E. H. Anderson: Pioneer Black College President (1850–1885)
By: Kharen Monsho
Published: November 1, 1994
E. H. Anderson, black college president, was born on September 2, 1850, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a graduate of Fisk University and was trained for the Methodist ministry. He moved to Texas to head Prairie View Normal School, established in 1879 as a school to train black teachers (see PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY). During his tenure Prairie View experienced severe financial hardships as the Sixteenth and Seventeenth legislatures debated over the constitutionality and the funding of the school. The school, with fifty students, was overcrowded and did not have a fixed course of study, but toward the end of Anderson's tenure he was optimistic at the support of the black communities around the state. Anderson died at Prairie View on October 29, 1885. He was succeeded by his brother, Laurine Cecil Anderson, who had served as his first assistant.
Bibliography:
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Kharen Monsho, “Anderson, E. H.,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/anderson-e-h.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
FAN57
- November 1, 1994
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