Progress and Achievements of the Colored People / Containing the Story of the Wonderful Advancement of the Colored Americans—the Most Marvelous in the History of Nations—Their Past Accomplishments, Together With Their Present-day Opportunities and a Glimpse Into the Future for Further Developments—the Dawn of a Triumphant Era. A Handbook for Self-improvement Which Leads to Greater Success

by Kelly Miller; Joseph R. Gay

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS.

By independent schools is meant such as are not connected with any public or denominational agency; but are under the direction and control of a general board of trustees. These trustee boards are usually composed of colored men, northern men and southern men. As a rule they are self-perpetuating—that is—the trustees themselves elect new members of the board to fill vacancies such as may occur through death or resignation.

In number and income the independent schools form the most important group of schools. They are non-sectarian in character, and draw support and pupils from all sources and classes of the people. The leading facts concerning this group of schools, according to the recent report of the Bureau of Education are as follows:

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS.
States	Number of Schools	Counted Attendance	Teachers			Income for Current Expenses	Value of Property
			Total	White	Negr.
Total	118	14,851	1,144	249	895	$1,099,724	$12,369,441
Alabama	23	4,887	331	23	308	369,544	4,279,566
Arkansas	2	70	2		2	1,100	3,700
Delaware	2	22	4		4	5,250	18,600
Florida	3	234	24		24	19,158	85,875
Georgia	21	2,654	97	29	68	2,888	493,673
Kentucky	3	177	19	8	11	20,351	529,698
Louisiana	7	671	34		34	10,831	118,037
Maryland	3	38	3		3	1,385	2,750
Mississippi	4	858	58		58	33,618	314,220
Missouri	1	19	6		6	2,837	38,500
North Carolina	9	597	55		55	18,389	120,000
South Carolina	11	1,012	84	3	82	51,235	416,205
Tennessee	3	1,061	78	33	45	103,305	733,058
Texas	4	363	23		23	10,364	42,000
Virginia	11	1,685	256	147	109	321,660	4,414,459
Northern States	11	472	70	6	64	57,309	759,100

UTICA INSTITUTE, UTICA, MISSISSIPPI.
The upper figure shows building in which the school began, the lower, the present main building. The school was founded in 1903 by W. H. Holtzclaw, the present principal. It now has buildings valued at almost $100,000. There are 27 teachers and over 300 pupils. The annual income is about $20,000 and the property is valued at over $160,000.

The number of pupils in attendance was 14,851, of whom 12,273 were elementary, 1,841 secondary, and 737 were collegiate and professional. The secondary courses are offered in twenty of the larger institutions. The collegiate and professional students are in Meharry Medical College, Fisk University and Atlanta University. Of the total attendance reported above, the 72 smaller schools have 4,404 pupils, of whom only 66 are secondary.

The number of teachers and workers in all independent schools was 1,144, of whom 249 were white and 895 were colored; 521 male, 623 female; 558 academic, 222 industrial, 49 agricultural, 315 other workers. The ratio of teachers and workers to pupils indicates that these institutions are fairly well managed. About a fourth of the teachers in the larger schools are white. The smaller schools are practically all taught by colored workers. On the basis of sex, the workers in the larger institutions are about equally divided.

HAMPTON INSTITUTE, HAMPTON, VIRGINIA.
Students at drill. The institution is one of the most widely known schools in the United States, and the pioneer school in industrial education. It has 210 teachers, 762 pupils, and income of almost $300,000 annually, and property valued at approximately $4,250,000.

GEORGE W. HUBBARD HOSPITAL, OF MEHARRY MEDICAL SCHOOL, NASHVILLE, TENN.
One of the best hospitals in Nashville. It is well equipped and has an able staff of physicians. The property value is approximately $75,000.

The schools of this group which have received most liberal support are Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia, and Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama. The large support and remarkable growth of these two schools is due largely to the growing popularity of individual education and also to the personalities of General Armstrong, who founded Hampton, and Dr. Booker T. Washington, who founded Tuskegee. The independent institutions of college grade that have attained a national reputation are Fisk University, Nashville. Tennessee, and Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia. The one independent professional institution of nation-wide reputation is Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee. A number of smaller schools, mostly of the industrial type, have attained noteworthy success. Among these might be mentioned the Daytona School for Girls, Daytona, Florida; Calhoun Colored School, Calhoun, Alabama; Penn School, St. Helena, Island, South Carolina; Snow Hill Institute, Snow Hill, Alabama; Utica Institute, Utica Mississippi, and Okolona Industrial Institute, Okolona, Mississippi. There are numerous other institutions that are doing most successful work. The existence of such institutions becomes doubly significant when the personality of their founders and the opposition they met with are considered. The influence of General Armstrong and his attitude toward education are being more and more felt in the whole educational system of the country. The story of Dr. Washington, who found at Tuskegee a log cabin and left there an industrial town is well described in his illuminating book, “Up from Slavery.” The names of Bumstead and Ware at Atlanta University, and of Gravath at Fisk, are well known. One of the leading lawyers of New York City is the son of the late President Gravath of Fisk. The growth of such institutions as Utica Institute, Snow Hill, Okolona Institute and Daytona School proves the capacity of young colored men and women to acquire training in school and also to acquire the more important qualities of leadership and determination to overcome difficulties. It is said that when William H. Holtzclaw reached Utica, Mississippi, the banks of the town refused to accept his money for deposit, because he was colored. In the thirteen years he has lived there he has succeeded in winning the friendship of the people, the credit of all the banks, and he has built an institution which has an income of nearly $20,000 a year, and property valued at over $160,000. The stories of Miss Bethune, at Daytona, Wallace A. Battle, at Okolona, and W. J. Edwards, at Snow Hill, are no less interesting and inspiring.

MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE, NASHVILLE, TENN.
One of the best medical schools in the country, and one of the two medical schools maintained largely for colored pupils. It was founded in 1876 through gifts from the five Meharry Brothers. It has thirty teachers, five hundred pupils and a property valuation of $175,000.

The names of the more important schools and the States in which they are located are given below: