HBCU Facts and Classic Photos

April 1, 1950, Dr. Charles Richard Drew and three colleagues set out for the John A. Andrew Hospital annual free clinic in Tuskegee. (Drew rarely missed the week-long clinic, which had provided unparalleled teaching and learning opportunities for both Black and white physicians since 1912.)
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Near Burlington, driving fast, Drew fell asleep at the wheel. He woke as the car ran off the road, but over-corrected trying to pull it back on course. The car rolled several times, tossing one passenger free.
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Drew was half out of the car, his right leg caught in the pedals, as the car rolled—crushing his chest, breaking his neck, and tearing up one leg.
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His companions escaped serious injury, suffering only bruises, scr**es, and one a broken arm. They all were taken quickly to nearby Alamance General Hospital, which, like most southern hospitals then, had segregated wards, but a common emergency room. It was not then uncommon for Black patients to be refused treatment because there were not enough “Negro beds” available or the nearest hospital only serviced whites.
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Drew died April 1, 1950 from not being able to get the proper medical treatment at the all-white hospital in Burlington. His discovery and the use of a blood transfusion may have saved his life.
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🎓 June 3, 1904, Dr. Charles Richard Drew was born in Washington and raised in the influential Black neighborhood of Foggy Bottom. He graduated from Dunbar High School and attended Amherst College on an athletic scholarship—becoming one of the best hurdlers in the world. 🏃‍♂️
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For medical school, Drew applied to Howard University, Harvard Medical School, and ultimately chose McGill University. There he worked with Dr. John Beattie researching blood transfusions and shock.
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🩸 Understanding Shock:
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Shock occurs when blood volume drops rapidly—causing decreased blood pressure, falling body temperature, and loss of oxygen to tissues. Drew realized blood transfusions were key to saving lives, but at the time there was no reliable way to store or transport blood.
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In 1938, Drew began graduate work at Columbia University with a Rockefeller fellowship. At Presbyterian Hospital, he conducted exhaustive research on blood preservation, writing his groundbreaking thesis:
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📖 “Banked Blood: A Study on Blood Preservation.”
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It was here he discovered that blood plasma could be separated, preserved for long periods, and later reconstituted—a revolutionary breakthrough.
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🏆 In 1940, he became the first African American to earn a Doctor of Science in Medicine from Columbia.
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⚠️ Despite his brilliance, the District of Columbia chapter of the American Medical Association allowed only white doctors—Drew died without ever being accepted for membership.
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🌍 WORLD WAR II TURNING POINT
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In late 1940, before the U.S. entered World War II, Drew was recruited by John Scudder to lead the Blood for Britain project.
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🇬🇧 The program:
• Collected blood from ~15,000 donors
• Produced over 5,500 vials of plasma
• Saved thousands of British soldiers and civilians
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Drew introduced:
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🚚 Bloodmobiles (mobile blood collection units)
🧪 Strict testing for safe transfusions
🏥 Centralized blood banking systems
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👉 His plasma preservation system became a critical wartime innovation, allowing blood to be shipped across oceans and battlefields saving millions of soldiers and civilian lives. Yet he could not receive the transfusion in America that would have saved his life simply because of the color of his skin.
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💥 His work kept millions of Allied soldiers alive and fighting—yet his name is often overlooked when credit is given for the Allied victory.
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In 1941, Drew became the first director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank.
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When the military ordered that Black blood be segregated, Drew strongly objected. In 1942, he resigned in protest—standing firmly against racism in medicine. ✊
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That same year, he returned to Howard University and Freedmen’s Hospital as a surgeon and professor.
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🏅 Honors & Achievements:
• Spingarn Medal (1944) from the NAACP
• Honorary Doctor of Science – Virginia State College (1945)
• Honorary degree – Amherst College (1947)
• First African American examiner – American Board of Surgery
• Member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
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🔥 PLACES NAMED AFTER DR. CHARLES DREW (FULL LEGACY LIST)
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🏛️ Landmarks & Major Sites
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• Charles Richard Drew House (National Historic Landmark, 1976)
• Charles Richard Drew Memorial Bridge (Washington, D.C.)
