Langston University

Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state and the westernmost HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Langston is a rural setting east of Guthrie. The University also serves an urban mission, with University Centers in Tulsa (at the same campus as the OSU-Tulsa facility) and Oklahoma City. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History The school was founded in 1897 and was known as the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University. From 1898 to 1916 its president was Inman E. Page. Langston University was created as a result of the second Morrill Act in 1890. The law required states with land-grant colleges (such as Oklahoma State University, then known as Oklahoma A&M) to either admit African Americans, or provide an alternative school for them to attend as a condition of receiving federal funds. The university was renamed as Langston University in 1941 in honor of John Mercer Langston (1829–1897), civil rights pioneer, first African-American member of Congress from Virginia, founder of the Howard University Law School, and American consul-general to Haiti. Through the years, Langston University has developed slowly but surely. Some of the most serious problems have been political influences, financial stress, and lack of adequate space and equipment. During the 1960s, the campus underwent a complete makeover. New buildings appeared, and additions were made to the library and auditorium. Poet Melvin B. Tolson taught at Langston from 1947 until 1964. Tolson was portrayed by Denzel Washington in the film The Great Debaters.