William Johnson Trent, Jr. (1910-1993) was an African-American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, non-profit director and civil rights activist from

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

Trent was born in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

and moved with his family to

at an early age. His father, William J. Trent, Sr., was an early organizer of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

(NAACP). He graduated from a black private high school in Atlanta and attended

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 ...

, from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1930. His father was president of Livingstone at the time. He then earned a master's degree in economics from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and did graduate work at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He then returned to North Carolina and taught for two years at his alma mater and later

Bennett College Bennett College is a private historically black liberal arts college for women in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1873 as a normal school to educate freedmen and train both men and women as teachers. Originally coed, in 1926 it ...

. Trent was part of U.S. President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Black Cabinet The Black Cabinet, or Federal Council of Negro Affairs or Black Brain Trust, was the informal term for a group of African Americans who served as public policy advisors to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in his te ...

, serving as Adviser on Negro Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior

Harold L. Ickes Harold LeClair Ickes ( ; March 15, 1874 – February 3, 1952) was an American administrator, politician and lawyer. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for nearly 13 years from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold th ...

and later in the position of race relations officer in the

Federal Works Agency The Federal Works Agency (FWA) was an independent agency of the federal government of the United States which administered a number of public construction, building maintenance, and public works relief functions and laws from 1939 to 1949. Along wi ...

. He served as the executive director of the

United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...

from its inception in 1944 until 1964. After leaving UNCF, Trent worked for

Time Inc. Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...

as assistant personnel director where he was concerned with race relations. He retired in 1975 and returned to

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

, where he died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, also known as Moses Cone Hospital, is a 517-bed tertiary care facility located in Greensboro, North Carolina. The hospital opened in 1953 on North Elm Street as a 310-bed community hospital. Moses Cone Hospit ...

in November 1993. He served as treasurer and longtime board member of the

National Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

and as board president of St. Luke's Hospital. During his time at the United Negro College Fund, Trent raised $78 million for private

historically black colleges and universities 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. ...

(HBCU).

UNCF

Wharton Magazine referred to William J. Trent, Jr. as the architect of the UNCF having steered the organization during the chaotic civil rights period in the United States. Trent collaborated with Frederick D. Patterson, Tuskegee Institute president and Mary McLeod Bethune in founding the nonprofit that brought together several college presidents in raising finances as a group with the motto of "Appeal to the National Conscience." This collective fund was made available to eligible white and black students regardless of race in 1956.USA presidents like Roosevelt and John F Kennedy as well as business moguls supported Trent in this endeavor. As a young student, President George Bush engaged Trent as campus coordinator for Yale University.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trent, William J 1910 births 1993 deaths People from Asheville, North Carolina People from Atlanta People from Greensboro, North Carolina Scientists from New Rochelle, New York Activists for African-American civil rights African-American economists Economists from New York (state) 20th-century African-American scientists 20th-century American academics 20th-century American educators Educators from North Carolina Livingstone College alumni Livingstone College faculty Bennett College faculty Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Chicago alumni Black Cabinet American nonprofit chief executives 20th-century American economists Economists from North Carolina