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President Roosevelt praises William G. Frost’s work in the southern mountains. He has heard about the emergency at Berea College which necessitates separate schools for African Americans and whites. He hopes that the fund Frost is seeking to establish will solve the problem without interfering with the work being done at Berea.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-11
Fisk University is in a state of financial crisis, at risk of having to shut down because of a large amount of debt and no wealthy alumni able to donate. Harvey L. Simmons asks Theodore Roosevelt to write a letter supporting Fisk University, spreading news of its financial troubles and calling people to action in order to save Black colleges in America.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-22
The Fisk University Board of Trustees would like to create an Honorary Advisory Committee to increase public awareness of the university. Charles A. Hull, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, asks if Theodore Roosevelt will endorse the mission, and if they can use his name for promotion.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-02-01
Andrew Carnegie has donated more than 50 million dollars to libraries and would like to donate to a new cause. He has asked President Roosevelt and several others, including Secretary of State Elihu Root, for ideas. He has been giving to Berea College for several years, and will give more provided its president, William G. Frost, gives funds to a newly-established African American school. To date Carnegie has given between 19 and 20 million dollars to small colleges.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-28
Politician and orator William H. Fleming believes President Roosevelt wishes “to do the best thing possible for the whole country, including our Southern white people, and not excluding the negroes.” Many Georgia locals agree with outspoken men like T. W. Hardwick though the South owes no allegiance to the 14th and 15th Amendment. South Carolina politician Coleman Livingston Blease has argued against education for African Americans and called for the university in Orangeburg to be torn down. Fleming asks Roosevelt if the government can make a statement of clarity regarding the amendments to help “check the riotous tendency down here.” Fleming believes that any man not willing to commit to the Constitution and its amendments should be stripped of their seat and discusses counter efforts against the passage of disenfranchisement laws.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-24