Moving the Legacy Philander Smith College celebrates 140 years of achievement and progress. From Freed to Educated THE TUMULTUOUS RECONSTRUCTION ERA following the ending of the Civil War in 1965 saw a nation grappling with trying to rebuild the South in the aftermath of war. A key question during this transition was what to do with 4 million newly freed slaves now residing in the South? Congress attempted to find an answer to this issue in the establishment of the U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands (also known as The Freedmen’s Bureau). Charged with the role of helping freed slaves by providing housing, land, medical aid and access to education, the Freedmen’s Bureau led to the founding of most Historically Black College’s and Universities in the country, including Howard University in Washington, D.C. and Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. The Freedman’s Bureau had an impact on Arkansas when it ventured to Little Rock to found Walden Seminary on November 7, 1877. The seminary, whose purpose was to educate black ministers, was located in the Wesley Chapel Methodist Church at 8th Street and Broadway, was the forerunner to what today is known as Philander Smith College. Walden Seminary – renamed in 1882 after a donation from Adeline Smith, widow of Philander Smith –was chartered as a four-year college in 1883 and conferred its first baccalaureate degree in 1888. In its early history, Philander Smith College not only served as an institution of higher education, but it also provided elementary and secondary education to young black children throughout the early 1900s. In its “golden age” (approx. 1936 – 1959), Philander Smith College saw its endowment grow from $200 to over $500,000. In addition to financial growth, the institution acquired land, constructed new buildings and dormitories, opened a flight instruction and maintenance program and a science program. In 1944, the college again made history by becoming a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), an organization touted as one of the largest fundraising organizations in the country existing to provide educational access for minority students. Today Philander Smith remains the only Arkansas HBCU affiliated with the UNCF.
Budlong Hall
A group of Philander Smith College students on the steps of Budlong Hall. ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES 32
SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
ARKANSAS TIMES
Secretaries of the Freedmen’s Aid Society, 1866-1912 Standing: W.P. Thirkield and M.C.B. Mason. Seated: J.C. Hartzell, J.M. Walden, R.S. Rust and J.W. Hamilton
PSC Football Team, (circa 1920’s - 1940’s)