This Day in Republican History 08/22/05

August 22, 1867 Founding of Fisk University; named for Republican Clinton B. Fisk, Commissioner of Freedmen’s Bureau that assisted emancipated slaves Fisk University was founded as a liberal arts institution committed to educating the newly freed slaves. Home of distinguished graduates and educators, artists and thinkers such as W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, Aaron Douglas, John Hope Franklin and Nikki Giovanni. Current Members of U. S. Congress, Representatives John Lewis (GA) and Alcee Hastings (FL) are Fisk graduates as is the former U.S. Secretary of Energy Hazel O’Leary. • In 1952 Fisk became the 1st historic black college or university (HBCU) to obtain a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. • In 1930, Fisk became the first historically black college to gain full accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. • Fisk University is the oldest university in Nashville. Needless to say, had Democrats of the time had their way, Fisk University would not exist.