Rufus Early Clement (June 26, 1900 – November 7, 1967) was an American academic administrator and university president. He served as the sixth and longest-serving president of the historically black

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Founde ...

(now Clark Atlanta University) in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Career

A native of

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...

, Clement started out as a professor and then dean of

Livingstone College Livingstone College is a private, historically black Christian college in Salisbury, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Livingstone College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Sout ...

in Salisbury. Clement then served as the first dean of Louisville Municipal College, now known as

Simmons College of Kentucky Simmons College of Kentucky is a private historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1879, it is the nation's 107th HBCU and is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education. History Beginnings In August 186 ...

. In 1937, he was named president of Atlanta University, position which he held until his death some thirty years later. W. E. B. Du Bois suspected Clement of being behind Du Bois' forced retirement from Atlanta University in 1944. At least one author supports this theory, arguing that Du Bois' confrontational approach to

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

for African Americans clashed with Clement's more accommodationist inclination. For Clement-Du Bois relationship, pp. 120-121,Wilkerson cites Lewis, David Levering (2000). ''W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963.'' Harvard University Press. pp. 491-495. For relationship to Ray Charles, pp. 347-348, Wilkerson cites personal interview and Charles, Ray and Ritz, David (1978). ''Brother Ray''. Dial Press. p. 202. In 1953, Clement was elected to the Atlanta School Board, having become the first black since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

to hold public office in Atlanta. In the 1966 gubernatorial election, Clement endorsed the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Howard "Bo" Callaway, who challenged the

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Lester Maddox Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationis ...

, a businessman and staunch

segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

who had closed his Pickrick Restaurant to avoid integration. Clement and the Negro Baptist Convention argued that the only way to prevent Maddox's election was for blacks to support Callaway though many in the minority group opposed Callaway's

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

voting record in Congress. Ultimately as a result of an election impasse, the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

elected Maddox as governor, 182 to 66.Billy Hathorn, "The Frustration of Opportunity: Georgia Republicans and the Election of 1966," '' Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South'', XXXI (Winter 1987-1988), pp. 46-47

Family

Clement's nephew George Clement Bond is an anthropologist at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Another nephew is

J. Max Bond, Jr. J. Max Bond Jr. (1935 – February 18, 2009) was an American architect. He developed an interest in architecture based on experiences ranging from viewing a staircase at a dormitory at the Tuskegee Institute to views of North African construct ...

, architect. Clement is also related to

Horace Mann Bond Horace Mann Bond (November 8, 1904 – December 21, 1972) was an American historian, college administrator, social science researcher and the father of civil-rights leader Julian Bond. He earned a master's and doctorate from University of Ch ...

. Clement's son-in-law, Robert Joseph Pershing Foster, was

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

' personal physician.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Rufus Early Heads of universities and colleges in the United States 1900 births 1967 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights People from Salisbury, North Carolina People from Atlanta Clark Atlanta University faculty Simmons College of Kentucky people Activists from North Carolina Livingstone College faculty School board members in Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American academics

Career

Family

See also

References

External links