• USNS Charles Drew (U.S. Navy cargo ship)
• Parc Charles-Drew (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
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🏥 Medical & Health Institutions
• Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (founded 1966, California)
• Charles Drew Health Center (Omaha, Nebraska)
• Charles Drew Community Health Center (Burlington, NC)
• Charles Drew Health Foundation (East Palo Alto, CA)
• Charles R. Drew Wellness Center (Columbia, SC)
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🎓 Colleges & University Programs
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• Charles Drew Science Enrichment Laboratory – Michigan State University
• Charles Drew Premedical Society – Columbia University
• Charles Drew Pre-Health Society – University of Rochester
• Charles R. Drew Hall – Howard University
• Charles Drew Memorial Cultural House – Amherst College
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🏫 K–12 Schools Nationwide
• Charles R. Drew Charter School (Atlanta, GA – featured in Project Almanac)
• Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School (Buffalo, NY)
• Charles R. Drew Middle School (Los Angeles, CA – opened 1966)
• Charles R. Drew Middle School (Lincoln, AL)
• Charles R. Drew Junior High School (Detroit, MI)
• Charles R. Drew Elementary Schools (Miami Beach & Pompano Beach, FL)
• Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School (Colesville, MD)
• Charles Drew Elementary School (Washington, D.C.)
• Charles R. Drew Elementary School (Arlington, VA)
• Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School (New Orleans, LA)
• Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School (San Francisco, CA)
• Charles R. Drew Intermediate School (Crosby, TX)
• Charles Richard Drew Educational Campus (Bronx, NY)
• Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy (Baltimore, MD)
• Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy West (Baltimore, MD)
• Dr. Charles Drew Academy (Ecorse, MI)
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…and many more institutions across the United States honoring his legacy. 🇺🇸

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🎨🩸⚕️
From a young athlete in Washington, D.C.… to a pioneer who revolutionized blood storage… to a man whose discovery helped win a world war—
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Dr. Charles Drew’s legacy lives on in every blood bank, every transfusion, and every life saved.
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Millions lived because of him and his invention is still saving millions of lives each year. History should never forget his name.
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🩸🇺🇸

🎓📜 March 24, 1862, George E. Davis was born in Wilmington, North Carolina (New Hanover County). Davis was the primary organizer and fundraiser for the Rosenwald schools movement in North Carolina. He was also the first Black professor at his alma mater, Johnson C. Smith University. (March 24, 1862 – January 11, 1959).
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📚 A Trailblazer in Higher Education
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After graduating from the forerunner of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC (Mecklenburg County), Davis became that school’s first Black professor. He earned his doctorate over time while teaching science and sociology and was named dean of the faculty in 1905. He stepped down in 1921 to take on the task of implementing the Rosenwald program in North C-Carolina.
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🏫 Building Hope Across North Carolina
Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, established a fund in 1917 to finance public school buildings for African Americans in the rural South.
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Educational facilities for Blacks in the South at the time were sorely substandard, usually much worse than counterpart white schools.
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Between 1917 and 1932, more than 5,300 Rosenwald Schools were constructed in 15 states. Of that number, 813 were built in North Carolina—more than in any other state.
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🚂 A Tireless Advocate
Davis crisscrossed the state to raise funds in mostly impoverished communities. In 1932, he reported having raised more than $660,000 in matching funds since 1917. In exchange for money from the Rosenwald Fund, local communities were expected to raise a matching amount, and white-dominated school boards were expected to commit to maintenance.
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🏛️ The Legacy of Johnson C. Smith University
Johnson C. Smith University, originally named Biddle College, was later named after Johnson Crayne Smith (October 27, 1844 – August 20, 1919), an early 20th-century businessman from Pittsburgh.
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After graduating from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, Smith operated a drug store in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He later became one of the pioneers of street railway construction and served as a director of the People’s Bank in McKeesport. He owned a substantial amount of real estate and co-founded the McKeesport Tin Plate Company.
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After he died in 1919, his wife, Jane Berry Smith of Pittsburgh gave funds to build a theological dormitory, a science hall, a teachers' cottage, and a memorial gate at Biddle University, a Historically Black University in Charlotte, North Carolina. She also donated a significant sum to the endowment in memory of her late husband.
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In appreciation, the Biddle University trustees changed the name of the university to Johnson C. Smith University. The change was made official on March 1, 1923. The university's seminary, the Biddle Memorial Institute, was also renamed the Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary.
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Johnson C. Smith University was originally named after Mary D. Biddle of Philadelphia, Pa., who, through appeals in one of the church papers, pledged $1,400 to the school. In appreciation of this first and generous contribution, friends requested Mrs. Biddle name the newly established school after her late husband, Major Henry Biddle.
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From 1867 to 1876, the school was named Biddle Memorial Institute and chartered by the state legislature.
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🏡 Lasting Recognition
Davis’s former home near Johnson C. Smith University has been restored and is a local historic landmark.
