This year marks the 135th anniversary of the Second Morrill Act of 1890, a landmark piece of legislation that forever changed the landscape of higher education in America. For Langston University, Oklahoma’s only historically black college and university (HBCU), the Act was the catalyst that made its founding possible.
The original Morrill Act of 1862 created land-grant universities, giving states federal resources to fund colleges focused on agriculture and the mechanical arts. While this was transformative, most of these institutions excluded African Americans. The Second Morrill Act of 1890 sought to address this injustice by requiring states that maintained segregated education systems to either admit black students to their existing land-grant schools or establish separate institutions for them.
In the Oklahoma Territory, lawmakers chose the latter. On March 12, 1897, the Territorial Legislature established the Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma, named after John Mercer Langston, the first African American elected to Congress from Virginia and a distinguished educator, diplomat, and lawyer. This new university gave black students in Oklahoma access to higher education in teaching, agriculture, and the sciences, opportunities long denied to them.
The school was designed to provide African Americans with access to higher education in teaching, agriculture, and mechanical arts — just like other land-grant universities — but it also became a vital center for black culture, leadership, and progress in the state. Over time, it grew into what we now know as Langston University, the only HBCU in Oklahoma.
Over the years, the university expanded in both scope and mission, becoming the Langston University we know today: a thriving HBCU and a proud member of the 1890 land-grant university system.
This year, many members of the Langston family traveled to Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 135th anniversary alongside fellow 1890 institutions, honoring the vision, resilience, and progress that grew out of this critical legislation.
The 135th anniversary of the Second Morrill Act highlights the federal commitment that gave birth to Langston. It’s also a reminder that Langston is part of a larger family of 1890 land-grant HBCUs across the country. Institutions were created because of both exclusion and resilience. Celebrations in Washington, D.C. this year by Langston leaders, alumni, and students connect today’s community to the act of legislation that made the university possible.
As we reflect on this milestone, we recognize that Langston University’s story is inseparable from the history of the Second Morrill Act. The law created more than just schools; It created pathways of opportunity, equity, and leadership that continue to shape generations of people who attended Langston University.
Edward Pettis
My name is Edward Pettis, and I am a sophomore Broadcast Journalism major. I want to write for the gazette because, for one, I love to write, and two, I want to share my opinions on various topics that affect not just my school but the entire state of Oklahoma. For the Gazette, I would like to cover sports topics because I really enjoy watching sports, and writing about sports has always been a dream for me. I think the work we’re doing matters because I feel like, as journalists, we live for this, and a lot is going on campus. A fun fact about me outside of journalism is that I am in the band, and I play tenor drum. I can be reached by my school email edward.pettis@langston.edu , or my personal email pettisedward89@gmail.com.
