-college