A Little-Known School With A Big History

via Wikimedia

PushBlack
June 20, 2019

Founded in 1837, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania started as the African Institute, a trade school that taught young Black people necessary skills to retain employment. 

The larger vision for the school? To become a training institution for teachers. And so it was. 

Renamed Cheyney Training School for Teachers in 1914, Cheyney produced a string of leaders to teach the next generation of Black youth. 

Today, Cheyney University - which saw a 1983 name change once again - offers a slew of master’s degrees in Education and 30-plus bachelor’s degrees to a small populace of an intimate 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

With such a rich history, Cheyney has produced Black alum who have made vast contributions to our community and the world. 

Robert W. Bogle, for example, became the publisher of the oldest Black newspaper, the Philadelphia Tribune, and an advocate for Black Philadelphians.

There’s also Rebecca Cole, a social reformist who became America’s second Black woman doctor; renowned CBS News Correspondent, Ed Bradley; and the multimillionaire businessman, Craig T. Welburn.

When the world denied Black people rights to education, HBCUs came through. And as HBCUs continue doing this important work, let’s continue to lift up schools like Cheyney University.

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