Knowra Howard University Howard University Howard University is a private, federally chartered historically Black research university in Washington, D.C., founded in 1867. It has educated generations of Black scholars, professionals, artists, and political leaders.
Reconstruction era : The period from 1865 to 1877 when the United States attempted to rebuild the South and secure rights for formerly enslaved people. Howard was established during Reconstruction as federal and religious organizations expanded educational opportunities.
Thurgood Marshall : An American lawyer and jurist who argued Brown v. Board of Education and became the first Black justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Marshall graduated from Howard Law and developed there under dean Charles Hamilton Houston.
Howard University School of Medicine : The medical school at Howard University, established in 1868 to train physicians and address racial barriers in medicine. It extends Howard's founding mission into medical education and health care.
Civil rights movement : A broad movement that sought to end racial discrimination and secure equal rights, especially for Black Americans in the mid-20th century. Howard faculty, alumni, and students helped shape its legal campaigns and activism.
Historically Black colleges and universities : U.S. colleges and universities established primarily to educate Black people when racial exclusion restricted access to many other institutions. Howard is one of the country's most prominent HBCUs and a major research university.
Freedmen's Bureau : A U.S. federal agency that assisted formerly enslaved people and impoverished Southerners after the Civil War. The bureau helped establish Howard and supported its early educational work.
Charles Hamilton Houston : An American lawyer and educator who shaped the legal strategy that dismantled racial segregation in the United States. As Howard Law dean, he transformed its curriculum and trained civil-rights lawyers.
Howard University Hospital : A teaching hospital in Washington, D.C., affiliated with Howard University and serving as a clinical training site. The hospital links university medical education with patient care and community health.
Brown v. Board of Education : The 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Howard Law graduates and faculty, including Thurgood Marshall and Charles Hamilton Houston, built the legal challenge behind it.
Hampton University : A private historically Black university in Hampton, Virginia, founded in 1868 as Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Hampton and Howard emerged in the Reconstruction era but developed different institutional traditions and locations.
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