Shaw University, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, was founded on this day by Henry Martin Tupper, a Union Army chaplain. It holds the distinction of being the first historically Black university (HBCU) in the southern United States.
Shaw played a critical role in the education of African Americans during Reconstruction and beyond. It was a trailblazer in many ways, including founding the first four-year medical school for African Americans in the U.S. (Leonard Medical School, 1881–1918) and training future leaders in education, religion, and civil rights.
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