Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, recently unveiled a bust of Edward McKnight Brawley, who in 1875 became the first African American to graduate from the university. The bust is on a pedestal outside the Vaughn Literature Building on the Bucknell campus.
Brawley also earned a master’s degree at Bucknell and became a minister, journalist, and a religion scholar. Brawley served as president of what is now Selma University in Alabama. He also was president of Morris College in Alabama. His son, Benjamin Brawley, was the first dean of Morehouse College in Atlanta.
In 1993, Bucknell’s Black Alumni Association (BAA) established the Brawley Fund, which provides grants to assist students who have been historically underrepresented in activities such as workshops, research opportunities, internships and off-campus study.
Below is a video about the honoring of Brawley.
