Louisville Municipal College, 1931-1951
The University of Louisville in 1920 had a municipal
bond issue that required
The 1920 vote made both city of Louisville and University of Louisville officials recognize the necessity of consulting with African American leaders and acceding to some of their requests in the future. This was a demonstration of the power of the African American vote. When the University of Louisville attempted to pass a municipal bond to expand its Belknap campus, the municipal bond was initially defeated by African American Louisvillians in an effort to force the University of Louisville to meet their educational needs. The bond was passed in 1925 by African American Louisvillians upon the University of Louisville's promise to establish an institution of higher education. African American leaders wanted an African American liberal arts university in Louisville for their community.
The University of Louisville Trustees agreed to set aside one tenth, i.e. $100,000 of the $1,000,000 bond issue for African American higher education.
On February 9, 1931, Louisville Municipal College for
Negroes, (LMC), opened Louisville Municipal College (until 1942, known
as Louisville Municipal College for Negroes) was located on the former
grounds of Simmons University after it closed
Offering a four year liberal arts curriculum, Dr. Rufus Clement, as Dean (1931-1937), with William M. Bright, Earl L. Brown, Nancy Bullock, D. L. Lawson, A. W. Ramsey, and Henry S. Wilson as faculty; greeted the eighty-three new students. A "Class A" rating from the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Was gained by LMC In 1936.
Louisville Municipal College was one of three liberal arts colleges for African Americans established in the United States at that time. The Deans of Louisville Municipal College were: Rufus Clements, 1931-1937; David A. Lane, 1937-1942; and Bertram W. Doyle, 1942-1950. During its last year of existence, Louisville Municipal College functioned without the leadership of a Dean. Ms. Florence Johnson was LMC''s first graduate in 1932 with a major in chemistry, graduating more than 500 students.
From its very beginning in 1931, Louisville Municipal
College had a library. By 1934, the library had over 5,000 volumes and
was managed by a professional librarian. In 1951, the collections of
the Louisville Municipal College Library was absorbed into UofL's General
Library on Belknap Campus, duplicate copies being sold to students and
faculty for 25¢ per volume, when LMC closed.
Fraternities and sororities existed on the campus not only sponsoring social activities for the campus but also provided student scholarships. The campus newspaper the BANTAM was first published in 1931.
|©2005 University of Louisville. All Rights Reserved. Send web related comments here.|