The Eloquence of The Scribes

 Dr. Benjamin gave a lecture on the importance of knowing the history of our campus. So often us as Howard students enter the buildings around us without thought. We don’t realize how important the names of each of these buildings really are. She told us about Mordecai Johnson being the first African-American president of Howard University. She went on to name Mary McLeod (Bethune Annex), Fredrick Douglass (Douglass Hall), and Ernest Everett Just (Just Hall). All of these influential African Americans played a major role in the education of blacks.

            She went through each of the sections of the Harriet Tubman Quadrangle; the freshman girl’s dorm. She briefly talked about Phyllis Wheatley; one of the youngest published African American women. Sojourner Truth; famous abolitionist, preacher, and a staunch advocate of women’s rights.  Prudence Crandall; a white woman who opened the first school for black girls.

            She went on to tell the stories of many other scribes at Howard University. Dr. Benjamin informed us that there were so many influential people with buildings as there namesakes that she couldn’t mention them all. In the short 50 minutes she had she gave all of the students a vital history lesson we will all never forget. We learned the legacy of our university and the importance of every building we enter each and everyday.
Erin White