Straight University, after 1915 Straight College, was a

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...

that operated between 1868 and 1934 in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. After struggling with financial difficulties, it was merged with

New Orleans University New Orleans University was a historically black college that operated between 1873 and 1934 in New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Ch ...

History

Responding to the post-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

need to educate newly freed African Americans in New Orleans, Louisiana and the surrounding region, the American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church founded Straight University on June 12, 1868. Straight University received its name as recognition for

Seymour Straight Seymour may refer to: Places Australia * Seymour, Victoria, a township * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria *Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Seymour, Tasmania, a locality ...

's initial endowment gift. Straight was a wealthy cheese manufacturer from

Hudson, Ohio Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,110 at the 2020 census. It is a suburban community in the Akron metropolitan statistical area and the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area, th ...

. In 1915, the name "Straight University" was changed to Straight College, which more accurately represented the scope of the school's curriculum and program. Missionary work was a core concern, which extended from New Orleans to Africa. Throughout its history, Straight offered courses of study ranging from

elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

- to

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

-level courses in

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. In 1934, after struggling with financial difficulties during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Straight College was merged with

Law department

Straight University also offered professional training, including a

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

department from 1874 to 1886. Its graduates participated in local and national

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 ...

and post-Reconstruction era

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 ...

struggles. For example, Louis André Martinet, an 1876 graduate of Straight University Law School, published ''The Crusader''—a civil rights daily; co-founded the

Comité des Citoyens The ('Citizens' Committee' in French) was a civil rights group made up of African Americans, whites, and Creoles. It is most well known for its involvement in ''Plessy v. Ferguson''. The Citizens' Committee was opposed to racial segregation and ...

(Citizens' Committee) in New Orleans, which worked for civil rights; and played a significant role in setting up the challenge to segregation of ''

Plessy v. Ferguson ''Plessy v. Ferguson'', 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in qualit ...

'', a landmark Supreme Court case. His classmate

Dan Desdunes Daniel F. Desdunes (c. 1870 – April 24, 1929) was a civil rights activist and musician in New Orleans and Omaha, Nebraska. Descended from a family of people of color free before the Civil War, in 1892 he volunteered to board a train car des ...

joined him in this effort before moving to

North Omaha, Nebraska North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ea ...

to become a notable band leader. The Law department is historically notable as an integrated institution where blacks and whites were trained side by side. "It is an interesting fact of our 50 law graduates, 35 have been white." The school struggled to provide its law students with a proper research library. The students typically met for classes in the law professors' offices. In 1886, Straight discontinued the Law Department. It began to focus primarily on

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

industrial arts Industrial arts is an educational program that features the fabrication of objects in wood or metal using a variety of hand, power, or machine tools. Industrial Arts are commonly referred to as Technology Education. It may include small engine re ...

, and teacher training.

Campus

The campus faced Canal Street, occupying the block between Tonti and Rocheblave streets backed by Gasquet (now Cleveland Avenue). After the university was absorbed into the newly created

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Ch ...

, the campus buildings served as a school and YWCA for nearly two decades. They were demolished in 1950.

Notable alumni

Graduates had an important role in bringing education and medical care to

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

during the early part of the 20th century.

Physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

James W. Ames, for example, founded the first hospital for blacks in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in 1910. He created Dunbar Hospital for physicians and patients of color, as they were unable to practice in or be admitted to Detroit hospitals operated by whites. Nellie A. Ramsey Leslie became a pioneer teacher in

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

and later Texas. Other notable alumni include

Tom Yarborough Thomas R. Yarborough (July 23, 1895 – March 19, 1969) was an American civic leader and politician. In 1948, he became the first African American elected to a California city council. In 1966, Yarborough became the first African American mayor ...

, first Black mayor in California, P.B.S. Pinchback (first African-American governor of Louisiana and of any U.S. state);

Ernest Lyon Ernest A. Lyon (October 22, 1860 – July 17, 1938) was an African-American minister, educator and diplomat. Early life and education Lyon was born on October 22, 1860, in on the coast of Belize, British Honduras to Emmanuel Lyon and Ann ...

(educator and U.S. Ambassador to Liberia); Mary Booze (first African American to sit on the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

, serving from

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

from 1924 to 1948); Alice Dunbar Nelson, foremother 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 ...

; and

Theodore K. Lawless Theodore Kenneth (T.K.)"Theodore La ...

(dermatologist and philanthropist).

Notes

* Laborde & Magill (2006). "Canal Street: New Orleans' great wide way".

External links

Straight University and Professor H.H. Swain Collection
a
The Historic New Orleans Collection
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1868 Universities and colleges in New Orleans Historically black universities and colleges in the United States Defunct private universities and colleges in Louisiana Educational institutions disestablished in 1934 Dillard University 1868 establishments in Louisiana 1934 disestablishments in Louisiana Historically black universities and colleges in Louisiana