On March 2, 1867, U.S. President Andrew Johnson signed the Congressional Charter for Howard University, making it one of only two universities in the country whose existence was enshrined in federal law. The university was named after one of its most notable founders – Civil War general and president of the Freedmen's Bureau, Oliver Otis Howard.

Howard University’s origins, in every respect, aligned with the birth of a new nation. And its role in shaping that new nation and the course of American history cannot be overstated.

On this episode of On the Yard, Dr. Benjamin Talton, director of MSRC, is joined by Sonja Woods, university archivist for MSRC, and Howard alum Abdur-Rahman Muhammad. Together, they discuss the socio-political context surrounding Howard’s founding, and the historical figures who dreamed of a university that transcended racial and gender lines.

Episode Guide:

00:00 The Founding of Howard University

01:36 Guest Introductions and Personal Howard Connections

02:54 Howard's Unique Position Among HBCUs

06:29 Early Challenges and Visionaries

18:58 The Role of the Freedmen's Bureau

25:44 Howard's Legacy and Influence

32:31 The Push for a Black President

36:18 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM.

Howard was a vision way ahead of this time

07:06: [Abdur-Rahman Muhammad] It appears that Howard was conceived as a racially integrated university, you know, that that was actually the vision. It was an anomaly. It was an anomaly. It was far ahead of its time. People at the time didn't know what to make of it. You know, is this a Black university? Is this a white university? I mean, what's going on here? You know, you have to remember, Howard was founded almost a year and a half before the ratification of the 14th Amendment. Okay? I mean, just think about that, because education, the college degree, it supplies you with more than the ability to prosper in the job market. Education is a sign of social status, right? Even today, maybe one out of 10 people have a college… I mean, to have a college degree really meant that you were, kind of, a somebody.

Abdur’s Howard origin story

01:42: [Abdur-Rahman Muhammad] Well, I first stepped foot on Howard's campus in 1979. That's the first time I visited the campus. And I enrolled the next year, 1980, in the Center for Academic Reinforcement, as it was called back then, the CAR Center. From Providence, Rhode Island, originally, I was part of the class of 1984, although that's not exactly when I walked. You know, that's one of those Howard stories. I actually took my degree sometime later, but I was, you know, class of 1984. I was here with so many illustrious personalities at that time, and I had a wonderful Howard experience and just fell in love with this venerable institution, this magical place.

Howard was unique from the very beginning

04:01: [Sonja Woods] What makes Howard different from the very beginning is that it was, unlike Morehouse and Spelman, co-ed from the beginning. There's a committee of founders at Howard. There's 17 men... And then we're in D.C., so it's a federal location, different type of municipality. It's the South, but it's the federal city.

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