1926 – Poughkeepsie NY
This article from The Pittsburgh Courier provides a detailed account of a woman named Georgine Kelly Smith who was one of the first administrators of the Colored Christian Community in Poughkeepsie. She delivered a speech at Vassar on the “Renaissance of the Negro” in October of 1926. The rest of the article seems to be a list of events that happened during that week.
1927 – Greensboro NC
This article from the Pittsburgh Courier describes an institute of Euthenics opening up at Bennet College for women. The article states that the materials used for the program were being provided by Vassar College. This means that Vassar was aiding Black institutions in their expansion of academics during this time. It is also important to note that Euthenics is the practice of improving the health and lives of the human race. In this case both institutions (Bennet and Vassar) are committing themselves to public service education.
1928 – Negro Minister Fills Pulpit
From the Pittsburgh Courier, this article is one of the most interesting in this collection. It describes Howard Thurman’s first visit to Vassar. He was fairly unknown at this time. The paper calls him “Howard Thurston,” but it is pretty clear they were talking about Thurman. Vassar’s president at the time, Henry MacCracken is called “an uncompromising foe of intolerance.” This is because the article is calling out his bigotry for having a Black minister speak at an institution that does not accept Black students. It is also pointed out that while Black speakers were not uncommon at elite colleges, they were there to speak on race issues and not theology like Thurman. This article is very interesting because it is the first article where Thurman is mentioned by the Black press. It also explicitly criticizes Vassar’s president as being hypocritical for not integrating the school, yet inviting Black speakers to campus.