Howard University: A Legacy of Truth and Service

Howard University, a historically Black university (HBCU) in Washington, D.C., stands as a beacon of education, social justice, and the preservation of human liberty. Chartered by Congress in 1867, the university has evolved from a single-frame building to a comprehensive institution spanning over 89 acres, including the six-story Howard University Hospital. With a diverse student body and faculty, Howard offers an educational experience of exceptional quality, with a particular emphasis on providing opportunities for promising African Americans and other minority students. The university's motto, "Veritas et Utilitas" (Truth and Service), encapsulates its commitment to academic excellence and social responsibility.

Founding and Early Years

Shortly after the end of the American Civil War, members of the First Congregational Society of Washington sought to establish a theological seminary for the education of black clergymen. This project quickly expanded to include a university. The new institution was named for General Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War hero and commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, who influenced Congress to appropriate funds for the school. Howard University was officially chartered on March 2, 1867, and initially consisted of the colleges of liberal arts and medicine. Early funding came from endowment, private benefaction, and tuition.

The founding of Howard University was met with both enthusiasm and criticism. Supporters like the Boston Recorder and the New York Evening Post praised the university's mission to educate youth in the liberal arts and sciences, particularly for the benefit of colored men. However, the university also faced attacks, often fueled by denominational rivalries and racism. Despite these challenges, Howard University persevered, making significant progress in fulfilling its mission.

Academic Divisions and Programs

Howard University comprises numerous academic divisions, including the colleges or schools of arts and sciences; business; communications; dentistry; divinity; education; engineering, architecture, and computer sciences; law; medicine; pharmacy, nursing, and allied health sciences; and social work. The university also houses a graduate school.

The University has long held a commitment to the study of disadvantaged persons in American society and throughout the world with the goal is the elimination of inequities related to race, color, social, economic and political circumstances.

Read also: Tuition and Fees at Howard

Howard offers 143 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees.

The Howard University School of Law

The Howard University School of Law opened in 1869, a time of dramatic change in the United States. There was a great need to train lawyers who would be committed to helping black Americans secure and protect their newly established rights. The law school began as the Howard University Law Department on January 6, 1869, under the leadership of Professor John Mercer Langston. In 1870, Langston was appointed dean. Initially, the LL.B. degree required two years of study. Ten of the two-year students graduated on February 3, 1871, and eight were admitted to practice in the District of Columbia the following day. The school officially extended its graduation requirements from two to three years in 1877-1878.

In the early days, classes were held three nights a week in the homes and offices of the four instructors. Later, arrangements were made for the department to use a room in the Second National Bank. Classes were subsequently held in the Lincoln Hall building until it was destroyed by fire in 1886. The law school then moved to a house purchased by the University at 420 Fifth Street, N.W., which served as its location until 1936, when it moved to the main campus.

The Howard University School of Law has produced more than 4,000 social engineers including the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, noted legislators, civil rights attorneys, mayors and public officials across the United States. It is the No. 1 law school for African Americans ranked by preLaw magazine.

The objective of the School of Law is to produce superior professionals, capable of achieving positions of leadership in law, business, government, education, and public service.

In 1931, the School of Law was accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and granted membership in the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). Today, it confers an average of 185 Jurist Doctorate and Master of Law degrees annually to students from the United States and countries in South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. The faculty comprises approximately 50 full-time and adjunct professors.

Department of History

Howard University’s legacy is intrinsically linked to the Department of History. Throughout its 152 years, the institution has relied on the department to collect, preserve, and write the University’s history, including for the sesquicentennial commemoration. Rayford W. Logan and Michael R. Winston, have written books on the history of the University and the department. It is the historians trained in the department who now serve as gatekeepers of Moorland-Spingarn-the most significant archive of African American history on earth.

No other Department in the country is as strong in the history of Slavery as Howard University, with 6 historians who specialize in the field, who have published more than twenty books collectively. Its African Diaspora and Public History concentrations further underscore its strengths. Howard’s Department of History was not only a pioneer in establishing the field of African history, but one of its own-- Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) Joseph E. Harris-- created the African Diaspora field. Time has only made the department much stronger in this area, with current scholars who specialize in the history of Africa, Brazil, Caribbean, Latin America, and the black Pacific.

Its Public History program has produced more black public historians than any other institution in the world. Employers understand that if they are seeking to employ a black public historian, Howard University’s Department of History is the place to find them. Others direct smaller African American history museums throughout the nation, including the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Evansville African American History Museum.

Howard University and the Civil Rights Movement

Howard University played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement. Alain Locke, chair of the Department of Philosophy, authored The New Negro (1925), which helped usher in the Harlem Renaissance. Ralph Bunche, the first Nobel Peace Prize winner of African descent, served as chair of the Department of Political Science.

