Buell Gordon Gallagher (1904-1978) served as president of

Talladega College Talladega College is a private historically black college in Talladega, Alabama. It is Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, ...

from 1933 to 1943 and as the seventh president of the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

between 1953 and 1969. He was an ordained

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Minister and a pioneer in race relations.

Early life and education

The Rev. Dr. Gallagher was born in Rankin, Illinois to Elmer and Elma Mryel (Poole) Gallagher. He received his bachelor's degree at Carleton College in 1925, and divinity degree at Union Theological Seminary in 1929, followed by a year of studies at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

.Moralistic College Chief; Buell Gordon Gallagher
William Borders, The New York Times, May 7, 1969

Career

Gallagher wrote to W. E. B. DuBois in 1931 seeking advice on jobs where he could do "interracial work following graduation from theological seminary." DuBois responded "a man with a church in a small town, who could bring into that church white and black, natives and foreigners, employers and employees, would in the end be doing an inter-racial job far beyond any organization. I regret to say, however, with the present attitude of white Christians, I do not anticipate that the young man would find such a job easy."A Closer Look: Buell Gordon Gallagher
Litbirthdays, February 4, 2015, A copy of Dubois' letter is posted there. In 1933, at the age of 29 he was appointed president of

, and authored research papers on the subject of civil rights and race relations in higher education. At the time, he was believed to be the youngest college president in the country. He was appointed to the job with the condition that he would pursue a doctorate during his tenure. He enrolled at Columbia University and wrote a thesis under the supervision of William H. Kilpatrick on the role of historically-black colleges in undermining racial segregation. His dissertation was revised and published as ''American Caste and the Negro College'' in 1938. He In 1944, he was hired as an instructor of Christian ethics at the

Pacific School of Religion The Pacific School of Religion (PSR) is a private Protestant seminary in Berkeley, California. It maintains covenantal relationships with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the Disciples of Christ, ensuring the schoo ...

, and briefly served as an Assistant Commissioner of Education under President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. Gallagher's 1946 book ''Color and Conscience'' was among the most critically antiracist books written by any white person in the 1940s. It interrogated Jim Crow and other forms of racism in light of the history of slavery and growing anti-colonial movements. In the book he wrote that “Our racial caste system has its historical roots in slavery, but thrusts its contemporary tentacles into every crevice and cranny of the social structure throughout the nation. Slavery as ownership of chattel is gone: as a caste system, it remains.”. In this book he went so far as to criticize the ban on interracial marriage, something that was downplayed by antiracist activists in the era. Gallagher co-founded the South Berkeley Community Church, the first explicitly interracial church in the Bay Area, which attracted a membership of several hundred at its peak. He was an unpaid co-pastor at the church for much of the late 1940s. In 1948, Gallagher ran for Congress as a Democrat in the 7th Congressional District, which included Oakland and Berkeley. He did so with the endorsement of Independent Progressive Party candidate and former Vice President Henry Wallace. He ran on a pro-union, anti-segregation, and pro-

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

platform. He lost to his opponent by one percent. He was hired as President of the City College of New York in 1952. He left the pos6ition in 1961 to become the founding chancellor of the

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system, but after red-baiting attacks, he returned to CCNY after only nine months. Gallagher resigned at CUNY in 1969, following the "open enrollment" crisis that year.Statement by Gallagher on Resignation
The New York Times, May 10, 1969

Published works

' (1938)

' (1946)

References

External links

University of Alabama Library: authors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Buell G. 1904 births 1978 deaths Chancellors of the California State University System Presidents of City College of New York City College of New York Carleton College alumni 20th-century American academics