EASTON, Pa.(www.lafayette.edu), January 9, 2008 — David Kearney McDonogh, Class of 1844, was featured in the Autumn 2007 edition of The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. The article highlights McDonogh’s journey to earn a Lafayette degree, despite being a slave.
McDonogh was the first African American graduate from Lafayette and, according to The Journal, one of only 40 African Americans in the country to receive a college degree prior to the Civil War. However, unlike the other college graduates, McDonogh was the only one to do so while being a slave.
McDonogh’s master, John McDonogh, was a supporter of the American Colonization Society, which worked to send slaves back to Africa. However, the article explains that “John McDonogh believed that these newly freed slaves would need educated leadership once they reached Liberia.”
As a result, he arranged education for his slave with George Junkin, the first president of Lafayette.
During his six years at Lafayette, McDonogh took courses, but did not attend racially integrated classes. He also apprenticed with a local physician in Easton.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1844, McDonogh did not return to Africa, but went on to study medicine and practiced in New York for more than 40 years.
In March, Curlee Holton, professor and head of art and director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI), released a limited-edition fine art print entitled “Legacy” to commemorate McDonogh.
EPI, with the support of the College, has also engaged internationally renowned sculptor Melvin Edwards to create a work to be installed on campus that would commemorate the College’s granting of a degree to McDonogh. The College is currently raising funds for the memorial.
- The McDonogh Report celebrates the contributions of African Americans to the Lafayette community.
- Fine Art Print Honors Lafayette’s First African American Graduate
- Sculpture Honors Lafayette’s First African American Graduate
