John Hope (educator)
John Hope | |
|---|---|
Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, political activist |
| Spouse | Lugenia D. Burns |
| Parent(s) | James Hope, Mary Frances Taylor |
John Hope (June 2, 1868 – February 22, 1936), born in
Determined to finish his education after having had to leave school to help support his family after his father's death, Hope went North: graduating from
Hope was active in national civil rights organizations, including the Niagara Movement, the succeeding
Early life and education
John Hope was born in 1868 in
In 1831, the senior Hope moved south to Augusta, Georgia, where he became a successful businessman. He later formed a relationship with Mary Frances Taylor. State law prohibited interracial marriage, but they lived openly as a couple to the end of his life and had a family.[1] Of majority European ancestry, their son John Hope was European in appearance and could have passed for white. But, he identified with the African American community and devoted his life to its education and advancement in the postwar segregated South.
Hope was eight when his father died, and his family struggled financially; the executors failed to carry out his father's plans for support of him and his mother. The youth left school after eighth grade to work, but five years later John Hope was determined to get educated. He managed to go north for his education, graduating from Worcester Academy in 1890. He went on to Brown University, graduating in 1894. Hope was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[1]
Career and marriage
John Hope returned to the South and began teaching at
A few years after Hope got established, on December 29, 1897 he married the former Lugenia D. Burns of Nashville.[2] They had children. Lugenia Burns Hope became a well-known social reformer.[2]
In 1898, Hope became a professor of
Hope joined
Hope also became active in the
Hope continued as president of Morehouse College until his death in 1936. In 1928, Morehouse and Spelman College, a college for women, became affiliated with Atlanta University, also a historically Black college. In 1929 Hope was selected as Atlanta University's first African-American president. He concentrated on building the university's graduate studies to ensure high-achieving Black scholars a place in academia. He inspired generations of scholars and activists.[1] During his presidency, Atlanta University launched a graduate school, established their Department of Fine Arts, and opened the Trevor Arnett Library.[3]
Legacy and honors
- In 1932, Hope received an LL.D. from Bates College.
- In 1936, he was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP.[4]
- In 1944, the Liberty ship SS John Hope was named for him.[5]
- In 1950 Chicago radio station WMAQ produced the episode "John Hope, Educator" in the anthology program Destination Freedom (written by scriptwriter Richard Durham) about his life and career.[6]
- John Hope College Preparatory High School, located at 5515 S. Lowe, in the Englewood neighborhood in Chicago was named for him.
- Hope-Hill Elementary School, located at 112 Boulevard, N.E., in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood in Atlanta was named for him.
- Hope was invited as the Convention Speaker for Alpha Phi Alpha's Silver Anniversary convention in Nashville, Tennessee.[7]
- The Science Hall at Morehouse College was re-named John Hope Hall.[8]
- Worcester Academy created the John Hope Fellowship for young educators of color in 2007
- Camp John Hope in Marshallville, Georgia is also named for John Hope.
- Hope was a close friend and served as a mentor of Alonzo G. Morón, who went on to become the president of Hampton University[9]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Leroy Davis, "John Hope" Archived 2012-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, 2003/2014, New Georgia Encyclopedia, accessed 30 May 2009
- ^ Brooklyn, New York: Who's Who in Colored America. p. 218.
- ^ "Collection: John Hope records | Archives Research Center". findingaids.auctr.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
- ^ "NAACP Spingarn Medal Winners". Archived from the original on August 2, 2014.
- ^ "A Landmark Liberty Ship | MARAD". www.maritime.dot.gov. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
- ISBN 978-0252081392.
- ASIN B000ESQ14W.
- ISBN 9781439610695. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-252-03110-6.
External links
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