The first of these was founded at Hampton, Va., in 1891, by Miss Alice M. Bacon, who was at that time connected with Hampton Institute, though her hospital was independent and bore the name of “Dixie.” In the same year the “MacVicar Hospital,” was established as a feature of Spelman Seminary in Atlanta, and the “Provident Hospital” was instituted in Chicago. Three years later, in 1894, the “Freedmen’s Hospital” was started in Washington and the “Lamar Hospital” in Augusta, Ga. Then, in 1895, came the “Frederick Douglass” in Philadelphia; in 1896, the “Sarah Goodrich” in New Orleans; and in 1897, the “Hospital and Training School for Nurses” in Charleston. Others have followed, one by one, in other important centres; Charlotte, Richmond, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville, Nashville, Knoxville, Louisville, Raleigh, Tuskegee, Durham, Atlanta and elsewhere. In all of these hospitals the training school for nurses is a conspicuous feature, and the nurses who receive this training show very great efficiency, finding employment largely among the white people, who frequently prefer them to white nurses with similar training. Some of these institutions have been built up by the sheer enterprise of individual colored physicians. A notable example of this is “St. Luke’s Hospital” at Columbia, founded and maintained in the face of many discouragements by Dr. Matilda A. Evans, who received her education at Schofield Institute, Oberlin College, and the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Hospitals of this type are held in high esteem by the communities in which they are located, and are centers of beneficence for the country around.
THE THREE IMPORTANT TYPES OF EDUCATION.
In the development of Negro education the various types or kinds of education have received much discussion and the conflicting claims of certain type of education have been ably presented by their advocates. Space does not admit of a full discussion of the conflict which has raged between the so-called “higher education” and the so called “industrial education.” The most notable colored men who have taken sides on this question during the past 25 years have been Dean Kelly Miller and Dr. W. E. Dubois as advocate of the higher education and Dr. Booker T. Washington, and Dr. R. R. Moton, as advocate of industrial education. The result of the various discussions has been that the whole nation has been convinced that there is, and can be no real conflict between higher education for the Negro and industrial education. The conviction is now very general that the Negro needs and should have every type of instruction. The type of education most needed for the full development are college education, professional education and industrial education.
College Education.—No type of education has meant more to the colored people than college education. There are however very few institutions of college grade among colored schools. Many institutions are called colleges, but they have not been able to do real college work. According to the recent report of the Bureau of Education, only 33 of the private and State schools for colored people are doing work of college grade. These institutions are classified into three groups. The following table presents the facts for these institutions:
| Characterization and Name of College. | Support. | College Pupils. | Professional. | Other Pupils. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Colleges | 1,952 | 1,093 | 10,089 | |
| “Colleges” | 722 | 972 | 717 | |
| Fisk University | Independent | 188 | 317 | |
| Howard University | Federal | 534 | 467 | 400 |
| Meharry Medical School | Independent | 505 | ||
| “Secondary and College” | 675 | 22 | 4,789 | |
| Atlanta University | Independent | 44 | 542 | |
| Benedict College | Baptist | 45 | 462 | |
| Bishop College | „ | 42 | 329 | |
| Claflin College | Methodist | 26 | 788 | |
| Knoxville College | United Presbyterian | 30 | 207 | |
| Lincoln University | Presbyterian | 130 | 86 | |
| Morehouse College | Baptist | 49 | 246 | |
| Morgan College | Methodist | 26 | 55 | |
| Shaw University | Baptist | 24 | 22 | 175 |
| Talladega College | Congregational | 45 | 516 | |
| Tougaloo University | „ | 20 | 424 | |
| Wilberforce University | A. M. E. | 65 | 128 | |
| Wilberforce C. N. & I. Department | State | 40 | 191 | |
| Wiley College | Methodist | 38 | 346 | |
| Virginia Union University | Baptist | 51 | 204 | |
| “College Subjects” | 246 | 4,583 | ||
| Arkansas Baptist College | Baptist | 13 | 300 | |
| Biddle University | Presbyterian | 22 | 185 | |
| Clark University | Methodist | 32 | 272 | |
| Florida A. & M. College | Land-grant | 12 | 333 | |
| Lane College | C. M. E. | 10 | 208 | |
| Livingston College | A. M. E. Z. | 17 | 174 | |
| Morris Brown University | A. M. E. | 10 | 498 | |
| New Orleans College | Methodist | 9 | 423 | |
| Paine College | M. E. South | 14 | 188 | |
| Paul Quinn College | A. M. E. | 13 | 273 | |
| Philander Smith College | Methodist | 39 | 400 | |
| Rust College | „ | 16 | 320 | |
| Sam Houston College | „ | 18 | 359 | |
| Straight University | Congregational | 11 | 567 | |
| Tillotson College | „ | 18 | 215 |
Of the 12762 pupils in total attendance on these institutions, only 1,643 are studying college subjects, and 995 are in professional classes. The remaining 10,125 pupils are in elementary and secondary grades.
In reply to a questionnaire sent to all the Northern colleges, 66 reported a total of 430 Negro students of college grade. Of these 309 were in college proper, 86 were in medical courses, including dental and pharmaceutical; 10 were in theological schools; 18 in law; and 7 in veterinary medicine. It is probable that the total number of students in northern institutions is at least 500.
Only three institutions, Howard University, Fisk University, and Meharry Medical College, have a student body, a teaching force and equipment and an income sufficient to warrant the characterization of “college.” Nearly half of the college students and practically all of the professional students are in these institutions.
Professional Education.—The standards of professional training are so involved with the development of colleges that for some time to come the professional training of colored people must be carried on largely in connection with college and secondary work. The scarcity of good teachers, the great need for increased library and laboratory facilities, and the small enrollments in all institutions of higher learning for colored people, render the chances of the development of strong professional schools better where they are affiliated with schools of collegiate or university grade.
At present, less than ten institutions for colored people offer professional courses with teaching force and equipment separate from their academic departments. The majority of these are affiliated with colleges. Howard University has a medical, a law, and a theological department, with considerable equipment and a full quota of students in each department. Meharry Medical College has a large student body and a valuable plant. The theological department of Lincoln University, Lincoln, Pa., is fairly well equipped; but the number of pupils is small. Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga., is a well endowed institution owned by the Methodist Episcopal denomination. The teaching force and equipment are adequate, but the number of students is not large. Bishop Payne Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal denomination, Petersburg, Va., has a scholarly faculty, but a small number of students. Tuskegee Institute maintains a department for the instruction of rural ministers. The instruction is effective and practical. Talladega College provides a separate building for the Theological Seminary, and its teaching force is separate; but the number of students is small. Payne Theological Seminary, of Wilberforce University, is incorporated independently and its work is done by its own teachers and its own building.