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In 1871 Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn recommended that the state legislature support the formation of Alcorn University. The campus of Oakland
College, a school founded by the Presbyterian Church in 1830, had been abandoned after the Civil War and was purchased for forty thousand dollars and designated for the education of black youth. The school became Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1878, and Alcorn State University in 1974. In this unique pictorial retrospective, over one hundred years of growth and change at Alcorn are explored and celebrated. Included within these pages are vintage photographs of the students and faculty that have shaped the school's history. From early classes and sporting events to distinguished alumni and prominent leaders, the images depict a university continually striving to educate, train, and inspire young African Americans. Alcorn's picturesque campus, with moss-draped trees and scenic
lakes, provides a setting where, for over a century, students have been given a multitude of opportunities to grow. The first land-grant institution for blacks in the United States, Alcorn is a public university committed to academic
excellence. The challenges faced by its students and faculty in its earliest days brought forth an unyielding determination to succeed, which is still evident today among its diverse student body.
About the author
Josephine McCann Posey graduated from Alcorn State University and went on to receive her doctoral degree from Mississippi State University. She currently serves as the dean of the School of Education and Psychology at Alcorn State, and is the author of Against Great Odds: The History of Alcorn State University. Selected as a Fulbright Scholar in 1996, Dr. Posey has dedicated her life to educating young people and brings to this work a great sense of pride in the school's storied past, its thriving present, and its promising future.
