The current racial demographics of most Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Huston-Tillotson, lead some to believe that it has always been this way. That Black people founded, administered, and taught at Black schools and HBCUs. While true in some cases, it’s simply not reflective of history. We must remember one thing, that during that time African people were considered ‘property, not people’ by the broader population. However, enslaved African people in the U.S. actively resisted this notion in demonstrative ways. This is evident in all the ways Africans and their descendants pursued higher learning and made historic contributions in all fields against all odds. Although HT’s history, like many HBCUs in the U.S., are rooted in the agendas that discounted the interest of Black communities, Black people fought and lost their lives in the very literal sense to take control of their education and their institutions. During every phase of Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ existence, prominent men and women emerged from these institutions and went on to do great things within their communities. Austin is no different.
The current racial demographics of most Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Huston-Tillotson, lead some to believe that it has always been this way. That Black people founded, administered, and taught at Black schools and HBCUs. While true in some cases, it’s simply not reflective of history.
We must remember one thing, that during that time African people were considered ‘property, not people’ by the broader population. However, enslaved African people in the U.S. actively resisted this notion in demonstrative ways. This is evident in all the ways Africans and their descendants pursued higher learning and made historic contributions in all fields against all odds.
Although HT’s history, like many HBCUs in the U.S., are rooted in the agendas that discounted the interest of Black communities, Black people fought and lost their lives in the very literal sense to take control of their education and their institutions. During every phase of Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ existence, prominent men and women emerged from these institutions and went on to do great things within their communities.
Austin is no different.
One of the most powerful and inspiring quotes I've ever heard in my life comes from when I was reading about Union General, Oliver Otis Howard, who Howard University in Washington, D.C. is named after, went to the former slave-holding South and asked a young black man by the name of Richard Robert Wright what message should he take back to the North about the condition of liberated African people. Richard Robert Wright told him, he said, “Sir, tell them that we are rising.”
I love that story because, for me, it represents the history of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, better known as HBCUs, and the relationship with education of Black people in this nation. Here in Austin, we are fortunate enough to play a pivotal role and a central role in this history. Our current oldest operating institution of higher learning in the city is Huston-Tillotson University.
Many people are surprised to know this comparably small liberal arts co-educational institution located between East 7th and 11th streets in East Austin has made a large impact on the local and global community.
To better understand the importance of HT, as the university is normally referred to here, we must look back at the history of Historically Black Colleges. Today, if you look at HT’s president, faculty, and staff, you will see they mirror the predominantly Black student body. The current racial demographics of most HBCUs, including Huston-Tillotson, lead some to believe that it has always been this way. That Black people founded, administered, and taught at Black schools and HBCUs. While true in some cases, it’s simply not reflective of history.
The majority of HBCUs were founded by white Christian missionaries and other philanthropists hailing mostly from the Union states, or most commonly known as the North. As slavery was drawing to an end and certainly when the U.S. Civil War ended in 1865, more than 4 million African persons and their descendants were liberated from bondage and they embarked upon a mission. Their mission was to be someone and to become citizens of the United States, which they were officially guaranteed in limited ways in 1868 when the U.S. passed the 14th Amendment. This was 92 years following the independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1776.
We must remember one thing, that during that time African people were considered “property, not people” by the broader population. However, enslaved African people in the U.S. actively resisted this notion in demonstrative ways. This is evident in all the ways Africans and their descendants pursued higher learning and made historic contributions in all fields against all odds.
Enslaved African people were systematically denied access to any type of American education. That means they were legally barred from reading, writing, or engaging in any subject in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, or any other language of their enslavers of the West. But they did understand this—if they were to achieve their goals of becoming who they desired to be and who they knew they were in the U.S., they would need access to this Western education. And that's exactly what they set out to do and receive. They demanded a Western education so that they could participate and advocate for themselves.
However, in most cases, mainstream American society, whether in support of race-based enslavement or not, shared the idea that Black people were intellectually incapable of receiving what we call a classical education. This was including many of the Northern Christian missionaries and philanthropists that ventured into the South to establish these institutions.
They saw providing education to formerly enslaved African people as a civilizing mission and, in most cases, prescribed what they deemed to be best without the input from the people they sought to help. Even the most well-intentioned prominent leaders within these communities believed that African people were intellectually inferior to whites. This is evident in the curriculum that was proposed by those intending to do good—an education rooted in moral development and the industrial arts.
Huston-Tillotson University was once two separate institutions—Samuel Huston College and Tillotson College. Both of these schools were similar in history and their foundations. They were both founded by white Chiristian missionaries from Northern states.
Samuel Houston college developed in 1876, created by the Methodist Episcopal Conference and led by George W. Richardson, a white Methodist minister from Minnesota. He set up the original school in Dallas and in 1878 the school was relocated to Austin with the new name of Andrew Normal College. Then, in 1887, Samuel Huston, a white wealthy farmer from Iowa, donated a farm, some land, and $10,000 to the Freedmen's Society, which led to the purchase of a six-acre plot in East Austin.
Then there was Tillotson College. The school has very similar roots being a senior college designed for Black students. It was founded by the American Missionary Society of Congressional Churches, which we now know as the United Church of Christ. The school was founded in 1875 and named after George Jeffrey Tillotson, a white minister from Connecticut. He planned the school, selected the site, and raised $16,000 for its establishment.
