Wiley College - Marshall, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 32° 32.260 W 094° 22.534
15S E 370828 N 3600867
Wiley College, founded in 1873 in Marshall, Texas, is a historically black, primarily liberal arts, residential, co-educational, baccalaureate degree-granting institution affiliated with The United Methodist Church.
Waymark Code: WM15GP2
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/04/2022
Views: 3
College Website"In 1873, less than eight years after all hostilities were quieted from the Civil War, the Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church founded Wiley College near Marshall, Texas for the purpose of allowing Negro youth the opportunity to pursue higher learning in the arts, sciences and other professions.
Named in honor of Bishop Isaac William Wiley, an outstanding minister, medical missionary and educator, Wiley College was founded during turbulent times for Blacks in America. Although African-American males were given the right to vote in 1870, intimidation of America’s newest citizens in the form of violence increased. The U.S. Supreme Court helped pave the way for segregation with the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision that approved of the “separate but equal” doctrine.
Wiley College opened its doors just south of Marshall with two frame buildings and an overwhelming desire to succeed in a climate fraught with racism and Jim Crow laws. So entrenched was their desire to succeed that in 1880, rather than moving Wiley College farther out of town, the founders of the College moved nearer to Marshall on 55 acres of wooded land where the College stands today. Land was cleared and four additional buildings were constructed as student enrollment soared to 160 students with seven full-time faculty members. Wiley College had effectively become the first Black college west of the Mississippi River."