Claver College
Claver College was a Black Catholic institution of higher education in Guthrie, Oklahoma, founded in 1933 by the Benedictine Sisters of St. Joseph's Monastery in Tulsa.
History
Claver College was founded in 1933 by Sr Joseph O'Connor, a Benedictine religious sister from St. Joseph's Monastery in Tulsa, to serve the African American population of Guthrie, Oklahoma.[1][2] The college was supported with funding from Katharine Drexel (who had founded Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation's only Catholic HBCU, in 1925).[3] The college was named after Peter Claver, a Jesuit missionary and the patron saint of African-American ministry.[4]
The college, a night school, operated out of a building that also hosted a grocery store.[5] It ceased operations in 1944, and its former place of operation, the floodplain neighborhood of "Little Africa", was later destroyed. It has since experienced sustained restoration efforts.[6]
References
- Back to citation "St. Joseph Monastery | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". www.okhistory.org. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- Back to citation Tinner-Williams, Nate (November 26, 2021). "Remembering Claver College—the nation's second Black Catholic college". Black Catholic Messenger.
- Back to citation Stories of the Ages: Endangered Black History - Guthrie (2012-01-26), January 2, 2018, retrieved September 20, 2022
- Back to citation O'Dell, Larry. "Colleges, African American". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
- Back to citation Spaulding, Cathy (1989). "A century of care // Benedictine nuns have had a significant impact on state". Tulsa World.
- Back to citation "Planning of The Elbow renovation receives a $26,000 boost". Guthrie News Page. March 30, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2022.