Newswise — Berea College, in Berea, Ky., was the first interracial and co-educational college in the South; is the alma mater of Black History Week founder Carter G. Woodson; and a place where Martin Luther King Jr. had been scheduled to speak on March 31, 1968, just five days before he was assassinated on April 4. He cancelled the appearance for more pressing civil rights organizing work in Washington D.C. and ultimately in Memphis to support striking garbage workers there.
In a letter to the College, King expressed his regret at having to cancel. "Please consider this a postponement. Feel free to invite me at a later date. I have always admired the great work and rich history of Berea College and have longed to visit it."
Here's why.
Founded in 1855 by abolitionists, Berea College has a storied early history that includes violent struggles to get started, four decades of success as an interracial college and community before the Kentucky Legislature put a stop to it in 1904, in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Day Law, as it became known, prohibited the education of white and black students together in the state of Kentucky.
African American graduates of Berea between 1866-1904 include Woodson, Julia Britton Hooks, grandmother of retired NAACP director Benjamin Hooks and James Bond, grandfather of Georgia legislator and civil rights activist Julian Bond. Berea resumed admitting African American students in 1950, when the Day Law was amended.
Today, Berea continues its commitment to providing a quality liberal arts education to students of high ability but with limited financial resources of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, admitting only students whose family income is below a certain level. The College charges no tuition and all students work at least 10 hours to earn money for room and board, books and other expenses. Berea's primary service area is southern Appalachia, but students also come from throughout the U.S. and 65 differerent countries each year. Currently, Berea's African American enrollment is around 20%, well above the national average for private liberal arts colleges and has been cited as a top school for African Americans.
Berea faculty Andrew Baskin, associated professor of African and African American Studies and Dr. Dwayne Mack, Carter G. Woodson Chair in Negro History, are both available to comment on the American Civil Rights Movement and Berea College's unique place in African American and American history. Publication quality photos and broadcast quality video available on request.
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