African-American education in the context of Lutheran collegiate institutions since the late nineteenth century

This study examined the role of United States Lutherans in the higher education of African Americans. The purpose was to discover, report, and reflect upon the role of United States Lutheranism in African American post-secondary-education since the late nineteenth century. Where have we been? Where might we be headed? The lack of foundational research indicated a need for an exploratory study, one that might lay a basis for a subsequent definitive test of the impact of the Lutheran educational project on the quality of life in the American community. The study examined the extent of Lutheran involvement in the development of post-secondary education for African Americans during the late nineteenth century. The extent of Lutheran involvement has been a largely untold story. The intent of this study is to add a disciplined delineation of the Lutheran African American post-secondary experience. The role of Lutheranism was clarified by (1) describing the earliest educational ventures between white Lutherans and African Americans, (2) by investigating all post-secondary educational institutions established by Lutherans, (3) by discovering and reviewing the roles played by selected significant figures, (4) through oral interviews of selected African American scholars who studied in Lutheran schools, (5) and by inquiring about the degree to which the course of events in African American post-secondary education was influenced by politics, race relations, educational theory, and religious creeds and values. The study has established that Lutheran higher education movements had some success in the African American Community during the period covered.