-AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR | EDUCATOR | RESEARCHER-
VIDA L. AVERY, PHD
KEY PLAYERS
“It was springtime in Atlanta, the beginning of April. The harsh climate and chill of winter had retreated, and the temperature had grown warmer. Seeds planted in previous seasons now produced fruits and blossoming flowers bore new life—a new beginning.
April 1, 1929 marked a beginning and new life of a different kind.”
- Introduction, A Fateful Hour Creating the Atlanta University System
The Atlanta University System, later the Atlanta University Center, would not have come into existence without the combined efforts of philanthropists, the General Education Board-sponsored by John D. Rockefeller Sr., John Hope, and others working together. Listed on this page are just a few of the individuals who played a role in the affiliation of Atlanta University, Morehouse College and Spelman College in 1929.
JOHN HOPE
Dr. John Hope was the first black president of both Atlanta University and Morehouse College. In 1906, he succeeded Dr. George Sale as president of Atlanta Baptist College. On July 1, 1929, he succeeded Dr. Myron Adams as president of Atlanta University. If not for him, the Atlanta University Center might not be in existance today! Chapter 3 - John Hope: Hallmark of the Truest Greatness.
MYRON WINSLOW ADAMS
Dr. Myron W. Adams began his affiliation with Atlanta University in 1889 as a Professor of Greek. Due to the illness of President Edward Ware, Adams was given the role as acting president in 1919. However, he was not formally elected to the office until 1923. During his term, high school level classes were discontinues and coursework in business was added. Chapter 5 - Creating the Atlanta University System.
FLORENCE M. READ
Florence Matilda Read was president of Spelman College from 1927-1953. Prior to that, she was acting president of Atlanta University from 1936-1937. Chapter 5 - Creating the Atlanta University System.
GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD (GEB) OFFICIALS
John D. Rockefeller Sr. gave $1 million to create the GEB to promote education at all levels everywhere in the United States, especially for black higher education. At the time of its establishment, the members included William H. Baldwin Jr., Jabez L. M. Curry, Frederick Gates, Daniel C. Gilman, Morris K. Jesup, Robert C. Ogden, Walter H. Page, George Foster Peabody, and Albert Shaw. Later, members included Jackson Davis (photo: first from left) who was a field agent and Wallace Buttrick (photo: third from left) who was the secretary and later president. Chapter 2 - Mythical Phoenix and the Ashes it Spreads.
WALLACE BUTTRICK
Wallace Buttrick began his association with Rockefeller philanthropy in 1903, when he was chosen as the first Secretary and Executive Officer of the General Education Board (GEB), and later became its president in 1917. In this position Buttrick led the GEB in a variety of successful campaigns, including the improvement of black education and the development of secondary schools in the Southern states. Chapter 5 - Creating the Atlanta University System.
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER SR.
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. was the guiding force behind the creation and development of the Standard Oil Company, which grew to dominate the oil industry and became one of the first big trusts in the United States, which engendered much controversy and opposition regarding its business practices and form of organization. Rockefeller also was one of the first major philanthropists in the U.S., giving donations to insitutions of higher education, particularly Spelman College and other black institutions. Chapter 2 - Mythical Phoenix and the Ashes It Spreads.
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER JR.
John Davison Rockefeller Jr. was the son of John D. Rockefeller Sr. and was a philanthropist who gave more than $537 million to educational, religious, cultural, medical, and other charitable projects. He was very instrumental, though behind the scenes, in the affiliation of the Atlanta institutions. Chapter 5 - Creating the Atlanta University System.
ANDREW CARNEGIE
Andrew Carnegie was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry, then became a major philanthropist. He was one of the first philanthropists to give funds to Morehouse College under John Hope’s presidential administration. Chapter 3 – John Hope: Hallmark of the Truest Greatness.
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
Booker Taliaferro Washington, a founding father of black education in the United States, was known as the “one Negro educator capable of tapping the sources of Northern philanthropists.” He cultivated relationships with white philanthropists unlike any other black at the time and was the one who introduced Andrew Carnegie to John Hope. Chapter 3 - John Hope: Hallmark of the Truest Greatness.
JAMES WELDON JOHNSON
James Weldon Johnson graduated from Atlanta University and was the first black to pass the bar in Florida. Although he is mostly known for his prose and poetry, particularly “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (Negro National Anthem), he was also one of Atlanta University’s Board of Trustees at the time of the affiliation. Chapter 5 – Creating The Atlanta University System.
Most pictures from Rockefeller Archive Center and AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library , Digital Collection.
TREVOR ARNETT
Trevor Arnett was, at one time, the secretary and president of the General Education Board. He was also the president of Spelman College’s Board of Trustees at the time of the affiliation and instrumental in developing the idea to create a joint library for the Atlanta institutions to use after the affiliation (Trevor Arnett Library). Chapter 6 - Germinating a Black Intelligentsia.