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The Military and Global Leadership Academy at Marie G. Davis is named for his wife, also a longtime educator.
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🗣️ A Lasting Voice
Davis retired in 1935 at the age of 73, and he died on January 11, 1959. He is considered one of the greatest orators in North Carolina history.
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📚 Learn More About This Powerful Legacy:
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🔥 From classrooms to communities, George E. Davis helped transform education in North Carolina—leaving a legacy that still inspires today.
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📚✊🏾

March 19, 2010, Walter E. Gaskin Sr., a proud alumnus of Savannah State University NROTC, was confirmed by the United States Senate and promoted to Lieutenant General ⭐⭐⭐—becoming just the FOURTH Black American in U.S. Marine Corps history to reach the elite three-star rank. ✊🏾
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Walter Edward Gaskin was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia.
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🎖️ Lt. Gen. Gaskin went on to serve on the global stage as Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, representing American leadership at the highest levels of international defense cooperation through NATO.
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⚔️ His command experience is nothing short of legendary:
• Commanding General of the 2d Marine Division at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
• Leader of II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) during a full combat deployment in Al Anbar Province during the Iraq War
• Oversaw multinational operations as Commanding General of Multinational Forces-West
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🌍 His global service included key roles in:
• Okinawa with the 3rd Marine Division
• Seoul with Combined Forces Command
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🎓 A scholar-warrior:
• Bachelor’s from Savannah State (NROTC)
• Summa Cum Laude Master’s from University of Oklahoma
• Executive education at Harvard Kennedy School
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🏅 Decorations include:
Defense Distinguished Service Medal • Defense Superior Service Medal • Legion of Merit • Bronze Star Medal
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After nearly 40 years of service (1974–2013) in the United States Marine Corps, Gaskin continued to lead—serving in the private sector and later appointed in 2021 by Roy Cooper as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
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💥 From the battlefield… to the boardroom… to state leadership—Lt. Gen. Gaskin’s legacy is one of excellence, resilience, and trailblazing achievement.

📢 His story reminds us: Representation at the highest levels isn’t given—it’s earned and needed.
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🇺🇸

🎉💙💛 AGGIE PRIDE! Celebrating the Legacy of North Carolina A&T State University 💛💙
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March 9, 1891 — North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University was founded in Greensboro as a land-grant institution for Black Americans following the passage of the Second Morrill Act of 1890.
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Originally known as the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race, the institution began by sharing space with Shaw University before moving to its permanent campus in Greensboro thanks to support from philanthropist Dewitt Clinton Benbow and educator Charles H. Moore. In 1915, the state legislature changed the name to Agricultural and Technical College. In 1967, the college became a University and took its current name, and in 1972, N.C. A&T became a member of the University of North Carolina system.
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Over the decades, N.C. A&T grew into a powerhouse university and today stands as:
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✔️ The largest HBCU in the United States with over 10,000 students
✔️ The #1 producer of Black engineering graduates in America
✔️ A national leader in STEM, agriculture, and innovation
✔️ Home of “The Greatest Homecoming on Earth!” 🎺🥁
🌟 Notable Aggie Alumni Who Changed the World
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🏛 Government & Politics
Michael S. Regan – Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Alma Adams – U.S. Representative (NC)
Randolph Blackwell – Civil rights leader and community advocate
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🔬 Science & Engineering
Ronald E. McNair – Physicist and astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
Joseph Monroe – First African American to earn a PhD in computer science
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✊ Civil Rights Movement
Jesse Jackson – Global civil rights activist
Jibreel Khazan – Member of the A&T Four who launched the historic Greensboro sit-ins
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🎬 Arts, Media & Entertainment
Terrence J – Actor, producer and TV host
Sandra Hughes – Trailblazing broadcast journalist
Margaret Tynes – International opera star
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🏅 Sports
Tarik Cohen – Former NFL star
Randolph Ross Jr. – Olympic gold medalist
Trevor Stewart – Olympic medalist
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🛍 Show Your Aggie Pride
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💬 Tag an Aggie, alum, or future Aggie and celebrate this historic HBCU!
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💙💛

March 8, 2018, Togo D. West Jr. died while on a cruise between Barbados and Puerto Rico. He was later interred with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery on April 26, 2018. West was a government lawyer and high-ranking official in the administration of Bill Clinton, known for overseeing major Army investigations into s*xual harassment, serving two turbulent years as secretary of veterans affairs, and later directing investigations into the mistreatment of veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the causes of the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. He was also a proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.. (June 21, 1942 – March 8, 2018).