Tillotson College had white presidents until 1924 when J.T. Hodges became the school's first Black president. He was then followed by the very notable Mary Elizabeth Branch, who took Tillotson College to very high levels of recognition. Samuel Huston’s college’s, on the other hand, first president was a Black man, Dr. Reuben Shannon Lovinggood. He was sometimes referred to as the “Booker T. Washington of the Southwest.”
Although HT’s history, like many HBCUs in the U.S., are rooted in the agendas that discounted the interest of Black communities, Black people fought and lost their lives in the very literal sense to take control of their education and their institutions. There were many grand debates often linked to Booker T. Washington and W.E.B du Bois on how Black people should be educated in this country—whether we should receive a classical education or a vocational one. However, we have to keep in mind, through all of the debates on what would be the best way to educate Black people, HBCUs then and continue to be a significant part of the American fabric and experience. During every phase of Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ existence, prominent men and women emerged from these institutions and went on to do great things within their communities.
Austin is no different.
Samuel Huston and Tillotson College merged forces in 1952 and the university has continued to make great impacts on this city and this world.
There are too many notable alumni to name from HT, but here are a few:
Dr. Lettie June Harden Brewer. She was one of the first Black students admitted into the University of Texas in 1950.
Dr. Connie Yerwood Connor. She was the first Black physician named to the Texas Department of Health.
Dr. Thomas Delashwah. He was the first Black pharmacist in Austin to open his own drugstore.
Dr. William Charles Akins. He was the first Black principal to integrate Austin public schools in 1973. Charles Akins Senior High School is named in his honor.
Azie Taylor Morton. She was the first and the only Black person to serve as Treasurer of the United States of America, appointed by President Jimmy Carter. During her tenure, all legal tender printed in the US had her signature on it.
And the list continues and it includes many extraordinary-ordinary people. Who haven't achieved national or international acclaim, but they have made a huge impact in the lives of people wherever they have gone.
Here in Austin, they used to say that you can educate Black children from elementary to the graduate school level without leaving your own community. HBCUs are safe and nurturing spaces that work with less resources to provide all students the opportunity to make something of themselves.
I'm here because Huston-TIllotson gave my father an opportunity to supersede his circumstances in Panama and come to the United States on a tennis scholarship. Florida A&M University, an HBCU in Tallahassee, Florida, did the same for me. I played football and received two degrees from there.
Any meaningful advocacy for racial justice will hold the support of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in view. And I'll end with an excerpt from the 1947 “Negro Motorist Green Book” that was soliciting funds in support of Black colleges following World War II, when Black veterans were returing home and searching out an education.
“The educated Negro was once a rarity. His numbers are increasing, year by year, and his contributions to the arts, science and education steadily gain a wider and just recognition for his abilities. From these we all gain regardless of color and as we mutually put a proper unprejudiced estimate on the contribution of all races to the common good. We move surely closer to the goal of living together in harmony.”
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:35–46 ESV)
Jesus assures us that, as Christians, will be held accountable for how we look out for what He calls “the least of these.” Depending on what city you live in, it’s history, and the injustices impacting those neighbors, “the least of these” will look different. But the Word of God still applies. As we have considered the rich history of the oldest collegiate institution of the city of Austin, Huston-Tillotson University, you may be asking the question, “How did I not know any of this? Why did I not know this history existed in the heart of the city of Austin? Why has this been widely forgotten?”
Here’s a little bit of the demographic of this beautiful institution. 40% of the school’s students are the first in their families to go to college. 65% are Black and a third Latino. 73% depend on federal assistance to pay for college. The university expects to help students meet basic needs like food, housing, transportation, or technology. Unlike most universities in the city, Huston-Tillotson impacts a higher percentage of Black and brown communities, a cause they have been for since its inception in 1875.
Huston-Tillotson, or HTU, is a HBCU. This acronym stands for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. They have an important role in the African American community as the first schools that gave Black men and women opportunities to attend higher learning institutions. They were started in people’s homes, in old-school houses, and even church basements. Yes, the bride of Christ, the church, engaged in providing for these students and looked out for them—the least of these.
God intends for you and I to care for the marginalized and those who are forgotten about—much like those churches who cared for and protected HBCUs. It’s evident throughout the Scriptures, God expects us to come alongside the marginalized and lift up the oppressed. As we transition into prayer, I want you to recall the moments God has seen you, sought you out when you felt forgotten.
First, we want to pray for blessing. We pray for God to bless establishments like Huston-Tillotson University who uniquely impact the communities that the world easily forgets. Pray for their flourishing and sustainability, specifically financially. Ask God to not only bless their institution but ask God if you might be that means to that blessing.
Next, pray for the flourishing of both students and faculty at HTU. Pray for the flourishing of quality education of the students who currently attend HTU and those who will be attending in the future. Ask God to encourage the faculty and staff of Huston-Tillotson and strengthen them for continued years of impactful work as they raise up future leaders for tomorrow.
Finally, pray for our churches. Pray for yourself. Pray for us, the people of God, to be the protectors of the poor, defenders for those who have no defense, and laborers of justice. Pray that we would not be content living in a world that privately finances sports arenas while men and women of color lack education opportunities because of resources. Ask God to show you how you and our church can make a difference and care for the least of these.