Beginning in 1942, Howard University students pioneered the "stool-sitting" technique of occupying stools at a local cafeteria that denied service to African Americans. This tactic was to play a prominent role in the later Civil Rights Movement. By January 1943, students had begun to organize regular sit-ins and pickets around Washington, D.C., at cigar stores and cafeterias that refused to serve them because of their race. Stokely Carmichael, a student in the Department of Philosophy and the Howard University School of Divinity, coined the term "Black Power." Historian Rayford Logan also served as chair of the Department of History.

Campus and Resources

The 256-acre campus, often referred to as "The Mecca," is located in northwest Washington, D.C. Major improvements, additions, and changes occurred at the school in the aftermath of World War I.

The University's library system contains more than 1.8 million volumes, including the Channing Pollock Collection. The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) is recognized as one of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world.

Howard University is home to the commercial radio station WHUR-FM 96.3, also known as Howard University Radio. A student-run station, WHBC, operates on an HD Radio sub-channel of WHUR-FM. HUR Voices can be heard on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Howard is also home to the public television station WHUT-TV, located on campus next to WHUR-FM.

Howard's most prominent research building is the Interdisciplinary Research Building (IRB). Opened in 2016, the multi-story, 81,670 square foot, state-of-the-art research facility was completed for $70 million.

The Beltsville Center for Climate System Observation (BCCSO) is a NASA University Research Center at the Beltsville, Maryland campus of Howard University. Founded in 1993, The Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center's (RBC) mission is to serve as the hub and catalyst for enhancing international engagement for the benefit of the Howard University community. Howard University is the publisher of The Journal of Negro Education, which began publication in 1932.

On 2 December 1907, Andrew Carnegie granted Howard University $50,000 to establish its first library. The Harriet Tubman Quadrangle - "The Quad" - consists of five halls housing approximately 640 freshmen (women only).

Student Life and Traditions

Howard University offers a vibrant student life with many academic and social Greek letter organizations on campus. Howard Homecoming week is the most prominent and richest cultural tradition of the institution. Over 100,000 alumni, students, celebrity guests, and visitors attend the many events and attractions affiliated with the week. Traditional homecoming events include the Homecoming Football Game and Tailgate, Pep Rally, Coronation Ball, Greek Step-Show (Howard NPHC Greeks), and Fashion Show.

Springfest is an annual tradition created by the Undergraduate Student Association (UGSA) to celebrate the arrival of spring. Springfest events traditionally include the Fashion Show, Talent Show, Vendor Fair, Poetry Showcase, Beauty Conference, Charity Basketball Game, and a major community service event. The Bison Ball and Excellence Awards is an annual black tie gala hosted by the Howard University Student Association (HUSA). Resfest week is a Howard tradition that involves freshmen living in residence halls on campus competing in several organized competitions for campus bragging rights.

Notable Alumni

Distinguished alumni of Howard University include a vice president of the United States, several United States diplomats and United States governors, a United States Ambassador to the United Nations, foreign royals, seven foreign heads of state, 11 members of United States Congress, a Supreme Court Justice, directors and executives of Fortune 500 companies, Academy Award- and Emmy Award-winning actors, Grammy Award-winning songwriters and producers, two US Army generals, a US Air Force general and Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and Nobel laureates including Nobel Prize for Literature winner Toni Morrison.

Additional alumni include civil rights activists and pioneers in the Civil Rights Movement, a United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, a United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, a United States Secretary of Agriculture, a United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, a United States Secretary of the Army, a United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce, 12 Mayors of American cities, and three State Attorneys General.

Howard University has also produced many firsts, including Roger Arliner Young who became the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in zoology, Benjamin O. Davis Sr. the first African-American US Army general, Frederic E. Davison the first African-American US Army Major General and the first to command a US Army Infantry Division, Johnson O. Akinleye, 12th Chancellor of North Carolina Central University, Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice, and Edward W. Brooke III who became the first African-American elected to the US Senate, among others.

Howard University: "The Mecca"

Howard University is often referred to as "The Mecca," a term that signifies its importance as a center of Black thought and culture. The earliest documented reference to "The Mecca" is found in the Feb. 26, 1909, edition of the Howard University Journal, a student-run publication. In an article, J.A. Mitchell, a student, referred to Howard as a potential Mecca for young Black students.

Over the years, “The Mecca” has been used in different ways but is most often meant to preserve Howard’s reputation as a beacon of Black thought.

Challenges and Controversies

Throughout its history, Howard University has faced numerous challenges and controversies. The Great Depression years of the 1930s brought hardship to campus. In 1989, Howard gained national attention when students protested the appointment of then-Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater as a new member of the university's board of trustees. In more recent years, the university has faced scrutiny over its management and financial practices. In 2018, nearly 1,000 students held a sit-in demanding injunction over the administration's use of funding, after a Medium post revealed that six university employees had been fired for "double dipping" financial aid and tuition remission.

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