Alcorn State University is an historically black university

Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....

 comprehensive land-grant institution in Lorman, Mississippi

Lorman, Mississippi

Lorman is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Mississippi, United States. It is home to Alcorn State University, which was attended by Medgar Evers and Steve McNair ....

. It was founded in 1871

Alcorn State University was founded on the site originally occupied by Oakland College, a school for whites established by the Presbyterian Church.
Oakland College closed its doors at the beginning of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 so that its students could fight for the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

. Upon failing to reopen at the end of the war, the property was sold to the state of Mississippi and renamed Alcorn University in honor of James L.