How did Atlanta end up with so many HBCUs and Birmingham so few?


Bartram

Bartram

Brand HBCUbian
Both cities are historically virtually identical in their background, although Atlanta existed well before Birmingham was even thought of. Perhaps this contributed to the relative lack of HBCUs in Birmingham relative to Atlanta. In Atlanta you have:
Spellman
Clarke
Atlanta Univ
Morehouse
Morris Brown
(etc)

In Birmingham you have:
Miles
(and throw in Lawson State I guess)

Given that Altanta and Birmingham were once neck and neck in virtually every area, and both had about the same negro influence, I find this pretty significant.

Was there a decidedly interlectual component present in Atlanta not present in more "broad shouldered", "blue collar" Birmingham, or was it simply that Birmingham basically sprung up out of nowwhere,,, the limestone/iron ore/coal mines of Appalacian Alabama,, with no legacy of negro/slave "indigenous people" that you had as a foundation in Atlanta? Remember, Atlanta was THE nerve center of the south during the civil war when Birmingham was not a even an incorporated place.

For good measure, throw Raliegh-Durham into the mix. I can't think of another city that has such a concentration of HBCUs that you have in Atlanta.

Your thoughts?
 
I have noticed that too, Bartram. And I really do not have an answer to your question.

I have often wondered why it was necessary to establish that many Black Colleges in one city. To me, that makes no sense.

But maybe you would have to look at the reason why each school was created. I mean was one school created for males and one for females? Was another created for dark skinned blacks and another for light skinned black? Was one created for rich blacks and another for poor blacks?

Now I am not saying that is what happen, but I wouldn't put that past us.
 

I have never known why there were six private HBCUs in the Atlanta University Center for so many years. My guess is that those who began those schools happened to be in the Atlanta area or had the area in mind when they founded those schools. I do not know about the ITC nor do I know who started the funding for the Morehouse School of Medicine. But out of Clark College, Atlanta University, Spelman, Morehouse and Morris Brown, Morris Brown was the only school started by Black folks. MBC was founded in the basement of the Big Bethel AME church in Atlanta.
 
This is not an easy question, but if you really want to know you must do so real serious research. Our history shows us there were many free Negroes in the United States in the 1700s. Many of them influenced a lot of social changes in the United States, which required new laws to be written. Remember it was the United Court System that put us back into slavery. In general you are talking about church schools. You could spend the rest of your life researching your question.
 
Originally posted by MightyDog
This is not an easy question, but if you really want to know you must do so real serious research.

In general you are talking about church schools.

You could spend the rest of your life researching your question.
Click to expand...


MD, as usual you always can come up with the simplest answer thats more close to the truth than anything else. As I was reading this, I was leaning towards the same conclusion. All the different churches during those times started schools for blacks to get a higher learning from. I think the time has come for those schools to look deep inside and talk about merging. They duplicate so much in that 4 block radius that if all those schools would merge into just one big University they could be a big powerful force, not only in the black community but in the college & university systems in the south. . It would answer some money problems for them and could you imagine what type of extra-curriculum programs they would have.
 
When I was a teenager, I wondered why they did not merge. But as I got older, I realize that the tradition in each school being separate is too strong for all of the schools to merge anytime soon (i.e. being a Spelman grad, MBC grad and a Morehouse grad). I call it the pride factor. However, one of the main reasons that Clark and Atlanta University merged was because Atlanta University got into some trouble financially.

With Clark, Morehouse, Morris Brown and Spelman being so different, I do not expect them to merge anytime soon. For instance the admission standards to get into Morehouse and Spelman is different than the ones to get into Morris Brown.

But (I just though of something else.) I wonder what is in their charters. For instance, Morehouse or Spelman cannot have grad school by themselves. But as for a merger I am not sure.
 
Further comments on your points.

The merge angle of the colleges in Atlanta is an interesting and intruiging thought, but as was said, given the fierce independence of the institutions, not very tenable until perhaps one is about to go under and is forced to merge to survive.

The mention about how the various HBCUs in Atlanta were founded is very interesting. Here again, though, I would contend, there was eventually a strong black religious community in Birmingham. What was it about Atlanta that lead to either local or national religious entities to start schools in Atlanta and not, say, in Birmingham who was, at the time, a "rival" to Atlanta?

Consider this supposition; was there an interlectual brain trust present in Atlanta more open to education as a way for Negro advancement in America than in Birmingham? The thriving business community in Atlanta, "Sweet Auburn",, blah, blah, blah, is well documented. Is there a Birmingham equivalent to "Sweat Auburn and the strong Negro business community present in Atlanta presumably from the time of the civil war?

Negros poured into Birmingham for steel jobs after the turn of the century, but perhaps negros poured into Atlanta for business opportunities which took advantage of the schools there. (that's a chicken & egg question.)

Here's an outstanding quote from the book, "Atlanta Rising" that pretty much summerizes the success and explosive growth of Atlanta during the 20th century:

"During the half-century that 'separate but equal' was the law of the land, blacks in Atlanta had built a remarkably vibrant business district of their own, centered on Auburn Avenue"

"Across town, Atlanta University and its affiliated colleges produced a steady stream of black graduates ready for white-collar work."

That last quote is the epitomy of Atlanta as we know it today,, and this quote is referring to Jim Crow Atlanta! What's Birmingham's story as far as the Black community goes during the same period?
 
What was it about Atlanta that lead to either local or national religious entities to start schools in Atlanta and not, say, in Birmingham who was, at the time, a "rival" to Atlanta?

I heard about how the AU Center schools were founded but can't remember the details. I do not think that the folks who started funding the schools were from Georgia. They got their start right after the civil war (around 1870). I do know that Spelman and Morehouse first classes were in Friendship Baptist Church, where Maynard Jackson's father preached and now (I think.) Jasmine Guy's father preaches. But the money came from Whites. Morris Brown got started in Big Bethel AME church and is the only school there started by Black folks. However, I still don't know why Atlanta got the six schools. Note that the AUC is the largest collection in the number of schools of privately owned HBCUs. Someone correct me. I do not know of another city that comes close.

Atlanta was not the only city to have an "Auburn Avenue." For instance, Memphis had "Beal Street" where Black folks owned most or all of the businesses.
 
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