Thomas DeSaille Tucker or Thomas DeSaliere Tucker (July 21, 1844 – 1903) was an African-born lawyer, educator, and missionary. He was the first president of the State Normal College for Colored Students, which eventually became

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

Biography

Tucker was born in Victoria in the Sherbro territory of

British Sierra Leone The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone (informally British Sierra Leone) was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crow ...

. His mother was the daughter of Sherbro chief Harry Tucker, a member of the Sherbro Tucker family, while his father was said to be an Englishman or a French explorer. He attended the Mende Mission of the

American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...

, a school founded by American missionaries who accompanied the captives from the '' Amistad'' back to Africa. Missionary George Thompson brought 12-year-old Tucker to the United States. Two years later, Tucker enrolled in the preparatory program at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

. He graduated with his

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1865. During his time at Oberlin, he took a leave in 1862 to teach at the AMA's school for emancipated slaves at

Fortress Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

. Following his graduation he taught at schools in

Georgetown, Kentucky Georgetown is a home rule-class city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 37,086 at the 2020 census. It is the 6th-largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the seat of its county. It was originall ...

and

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

. Tucker studied law at

Straight University Straight University, after 1915 Straight College, was a historically black college that operated between 1868 and 1934 in New Orleans, Louisiana. After struggling with financial difficulties, it was merged with New Orleans University to form ...

in New Orleans and graduated with his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1882. The following year he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in Florida and opened a law partnership with J.D. Thompson in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

. Tucker left his law practice and was appointed the first president of the State Normal College for Colored Students in 1887. The school opened for classes on October 3 in

DeFuniak Springs, Florida DeFuniak Springs is a city in Walton County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,968 as of the 2020 Census. The county seat of Walton County, the city also serves as a hub for many residents in surrounding communities. In 2019, MSN's ''I ...

Thomas Van Renssalaer Gibbs Thomas Van Renssalaer Gibbs (September 16, 1855 – October 31, 1898) was a member of the 1885 Florida Constitutional Convention, served in the Florida House of Representatives, and was a school administrator. He was nominated to West Point by R ...

, an African-American member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, became vice president of the school and essentially served as co-president with Tucker until his death in October 1898. Tucker presided over the school's relocation to

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

, on property that was once the Highwood Plantation of Governor

William Pope Duval William Pope Duval (September 4, 1784 – March 19, 1854) was the first civilian governor of the Florida Territory, succeeding Andrew Jackson, who had been a military governor. In his twelve-year governorship, from 1822 to 1834, he divided Florid ...

and an infusion of funds thanks to the

Second Morrill Act The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally-owned land, often obtained from indigenous tribes through treaty, cession, or s ...

. Tucker's presidency came to an end as a result of conflicts with William N. Sheats, who became

Superintendent of Public Instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educationa ...

in 1893. Sheats was a racist and white supremacist and opponent of

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

and black political participation who was the namesake of the notorious 1895 Sheats Law enforcing strict racial segregation in schools, later ruled unconstitutional by the

Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida The Florida circuit courts are state courts, and are trial courts of original jurisdiction for most controversies. In Florida, the circuit courts are one of four types of courts created by the Florida Constitution (the other three being The Flor ...

. But Sheats also supported black schools and was an admirer of

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

's advocacy of agricultural and industrial education. Tucker, however, favored a

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 ...

approach to education designed for public school teachers and, despite changing the name of the school to the State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students, did not sufficiently emphasize the agricultural and industrial approach favored by Sheats. Gradually, Tucker's authority was reduced, expenditures and personnel decisions were disputed and investigated, and finally, he was ousted and replaced by

Nathan B. Young Nathan Benjamin Young (September 15, 1862—July 19, 1933) was an American educator who helped advance black education in the early 20th century. Born a slave in Alabama, Young later became an educator after Booker T. Washington, who witnessed Yo ...

in 1901. Tucker resumed the practice of law in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. He died in 1903 and was buried in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Thomas DeSaille Presidents of Florida A&M University 1844 births 1903 deaths African-American educators Florida lawyers American Protestant missionaries Sierra Leonean people of British descent Sierra Leonean emigrants to the United States Straight University alumni Oberlin College alumni African-American missionaries People from Bonthe District 20th-century African-American people