Hampton University Celebrates 150 Years in 2018
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In 2018, Hampton University marksits sesquicentennial celebration—150 years of providing educational opportunities, firstfor Civil War-era slaves and their children and today for a diversity of students from around the world. With the opening of Hamptonin 1868, a total of 24 schools had been established in the United States for the education of African-Americans, the first being Cheyney University of Pennsylvania in 1937. By the end of the century, another 51 institutions would be founded.
Hampton, nestled along the banks of the Virginia Peninsula near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, has a rich history not only of the African-American experience but also of our nation itself. The Emancipation Oak, a lasting symbol of the university’s heritage and perseverance, wasthe site of the first Southern reading of theEmancipationProclamationin 1863and today isdesignated as one of the 10 Great Trees of the World by the National Geographic Society.
To read more about Hampton and its history, click here.
To read more about the Emancipation Oak, click here.
To view notable Hampton alumni, including Booker T. Washington, click here.
