A few years back after driving off the interstate into the heart of Washington, I asked the first person I saw, "Where's Howard University." "Howard?" said the man puzzled. "Yes, Howard University?" I insisted. "Sorry. No idea." said the white man walking away. I drove off certain he was lying. After all, he wasn't a tourist and everyone in DC knows Howard University. Or do they....

For African America Howard University is at the center of our history and culture But how did it get to be that way? A lot of the credit goes to Mordecai W. Johnson, president of Howard University (1936 - 1960).

At the age of 36, Johnson was elected the 11th, and the first African American, president of Howard University. It was 1926 and the US was enjoying the prosperity that had begun with the close of World War I in 1918. The Harlem Renaissance was in full swing, with the creative talents of African Americans expressed in literature, music, and art. It was a time of great expectations.

Johnson's first major responsibility was to assure the financial undergirding of the university. Since 1879 Congress had given some subsidies to the school, but the amounts were by no means adequate to the need nor were they assured each year. Encouraged by Johnson's leadership and his vision for the university, Louis C. Cramton, representative from Michigan, and other lawmakers pushed through Congress a law providing annual support.

Johnson set out to raise the quality of each of the schools in the university, starting with the medical school, one of only two in the nation to which African Americans were admitted without prejudice based on race. His first financial goal was to raise $250,000 to match a challenge grant by the General Education Board (GEB) toward a new building and endowment for the medical school, and an additional $180,000 for equipment. He was more than successful.

Johnson's primary concern, however, was raising the standards of the law school. When he assumed the presidency, it was a night school taught by men whose primary occupation was the practice of law during the day. With the advice of Justice Louis D. Brandeis of the U.S. Supreme Court, Johnson made contact with top law schools for recommendations of their leading African American graduates to recruit for teaching at Howard. Justice Brandeis pointed out that the bases for fighting racial discrimination were already embedded in the Constitution. What was needed, he said, was for lawyers to be prepared to base their arguments before the Court precisely upon the guarantees in the document. This proved to be significant advice not only for the development of the law school at Howard, but for affecting race relations throughout the country.

Johnson appointed Charles Hamilton Houston, one of the top legal scholars in the country, and an African American, as dean of the law school. Hamilton took the view that African American lawyers must see themselves as "social engineers." He and his colleagues developed high standards for students at the law school. Its most notable graduate was Thurgood Marshall, who became the first African American Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

At the law school, attention was given to research and intense analysis of litigation involving civil rights that had been or might be brought before the Court. It was no accident that Marshall, using the approach suggested by Brandeis, won 29 of the 32 of the civil rights cases he argued before the Court. These successes may be attributed in large measure to Mordecai Johnson's determination to make the Howard Law School the matrix out of which progress in the welfare of African Americans could be achieved.

The first half of Johnson's tenure at Howard was marked by controversy. There were those who felt that it was unconscionable for the board of trustees to select a Baptist preacher who had no terminal degree, and very little experience, as a teacher and administrator in higher education. Also some accused him of being a dictator, of having a "messianic complex," of being unyielding in the positions he took.

Certain faculty and staff members maintained a continuous barrage of derogatory charges against Johnson during the first half of his administration. Through all the controversy he had the confidence and support of the trustees in constantly raising the level of support and the standards of the university. He made fruitful contacts with all the major charitable foundations.

At the same time, he was able to attract top talent. Alain Locke, a philosopher and a Rhodes Scholar from Harvard, and Ernest E. Just, the internationally famous cell biologist, were already on the faculty when Johnson came. Added to them were, among others, Ralph Bunche, professor of political science and later a Nobel Laureate; Charles Drew, who perfected the use of blood plasma; Percy Julian, a noted chemist; Rayford Logan, a leading historian and an authority on the Caribbean; Abram Harris, an outstanding economist, and Sterling Brown, professor of English and a noted poet.

Johnson raised millions of dollars for new buildings and for upgrading all of Howard's schools. Each segment boasted a strong curriculum. National honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, were established on campus. In addition, salaries were constantly increased and a favorable working environment was established.

One of the outstanding orators of his time, Johnson traveled 25,000 miles a year speaking principally on racism, segregation, and discrimination. In 1951 he was a member of the American delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

It has been said that after hearing Johnson speak following his visit to India and an audience with the Mahatma Gandhi that Martin Luther King Jr. became convinced that nonviolent resistance was the best philosophy for African Americans to follow in their effort to end segregation and racial discrimination...

(idea suggested by Victor Langhorne, LanghorneV@aol.com who provided a research article from www.africanpubs.com) Ramsees7@yahoo.com