Mercer University was founded in 1833 in Penfield, Georgia. This school was founded by a group of prominent Baptists around the local area. The school itself was named after Jesse Mercer, another Baptist leader during this time and the first chair of the Mercer Board of Trustees. The school would start off small with only about 30 students for males only. As time went on, the school would grow larger and take on more students of the same white race of course. This all would change in 1963 after integration was introduced. The black male would enter Mercer University. His name was Sam Jerry Oni. He would travel from Ghana, Africa in search of higher education and freedom of oppression. He would have great success and graduate from the private
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Race relations would be everywhere no matter how much the black students would attempt to ignore the signs.
On April 1, 1969, fifty-five black students would start the Black Students Alliance at Mercer University. It was open to any student that was capable of communicating their message either audibly or bodily.
The BSA would challenge the institution by letting their opinions be known non-violent. This act of peace would be fueled by Martin Luther King’s powerful influence during this time. Malcolm X was also a large figure that would exercise the same beliefs until it came to conflict. The BSA would also attempt to get involved in the Macon community as a whole. Because Mercer was a private university, they usually disregarded any local projects.
The BSA would have a massive effect on the university as a whole and Macon, Georgia. The acts of the BSA would play a major role in getting Mercer to start a Black studies program.
Not only was a program started for the blacks of Mercer, they would get their first black faculty member. Mr. Gary Johnson, a Mercer alumnus would be appointed as coordinator of the program in 1972. He was the first black faculty member to work at Mercer. This decision would lead to countless accusations and commentary concerning …show more content…
The larger cities of Georgia including Atlanta would protest as well and serve as examples of the fight for freedom. The American South, especially the Cotton Belt, would begin to produce black activists, socialists, and civil rights leaders. One of these leaders would become the face of Civil Rights. This monumental man would be known as Martin Luther King Jr. As he began to travel and voice his opinions to the nation, the effect it had on the citizens of Macon and Georgia resonated at a much more powerful level. Seeing that a man from Georgia could accomplish such wonderful and riveting things, it inspired people to become more outspoken and righteous. Around the turn of the century, one of the most influential African American leaders in late-nineteenth-century Georgia, Henry McNeal Turner was a pioneering church organizer and missionary for the African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.) in
Race relations would be everywhere no matter how much the black students would attempt to ignore the signs.
On April 1, 1969, fifty-five black students would start the Black Students Alliance at Mercer University. It was open to any student that was capable of communicating their message either audibly or bodily.
The BSA would challenge the institution by letting their opinions be known non-violent. This act of peace would be fueled by Martin Luther King’s powerful influence during this time. Malcolm X was also a large figure that would exercise the same beliefs until it came to conflict. The BSA would also attempt to get involved in the Macon community as a whole. Because Mercer was a private university, they usually disregarded any local projects.
The BSA would have a massive effect on the university as a whole and Macon, Georgia. The acts of the BSA would play a major role in getting Mercer to start a Black studies program.
Not only was a program started for the blacks of Mercer, they would get their first black faculty member. Mr. Gary Johnson, a Mercer alumnus would be appointed as coordinator of the program in 1972. He was the first black faculty member to work at Mercer. This decision would lead to countless accusations and commentary concerning …show more content…
The larger cities of Georgia including Atlanta would protest as well and serve as examples of the fight for freedom. The American South, especially the Cotton Belt, would begin to produce black activists, socialists, and civil rights leaders. One of these leaders would become the face of Civil Rights. This monumental man would be known as Martin Luther King Jr. As he began to travel and voice his opinions to the nation, the effect it had on the citizens of Macon and Georgia resonated at a much more powerful level. Seeing that a man from Georgia could accomplish such wonderful and riveting things, it inspired people to become more outspoken and righteous. Around the turn of the century, one of the most influential African American leaders in late-nineteenth-century Georgia, Henry McNeal Turner was a pioneering church organizer and missionary for the African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.) in