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June 21, 1942, Togo West Jr. was born in Winston-Salem. He attended Atkins High School, where both of his parents were teachers, and graduated as valedictorian in June 1960.
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West went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Howard University in 1965. He later received his Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law in 1968, graduating cm laude and first in his class—an early sign of the distinguished career that would follow.
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In September 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated West to serve as Secretary of the Army, making him the second Black American in U.S. history to hold the position. He assumed the role during a period of major transition for the military as the United States adjusted to the post-Cold War world.
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West was responsible for helping guide the Army through a dramatic restructuring. During his tenure, the force was reduced from 18 active divisions to 10, and the Army reorganized key reserve units as defense priorities shifted after the end of the Cold War. At the same time, the military was grappling with the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy governing gay service members.
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As the Army’s top civilian leader, West also pushed for expanded opportunities for women in the military. Under his leadership, more positions and assignments were opened to female soldiers than ever before, reflecting a changing military culture.
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One of the most significant moments of his tenure came in 1996 when he ordered a sweeping investigation into s*xual abuse allegations at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Three male instructors were charged with r**e and other s*x crimes against female recruits, and more than 50 trainees eventually reported abuse. West expanded the inquiry to every Army installation that trained female soldiers and appointed a civilian-military panel to recommend major reforms to training practices and s*xual-harassment policies.
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In January 1998, West was appointed Secretary of Veterans Affairs, becoming the head of one of the largest health care systems in the United States. At the time, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs oversaw 172 hospitals, 132 nursing homes, and more than 650 clinics serving millions of American veterans.

Though his time leading the VA was often marked by criticism over bureaucratic challenges and veterans’ health care issues, West continued to serve the public after leaving office. In later years he chaired independent investigations into the mistreatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed and examined the circumstances behind the tragic 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
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From a valedictorian in Winston-Salem to one of the highest-ranking civilian leaders in the U.S. military, Togo West Jr.’s life reflected a commitment to public service, accountability, and reform within some of the nation’s most important institutions.
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March 3, 1891, legislation passed creating a Colored Normal and Industrial School in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, today known as Elizabeth City State University one of the excellent HBCU's in the State offering the North Carolina Tuiton Promise Program. The school was founded with the express purpose of “teaching and training teachers of the colored race to teach in the common schools of North Carolina.”
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From its very beginning, Elizabeth City State University was built on a mission of opportunity, access, and excellence. What started as a small Normal School has grown into one of North Carolina’s proud HBCU institutions, producing generations of educators, leaders, and innovators.
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The bill began in the House of Representatives and was championed by Hugh Cale, an African American who represented Pasquotank County. A free person of color before the Civil War, Cale was deeply committed to advancing African American education and served on the Pasquotank County Board of Education. His leadership helped lay the foundation for what would become a historic university.
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Under the guidance of its first principal, Peter Weddick Moore, the Normal School steadily expanded its reach and reputation. By 1937, the institution had grown into a four-year teachers college, and in 1939 it awarded its first bachelor’s degree in elementary education—marking a major milestone in its evolution.
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Today, ECSU continues to open doors through the NC Promise Tuition Program, making higher education more affordable for students across the state and beyond. In 2020, the university received a transformational $15 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the largest single donation in school history—further strengthening its future.
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From training teachers in the 1890s to empowering Vikings in the 21st century, ECSU’s legacy of excellence continues to shine across North Carolina and the nation.
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🔷⚔️ If you’re proud of Viking Nation, drop a 💙 in the comments!
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February 27, 1964, activist, scholar and educator Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (Raleigh, NC) died in Washington, DC at the age of 105. Her first book, A Voice from the South: is widely acknowledged as one of the first articulations of Black feminism, giving Cooper the title of "the Mother of Black Feminism". Her brilliance was recognized at an early age — at just nine years old she received a full scholarship to attend St. Augustine College. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. (August 10, 1858 – February 27, 1964).
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📚 From enslavement to intellectual giant
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August 10, 1858, Anna "Annie" Julia Haywood was born enslaved in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her mother, Hannah Stanley Haywood (13 years old) was r**ed and impregnated by George Haywood whose father was state Treasurer John Haywood who helped found the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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In 1868, when Cooper was nine years old, she received a full scholarship and began her education at Saint Augustine's Normal School and Collegiate Institute in Raleigh, founded to train teachers to educate the formerly enslaved and their families.
