N.C. A&T Alumni Times

Special days and recognitions are very important for any institution of higher learning to honor its heritage. Our Founders Day is every March and homecoming falls in October or November of every year. It may not be widely known today, but April has always been a significant month for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. A few of our leaders were inaugurated in April, including Chancellors Lewis C. Dowdy, Stanley F. Battle and Dr. Harold L. Martin, Sr. In addition, on April 4, 1925, North Carolina A&T grieved the loss of President James B. Dudley, and on this same day in 1968, hundreds of students gathered on campus following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In the earlier decades of North Carolina A&T's history, there were three special days to recognize our heritage as a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and as an agricultural college. First, there was Arbor Day held on the day after Thanksgiving, and secondly, there was February 12, the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln before the creation of Negro History Week. The third special day was April 14, the birthday of Senator Justin Smith Morrill, the namesake of the first and second Morrill Acts which led to the founding of many HBCU land-grant colleges, including N.C. A&T.

Following Morrill's death in 1898, it was recommended by the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations to honor Senator Morrill on land-grant campuses every April 14. His birthday was commemorated at N.C. A&T with events by various agricultural and mechanical societies every year until the mid-1950s.

In addition, many HBCUs celebrated Booker T. Washington's birthday the week of April 5 due to his legacy of vocational education that was commemorated by the New Farmers of America (NFA). The NFA was a national organization for young African American males in agricultural education. Washington’s celebrations included guest speakers and regional radio broadcast of the events, some from our own Harrison Auditorium. Photographs, programs and even a few radio broadcasts of these commemorations from A&T were digitized for the "Better Living in North Carolina" digital collection.

Furthermore, Dr. Warmoth T. Gibbs, A&T’s fourth president, was born on the same day as Booker T. Washington in 1892. He was one of A&T’s best historians, a dean and a professor. He passed away 25 years ago this month at the age of 101. He is still honored each year at the annual Gibbs Lecture series held by the current Department of History and Political Science. The 31st annual Gibbs Lecture was held April 11-12, at the F. D. Bluford Library and archives had the honor of filling a display case in the Gibbs Hall lobby area with items from the Gibbs Collection.