Leslie Pinckney Hill
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Leslie Pinckney Hill (14 May 1880 – 15 February 1960) was an American educator, writer, and community leader. From 1913 to 1951, he served as principal of the
Institute for Colored Youth The Institute for Colored Youth was founded in 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It became the first high school for African-Americans in the United States, although there were schools that admitted African Americans preceding it ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and oversaw the institution's move to
Cheyney, Pennsylvania Cheyney is an unincorporated community that sits astride Chester and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It corresponds to the census-designated place known as Cheyney University, which had a population of 988 at the 2010 census ...
, and its establishment as
Cheyney State Teachers College Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a m ...
. He also served as the college's first president.


Life and career

The son of a former slave, Hill was born in
Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...
. He attended primary school locally, and played the trumpet. His family moved to
East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...
, where he attended high school. Excelling at his studies, he skipped his junior year, and was accepted to
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
his senior year. He entered Harvard in 1899, supplementing his scholarship by working as a waiter. There he attended the classes of
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...
and was active in debating. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated with honors in 1903. He stayed at Harvard another year for a master's degree in education. Hill taught at
Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...
from 1904 to 1907, and was principal of the Manassas Industrial Institute from 1907 to 1913. In 1913 he became principal at the Cheyney, Philadelphia Institute for Colored Youth, overseeing changes in name and status and staying there until 1951 and its establishment as
Cheyney State Teachers College Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a m ...
. Hill also wrote poems and essays and published a play about
Toussaint L'Ouverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...
in 1928. In 1944, he founded Camp Hope, a camp for underprivileged children in Delaware County. Hill was a part of the
Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
. He died from a stroke in Philadelphia in 1960.


Works

* * 'Introduction', in Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson, ed., ''The Dunbar speaker and entertainer, containing the best prose and poetic selections by and about the Negro race, with programs arranged for special entertainments'', 1920 * ''The wings of oppression'', 1921 * ''Toussaint L'Ouverture: a dramatic history'', 1928 * ''Jethro; A Biblical Drama'', 1931


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Leslie Pinckney 1880 births 1960 deaths African-American poets African-American educators 20th-century American educators Harlem Renaissance American male poets Harvard University alumni American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century African-American writers African-American male writers