Nov. 20, 1866

Ten members of the First Congregational Society of Washington, D.C., met in the home of Deacon Henry Brewer. They decided to create a seminary to train Black clergymen. Within a year, the institution, which later became known as Howard University, embraced a broader mission and became an educational hub for the nearly 4 million freed from slavery. 

In 1867, the institution welcomed its first students, educating Black doctors, teachers and pastors. Charles Hamilton Houston, a vice dean at the Howard University School of Law, brought cases to fight segregation in higher education. He mentored Howard alum, Thurgood Marshall, who successfully argued the Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended segregation in public schools.

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On this day in 1955

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On this day in 1906

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On this day in 1866

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
November 20, 2023

<h1>On this day in 1866</h1> <p class="byline">by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today <br />November 20, 2023</p> <br /> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/06130831/OnThisDay-FinalLogo_page-banner-2-1200x151.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1089732" /></figure> <h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nov-20-1866"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">Nov. 20, 1866</mark></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/06083839/Nov20-Howard-Univerrsity.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1106537" /></figure> <p>Ten members of the First Congregational Society of Washington, D.C., <a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/november-20/">met</a> in the home of Deacon Henry Brewer. They decided to create a seminary to train Black clergymen. Within a year, the institution, which later became known as Howard University, embraced a broader mission and became an educational hub for the nearly 4 million freed from slavery. </p> <p>In 1867, the institution welcomed its first students, educating Black doctors, teachers and pastors. Charles Hamilton Houston, a vice dean at the Howard University School of Law, brought cases to fight segregation in higher education. He mentored Howard alum, Thurgood Marshall, who successfully argued the Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended segregation in public schools.</p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org/2023/11/20/on-this-day-in-1866-meeting-leading-to-creation-of-howard-university-held/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org&quot;&gt;Mississippi Today&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.&lt;img src=&quot;https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/06074517/MT_icon-logo-favicon-1-200x200.png&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1107172&amp;amp;ga4=G-VSX4B701MS&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mississippitoday.org/2023/11/20/on-this-day-in-1866-meeting-leading-to-creation-of-howard-university-held/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mississippitoday.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;</p> Copy to Clipboard

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