Into the Light: The Early African American Men of Colgate University Who Transformed a Nation, 1840 - 1930. This item is unavailable.Into the Light: The Early African American Men of Colgate University Who Transformed a Nation, 1840 - 1930

"Diane Ciccone brings together an impeccable array of talents for her book, 'Into the Light': a film maker's eye nuanced descriptions, an ear for crisp prose, and an historian's zest for discovery. In addition, she celebrates the indomitable will of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries first Black male students at Colgate University reminding us that even having borne repression, they became leaders in the human and civil rights struggles. This is a lesson for these times."Cecelia Hodges Drewry, Ph.D.Lecturer, Associate Professor (Retired)Assistant Dean of the College (Retired)Princeton UniversityAbout the book: The early Black men who attended Colgate were not merely passive observers of arguably one of the most transformative periods of American history, they were active participants and agents of that transformation. In short, they committed their lives and education to surviving and resisting the atrocities of the slave oligarchy and its poisonous legacy. It was this commitment to education and transformation that became the blueprint of their lives. Colgate’s admission of Black men began in 1840 with the enrollment of Jonas Holland Townsend, the first admitted Black toColgate (1840-1842), and then later in 1847 when Henry Livingston Simpson became the first Black Colgate graduate (1847-1855). The impressive line of men of color at Colgate includes such legendaryfigures as Townsend, the confidante of Frederick Douglass; SamuelHoward Archer Class of 1902, the mentor and role model of MartinLuther King, Sr. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Adam ClaytonPowell, Jr. Class of 1930, a colorful member of the body politic and anotorious firebrand of the United States House of Representatives,as well as many others."Diane Ciccone's compilation of the histories about the first African Americans to attend Colgate University will provide much needed insight into the challenges, triumphs, and contributions of the men who used their education to disprove the stereotypes about the intellectual abilities of African Americans. This masterful work shares evidence and proof of the existence of people of color who were part of the early history of American higher education."Veronica McFall, Colgate 1989Assistant Director of Alumni Relations for Affinity and Identity Programs, Colgate University In the words of the author: "The threshold question is where these legendary Black men fit into this continuum. The answer is, of course, practically everywhere." Diane Ciccone