THE BENNETT BANNER Bennett College
Gfeensbofo, N. Q,
“Believing that an informed campus is a Key to Democracy'’
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1972
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C.
VOL. XXXVI, NO. 1
THIS IS BENNETT . . .
HISTORY OF BENNETT COLLEGE
PRIOR TO 1926
PART I
The Methodist Episcopal
Church was among those nor
thern religious denominationa
who moved into the South at
the close of the Civil War for
the purpose of educating and
evangelizing the freed slaves.
The Freedmen’s Aid Society
of this church established a
school for the newly emanci
pated slaves near Greensboro,
North Carolina late in 1873.
On Decem'ber 5, 1863, a
Quaker from Germantown,
Pennsylvania, purchased 34
acres of land near South Buf
falo Creek, Guilford County.
Yardley Warner transferred
this property and an addition
al one and one-half acre to
the Philadelphia Association
of Friends. Later it was sub
divided into acre lots and sold
to newly freed Blacks at low
cost. In honor of its founder
it was named Warnersville.
According to research done
by B. W. Harris, chairman of
Adult Education and Com
munity Services at Nprth
Carolina A. & T. State Uni
versity, a representative of
the Methodist Episcopal
Church offered in behalf of
his church a school for the
residents of Warnersville and
membership in his church.
In 1866, Rev. Mattew Alston
founded Warnersville Metho
dist Episcopal Church which
is presently called St. Mat
thew’s United M’ethodist
Church. It was in this church
that a small day school be
gan.
Like Blacks every where,
the residents of the commun
ity w'ere eager to have a local
school. The Rev. Mr. Alston
who had been an active mem
ber of the North Carolina
Conference since 1870, was in
strumental in urging the
Freedman’s Aid Society to
establish a school in Greens
boro.
On June 18, 1873, the local
newspaper, the Greensboro
New North State, ran the
following article:
The colored citizens of
Greensboro, and as many of
the whites who are interest
ed, are requested to meet to
morrow (Wednesday) night,
at the Warnersville Church,
to consider the question of
the establishment in Greens
boro of a colored Normal
School or College. This insti'
tution will be established
under the auspices of the
Methodist Episcopal Church
North, somewhere in the
state. The object of the meet
ing is to advocate the claims
of Greensboro. The citizens
of Wilmington, High Point,
and Thomasville are all de
sirous of having the school
located wathin their boun
daries.
One month later the same
paper announced that a Nor
mal College for the educa
tion of colored teachers would
be established in Greensboro.
Several reasons were offered
for' this choice. First, the
geographical location of the
city and its location offered a
direct railroad to Richmond
and Atlanta. Second, the
people of Greensboro were
receptive to education for
both races. In addition,
Greensboro established the
first graded school in North
Carolina in 1870. Pre-Civil
War restrictions upon educa
tion of Negroes were opposed
on Guilford County despite
North Carolina laws that
made it illegal. A third prob
able reason was the total pop
ulation of blacks around the
general area which account
ed for 40% of 4,415.
* ^ si:
The first president (called
principals during the early
days) was W. J. Parkinson
who began his term in Jan
uary of 1874. He reported
that nearly 70 students studied
under him that first winter-
term in the basement of the
Warnersville Church.
The school received the
name Bennett Seminary in
honor of Lyman Bennett of
Troy, New York. Generous
donations from him made
possible the purchase of land
for a permanent campus dur
ing Parkinson’s administra
tion and the erection of the
first building under Edward
O. Thayer’s administration.
This plot of land contained
' twenty acres and was pur
chased at a cost of $2,156.37.
C. N. McAdoo of Guilford
County transferred this prop
erty on M^y 25, 1875 to the
Freedmen’s Aid Society
through Parkinson.
(Part II next issue)
DIVISION OF SCIENCES RECEIVE
RESEARCH GRANT
DR. HANKINS
HEADS PROJECT
Bennett College is the site
of an Academic Year Insti
tute to prepare Directors and
Assistant Directors for
Learning Centers under the
direction of Dr. Lela R. Han
kins, Director of Teacher Ed
ucation.
The project, supported by
the U. S. Office of Education,
began September 9, 1972 and
will end June, 1973.
The institute will focus up
on training personnel for Sec
ondary Schools, Community
Colleges, and Technical In
stitutes. It accomodates 32
post - baccalaureate teachers
and provides new methods for
evaluating the results of the
participants’ efforts. Video
tape recordings will be utiliz
ed as part of a pretest-post-
test procedure. Techniques in
reading and library science
will be included with some
emphasis on counseling.
