Last updated: November 12, 2024
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Shaw University (Raleigh, North Carolina)
African American Civil Rights Network
Shaw University is a historically Black university located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1865 as the Raleigh Theological Institute, Shaw was the first institution of higher education for African Americans in the southern United States. The school graduated its first class in 1878. As the institution grew it added several programs, in the process pioneering many firsts. Shaw became the first African American institution to serve women as students, and the first to train doctors, pharmacists, and lawyers.
Shaw’s former students include notable women and men ranging from legislators to entertainers to civil rights activists. In 1960, Ella Baker, a Shaw University alumnus, and former Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) official, organized a conference at the university for student leaders of protests challenging racial segregation. Out of the conference emerged the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an integral organization to the modern civil rights movement.
Shaw University became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2023.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.
Shaw University is a historically Black university located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1865 as the Raleigh Theological Institute, Shaw was the first institution of higher education for African Americans in the southern United States. The school graduated its first class in 1878. As the institution grew it added several programs, in the process pioneering many firsts. Shaw became the first African American institution to serve women as students, and the first to train doctors, pharmacists, and lawyers.
Shaw’s former students include notable women and men ranging from legislators to entertainers to civil rights activists. In 1960, Ella Baker, a Shaw University alumnus, and former Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) official, organized a conference at the university for student leaders of protests challenging racial segregation. Out of the conference emerged the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an integral organization to the modern civil rights movement.
Shaw University became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2023.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.