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 (now Clark Atlanta University) in Atlanta, Georgia.

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 William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

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 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 to hold public office in Atlanta. In the 1966 gubernatorial election, Clement endorsed the Republican 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, a businessman and staunch segregationist 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 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 George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

is an anthropologist at Columbia University in New York City. 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. Clement's son-in-law, Robert Joseph Pershing Foster, was Ray Charles' 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