A certificate will be issued
to each participant who com
pletes the requirements of
the institute. Four semester
(Continued on Page 2)
Dr. Edward Wright
Speaks
Sunday, September 17, 1972
at 4:00 P.M. in Annie Merner
Pfeiffer Chapel, was the
scene of the year’s first Ves
per Service. The speaker for
the occasion was Dr. Edward
Wright.
Dr. Wright is Dean of Stu
dents, Registrar and member
of the faculty, Harvard Uni
versity Divinity School. He
seved as Assistant to the
President on Minority Af
fairs at Harvard, 1970-1971.
He has a B. A. from Vir
ginia Union University; and
B. D. from Colgate-Roches-
ter, S. T. M., Andover Newr
ton Theological School. He
has served as Danforth in
tern in campus ministry,
Grinnell College.
Dr. Wright is chaplain to
students at Harvard and Rad-
cliffe and pastor of Old Cam
bridge Baptist Church.
A member of the Ministry
to Higher Education Project
(B. T. I.), Mr. Wright served
two terms as President of the
Baptist Convention. He is a
member of the Executive
committee of the World Stu
dent Christian Federation and
is presently a member of the
National Selection Commit
tee of the Protestant Fellow
ship Program. He is an or
dained minister.
Bennett College is the reci
pient of an $125,415 Minority
Schools Biomedical Research
Support Award from the Na
tional Institutes of Health.
The announcement comes
from Dr. I. H. Miller, Jr.,
President of the College.
According to Dr. Miller the
grant “is among those award
ed from a special HEW ap
propriation designed to elimi
nate the inequities in the
research activity in the mi
nority (traditionally Black)
schools and where ethnic mi
norities constitute the major
ity student enrollment.” Ben
nett College was among 41
recipients of the awards from
a field of 75 applicants.
The grant permits Bennett
College to expand its re
search into the biomedical
sciences including problems in
biology, reproductive endo
crinology, immuno-biology,
developmental biology, phar
macology, and biochemistry.
Although Bennett College has
continually performed some
research in these areas, the
work has necessarily been
hampered by limited person
nel, equipment, time (because
of high teaching load require
ments),-and available funds.
“These deficiencies,” says
Dr. J. Henry Sayles, director
of Biomedical Research Pro
gram, “each contributing sig
nificantly to the perpetuation
of the other, have created a
cyclic phenomenon which
strongly selects against the
success of biomedical research
at colleges and universities
where such inadequacies ex
ist.”
“The overall objectives of
the program,” he continues,
“are to strengthen biomedical
research training at Bennett
College: attact a greater num
ber of competent research-
oriented faculty to the Col
lege; and strengthen the un
dergraduate science programs
in the Departments of Biol
ogy and Chemistry.
The grant provides for re
lease time for faculty mem
bers, permitting them more
time to devote to research
projects. It also provides
money for research person
nel, stipends for students,
and will make possible the
purchase of sophisticated
equipment necessary for bio
medical research. The grant
will also permit faculty and
students to travel to profes
sional meetings.
“Although the funds will
(Continued on Page 2)
Bennett College
Physical Ed. Inst.
ELIZABETH HEMINGWAY
Bennett College received a
$26,712 federal grant to con
duct a summer institute in
physical education and mod
ern health concepts for about
300 girls.
The grant from the Depart
ment of Housing and Urban
Development was made avail
able through the High Point
M'odel Cities pi'ogram.
The institute which was in
operation from June 5 to July
14 was composed of girls
ranging in age from 8-14.
These girls from the High
Point Model City area at
tended two week sessions
-from which they received
many learning experiences.
The program is “an at
tempt to look at motor de
velopment for girls supposed
ly in an ideal environment
' for learning,” explained Dr.
Dawn Chaney, institute di
rector and associate profes
sor of physical education at
Bennett College.
(Continued on Page 2)
J. Washington, Jr.
At Bennett College
Joseph Washington, Jr., a
leading authority in Black
thought and religion, spoke
on “The Dynamics of Black
Religion in America,” at
Bennett College on Wednes
day, Sept. 20th, at 9 A.M. in
Black Hall auditorium. Dr.
Washington is Professor of
Religious Studies and Chair
man of Afro- American
Studies at the University of
Virginia, Charlottesville. His
talk covered topics which he
has explored in many articles
and several books: The Negro
and Christianity in the United
States, Black and White
Power Subreption, Marriage
in Black and White, and Black
Sectarianism, among others.
In his writing and lectures he
is a leading figure in ongoing
debates over the intellectual
and religious foundations for
Black development. He re
ceived his Th.D. from Boston
University in 1961, and has
taught at such schools as Al
bion, Dillard, Dickinson, Bel
oit, as well as at U. of Va.