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Although the school had a special track reserved for women – the “Ladies' Course” – Cooper boldly challenged the system and fought for her right to take courses reserved for men, proving her exceptional scholastic ability.
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✊🏾 Builder of movements
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In 1892, Anna Cooper joined Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell, Charlotte Forten Grimké, and others to form the Colored Women's League in Washington, D.C., promoting unity, social progress, and the best interests of the Black American community.
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While serving as a teacher and later principal at the prestigious M Street High School, Cooper completed her groundbreaking 1892 book A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South — one of the earliest and most powerful statements of Black feminist thought.
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Her central belief: the educational, moral, and spiritual advancement of Black women would uplift the entire African-American community.
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🎓 A lifetime of firsts
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Her memorial was held on the campus of Saint Augustine's College, where her academic journey began. She was buried beside her husband in Raleigh’s City Cemetery.
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📖 Her words live on in the 2016 U.S. passport:
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Pages 24 and 25 of the 2016 United States passport contain the following quotation: "The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity." – Anna Julia Cooper
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In 2009, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in her honor.
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Her name also lives on through:
• The Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia
• The Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University
• The Anna Julia Cooper Professorship at Spelman College
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Timeline
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1858: Born into slavery in Raleigh, North Carolina.
1877: Marries George A. C. Cooper.
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1879: Husband dies and Anna is widowed at 21 years of age.
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1887: Begins teaching math and Latin at the M St. Preparatory School. M St School was an All -Black High School and regarded as one of the top educational high schools in America until the 1950's.
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1891: Participates in the weekly "Saturday Circle" or "Saturday Nighters" salon of Black Washingtonians.
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1892: Publishes "A Voice From The South By a Black Woman of the South".
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1892: Founded the Colored Women's League with Helen Appo Cook.
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1893: Co-hosts anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells with Frederick Douglass and Lucy Ellen Moten
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1893: Becomes only woman elected to the American Negro Academy.
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1893: Attends the World's Congress of Representative Women and reads paper titled "The Intellectual Progress of the Colored Women of the United States since the Emancipation Proclamation"
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1900: Attends the First Pan-African Conference in London, reads paper titled "The Negro Problem in America", and joins the executive committee.
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1901: Becomes the second black female principal of The All-Black Prestigious M. Street High School which outperformed academically all schools in America.
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1925: Earns doctorate from the University of Paris, purchases home in LeDroit Park, begins hosting monthly "Les Amis de la Langue Francaise".
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1929: Becomes second president of Frelinghuysen University in Washington, D.C.
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1940: Becomes registrar of Frelinghuysen University and hosts classes in her LeDroit home.
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1964: February 27, Anna J. Cooper dies in Washington D.C. at the age of 105.
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February 3, 1983, Henry Frye (Ellerbe, NC Richmond County) was sworn in as North Carolina’s first Black-American Supreme Court Justice. Governor Jim Hunt appointed Frye as an associate justice. Then, in 1999, in another first, Hunt named Frye to the unexpired term of retiring Chief Justice Burley Mitchell. After Frye lost his bid for a full term as chief justice in 2000, he retired, having served on the state’s top tribunal for more than 17 years.
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In 1968, Frye became the first Black American elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in the twentieth century. The first bill he introduced was a constitutional amendment abolishing the literacy test — a measure that helped pave the way for North Carolina’s 1971 constitutional change ending literacy tests for voting. Frye eventually served six terms in the state House and one term in the state Senate before he began his judicial career.
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Henry Frye was born August 1, 1932, in Ellerbe, Richmond County, North Carolina. He was the 8th of 12 children born to Walter Atlas and Pearl Motley Frye, to***co and cotton farmers. He attended Ellerbe Colored High School before enrolling at North Carolina A&T State University, where he graduated with honors.
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After college, Frye joined the United States Air Force, rising to the rank of captain and serving in Korea and Japan during the Cold War era.
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Upon returning to North Carolina, Frye was inspired to become a lawyer after he was denied the ability to register to vote because of literacy tests. He enrolled at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he was the only Black American in his class.
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When asked about his hopes for North Carolina's future, Frye said:
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“I would like to see North Carolina live up to its motto, to be rather than to seem. And by that I mean to do a better job of being fair and open in everything, from employment in the state government to encounters in the cities.”
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After leaving the bench, Frye returned to private practice in 2001 with the Greensboro firm Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, specializing in mediation, commercial arbitration, and appellate advocacy. He retired from the firm in 2016.
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Image credit: From the Waller Studio Collection, PhC.14. Courtesy of the State Archives of NC Photos.
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