By Amandeep T.

Education plays the most prominent role in building the foundation of a child’s future. Apart from studies, education helps us to discover ourselves and ultimately make us into responsible citizens.

Following are 17 years that marked important milestones regarding educational opportunities for Black Americans, starting in the mid 1800s.

1837
Richard Humphreys laid the foundation of the first Institute for Colored Youth, which later became Cheyney University.

1854
John Miller Dickey and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson, founded the Ashmun Institute, the first school of higher learning for young black men. In 1866, its name was changed to Lincoln University.

1856
Wilberforce University, the first school of higher learning owned and run by African-Americans, was founded by the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Its president, Daniel A. Payne, became the first African-American university president in the nation.

1869
Howard University founded the first school for black students in the country.

1876
The Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church founded the first black medical school in the U.S, Meharry Medical College.

1881
Spelman College was founded by Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles. It was the first college for black women in the nation.

Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute  was founded by Booker T. Washington, one of the higher leading institutes for African-Americans during its time.

1922
At Howard University, William Leo Hansberry taught the first course on African Civilization.

1944
The United Negro College Fund was founded by Frederick Douglass to support black colleges and black students.

1954
The Supreme Court rules unanimously that segregation in public schools in unconstitutional in the landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

1957
The Little Rock Nine were the first black students to attend the all-white Central High School.

1960
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded, which played an essential role ined the fight against segregation and discrimination.

1962
The University of Mississippi registered its first black student, James Meredith. When he entered the university, he was escorted by the U.S. marshals.

1963
Vivian Malone and James Hood register for classes at the University of Alabama, despite the fact that Governor George Wallace tried to physically block them.

1968
San Francisco State University establishes the first black studies department at a four-year university.

2003
In Grutter v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court upheld the University of Michigan Law School’s affirmative action policy.

2008
The percentage of all 18- to 24-year-old African Americans enrolled in higher education increases to 32.6% from 21.2% in 1988.

2012
President Obama signs an executive order creating the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. The initiative is intended to improve the educational achievement of African Americans and make sure they are given the opportunity to complete high school, college, and embark on a productive career.

Reference link:

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872844.html