Excerpt from the Book
Although the author is educated as a mathematician, his interest in African and African American history was awakened in 1963 when he saw a newsreel depicting-to his surprise-modern skyscrapers in Africa, marking the awakening of the ancient civilizations in Mali and Timbuktu. Cheikh Diop's book African Origin of Civilization served as the bridge to modern scholarship. The author is well aware of the old African proverb, "Until the lion writes his own story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." The works of Franklin, Vincent, and Gates brought the author's interest full circle and current. The author's interest in Southern University began while he was in junior high school, when Dr. J. S. Clark came home to visit during revival services at the Galilee Baptist Church in the Heflin-Dubberly community. Since his freshman year at Southern University, the author has maintained a keen interest in the university. Before he returned to the university as a mathematics professor in 1969, he served as president of the Webster Parish Chapter of the Southern University Alumni Federation. He also kept up his interest in the Jaguar football program. His keen knowledge of and expertise on Jaguar football led him to become the Jaguar football historian.
Since time immemorial, the privileged class has used persons to do their work, often without paying for their services. The system came to be known as the plantation or slave system. Early in history, the race of the individuals was not a factor in this system. The vast northern hemisphere provided opportunity for profit-making. As a result, the plantation system led to avaricious adventures. The dark skin of the Africans was easily recognizable. Since the dawn of history, many of the greatest minds in history have been men of color. In order to establish the plantation culture in the United States and Western Civilization, a false system of disavowal of the humanity of Black people was established. "Race scientists" associated blackness with inferiority of both mind and body; they asserted that this condition might not be unchangeable by the laws of nature.
Over time, historians made a false positive correlation between Black inferiority and the western hemisphere's plantation system, thereby allowing slavery to become more stringent in the United States than other countries. The fight for freedom for Black people began in 1619, when the first shipload arrived on the shores of the New World. Over a period of almost two and one-half centuries-247 years-many fought this caste system, including both Blacks and Whites, until 1865 at the end of the Civil War. Slavery, by its existence, is evil. It is a calamity for any group of people to forget its history, and it is most dangerous not to know it.
Having been denied the opportunity to learn to read and write during their bondage experience, the newly freed men and their children possessed a strong desire to learn these skills. Therefore, they had a strong desire to develop a state system of free public education. When the opportunities became available during Reconstruction, free public education was one of their main goals. It was not until 1880-fifteen years after the end of the Civil War-that Louisiana established Southern University in the city of New Orleans for "persons of color." As there were no feeder high schools in New Orleans, Southern University did what was necessary to do to get students in sufficient numbers for its existence. Initially, third and fourth grades students were allowed to enroll. As the students progressed over a period of time, the university was able to drop the lower grades.
Near the end of the nineteenth century, Southern University became the center of Black life in Louisiana-a position it continues to hold today, albeit at a lesser level. By becoming a state land-grant institution in 1890, the university became eligible to receive federal funds to supplement its annual $10,000 state appropriations. After the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896, all southern states began retrenchment of their commitment in their constitutions for equality for all, regardless of color or race. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the concept of "separate but equal"-more precisely, "separate and unequal"-became entrenched in southern society.
In an attempt to provide more accessibility for the Black teachers, the Louisiana State Legislature decided that, rather than spend funds to build a new school that would be more accessible to the teachers, it would relocate Southern University to a more central location within the state. In 1913, the Legislature authorized the closure of Southern University in New Orleans. After being rejected by several possible locations because White citizens did not want a "Negro school" near their locations, the Kernan Plantation, near Scott's Bluff in East Baton Rouge Parish, was accepted. This plantation, five miles from Baton Rouge, has the mighty Mississippi River as its Western boundary, the Y. & M. V. Railroad as its eastern boundary, and Devil Swamp just a few yards to the north.
On March 9, 1914, the "New" Southern University opened on Scott's Bluff, with Dr. J. S. Clark as president, nine faculty, and forty-seven students. Under Dr. Clark's leadership, Southern University developed an identity of honesty, fairness, and family while looking out for helping others. Through Dr. Clark's personal skills, intellect, and charm, he developed one of the most beautiful and functional campuses in the South for the education of Black people. Early in his career (1918), President Clark allowed intramural football to transition into that of varsity caliber. Over time, the football program would become one of the great powerhouses among all Black college programs. When President Clark retired in 1938, Southern University had an enrollment of almost 900 students.
In 1938, Dr. Felton G. Clark succeeded his father as president of Southern University. He was eminently qualified for the position as he held a Ph.D. degree in college administration from Columbia University. During his thirty years as president, Southern gained national prominence and became the largest predominantly Black university (i.e., HBCU) in the nation. Many of its graduates became better qualified to enter medical, dental, and graduate schools, and its graduates were able to compete at the highest academic levels by earning Ph.D. degrees from some of the best colleges and universities in the nation.
Among the many Southernites who achieved this upward mobility, two examples are worth noting here. First, James A. Chaffers, a native of Ruston, Louisiana, and a graduate of the Southern University School of Architecture, attended graduate school at the University of Michigan and was the first person in the United States to receive the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in architecture. Second, Roosevelt Peoples (one of the author's students), a native of Collinston, Louisiana, who received a B.S. degree in physics from Southern University. Due to his outstanding scholarship, this summa cum laude graduate received a Ford Foundation Fellowship to study physics at MIT, earning his Ph.D. degree. After graduating, he joined the scientific group at Bell Laboratories, where he made outstanding advances in his field. Unfortunately, he passed away in the prime of his life.
As with many great institutions, Southern University experienced significant cataclysms and disturbances as fundamental sociopolitical and socioeconomic changes occurred in America in general. The first hint of disturbance on campus occurred in 1960 as a result of the sit-in movements that swept through the South like wildfire. President Felton G. Clark was torn between two opposing forces: satisfying his superior-an all White-State Board of Education or fulfilling the desire of students to change society in the interest of gaining full citizenship rights. As President Lincoln did during the Civil War, Dr. Clark kept the university alive for future generations.
Student protests returned to Southern University in the fall of 1972 during the tenure of President Dr. George L. Netterville. During the confrontation, members of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office gunned down two students. The Student Union on campus is named in their honor. Consequently, the federal government sued the State of Louisiana-and other southern states-for operating a racially segregated system of higher education. The State of Louisiana and the federal government agreed to a Consent Decree that the two Black state institutions-namely, Southern University and A&M College and Grambling State University-would be enhanced. Southern received $64,000,000 to upgrade its physical plant, construct new buildings, and add new programs. Instead of merging Southern University with Louisiana State University, Southern's academic program was enhanced. One of the new programs added was the School of Nursing, which is today rated as the best school of nursing in the state. The top three programs rated by the university are the College of Engineering, the College of Business, and the College of Nursing.
Thus, out of adversity there emerged a greater, more comprehensive Southern University, equipped for the better preparation of Black youth for a rapidly changing, increasingly technologically advanced society. The result was a greatly enhanced positive outlook for the future.
