Willis Nathaniel Huggins
Encyclopedia
Willis Nathaniel Huggins (February 7, 1886 - July 15?, 1941) was a historian
and social activist. He was one of the earliest proponents of teaching African and African-American history in American schools.
, Alabama
, but moved to Washington D.C with his family when he was still young. After university, he moved to Chicago
, Illinois
where he worked as a high school teacher. During the Chicago Race Riot of 1919
, Huggins became involved in the New Negro Movement, writing for a number of pro African-American journals. He also became involved in the "Garvey
movement" to popularise African-American history, along with Arthur Schomburg and John Edward Bruce
.
In 1924, Huggins moved to New York City
to continue his teaching. Black teachers were quite still unusual in the New York public school system, and Huggins' attempts to include African and African-American history within the curriculum were met with strong opposition. Instead, Huggins and other black teachers taught out-of-school classes on African-American history to students. In 1932 he became the first black student to receive a PhD from Fordham University
.
. In 1934 he co-wrote A Guide to the Study of African History with John G. Jackson
as a prospective guide to teaching African history in schools. The two later wrote An Introduction to African Civilizations with Main Currents in Ethiopian History in 1937.
Huggins was also a passionate campaigner for Ethiopia
during the Italo-Ethiopian War
and during its subsequent occupation by Italy
. He became executive director of the International Council of the Friends of Ethiopia and was sent by the American League Against War and Fascism
as a special envoy to the League of Nations
in Geneva
on behalf of Ethiopia, where he argued against Italian fascism and criticised American neutrality.
and a letter that Huggins sent to his wife stating that "Something is going to happen." At the time of his disappearance, Huggins was teaching history and economics at Bushwick High School in Brooklyn and serving as Assistant Principal at Harlem's Union High School in the evening. Seven months later, on July 15, 1941, his body was recovered from the Hudson river
by police. His death was ruled a suicide by the police, his family, and his lawyer. Despite this, some of his students at the Blyden Society
and Harlem
community centre voiced concerns that he may have been murdered by gangsters over unpaid business loans.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and social activist. He was one of the earliest proponents of teaching African and African-American history in American schools.
Early life
Huggins was born in SelmaSelma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, but moved to Washington D.C with his family when he was still young. After university, he moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
where he worked as a high school teacher. During the Chicago Race Riot of 1919
Chicago Race Riot of 1919
The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 was a major racial conflict that began in Chicago, Illinois on July 27, 1919 and ended on August 3. During the riot, dozens died and hundreds were injured. It is considered the worst of the approximately 25 riots during the Red Summer of 1919, so named because of the...
, Huggins became involved in the New Negro Movement, writing for a number of pro African-American journals. He also became involved in the "Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
movement" to popularise African-American history, along with Arthur Schomburg and John Edward Bruce
John Edward Bruce
John Edward Bruce, also known as Bruce Grit or J. E. Bruce-Grit , born a slave in Maryland, United States, became a journalist, historian, writer, orator, civil rights activist and Pan-African nationalist...
.
In 1924, Huggins moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to continue his teaching. Black teachers were quite still unusual in the New York public school system, and Huggins' attempts to include African and African-American history within the curriculum were met with strong opposition. Instead, Huggins and other black teachers taught out-of-school classes on African-American history to students. In 1932 he became the first black student to receive a PhD from Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
.
Work
Huggins main goal was to promote the serious study of African and African-American history, which he did as associate director of the Blyden SocietyEdward Wilmot Blyden
Edward Wilmot Blyden was an Americo-Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician primarily in Liberia. He also taught for five years in Sierra Leone, and his writings were influential in both countries....
. In 1934 he co-wrote A Guide to the Study of African History with John G. Jackson
John G. Jackson (writer)
John Glover Jackson was a Pan-Africanist historian, lecturer, teacher and writer. He promoted ideas of Afrocentrism, Black atheists, and Jesus Christ in comparative mythology....
as a prospective guide to teaching African history in schools. The two later wrote An Introduction to African Civilizations with Main Currents in Ethiopian History in 1937.
Huggins was also a passionate campaigner for Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
during the Italo-Ethiopian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
and during its subsequent occupation by Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He became executive director of the International Council of the Friends of Ethiopia and was sent by the American League Against War and Fascism
American League Against War and Fascism
The American League Against War and Fascism was an organization formed in 1933 by the Communist Party USA and pacifists united by their concern as Nazism and Fascism rose in Europe...
as a special envoy to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
on behalf of Ethiopia, where he argued against Italian fascism and criticised American neutrality.
Death
Huggins went missing on December 23, 1940. The only clues to his whereabouts were an overcoat that had been found on the George Washington BridgeGeorge Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
and a letter that Huggins sent to his wife stating that "Something is going to happen." At the time of his disappearance, Huggins was teaching history and economics at Bushwick High School in Brooklyn and serving as Assistant Principal at Harlem's Union High School in the evening. Seven months later, on July 15, 1941, his body was recovered from the Hudson river
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
by police. His death was ruled a suicide by the police, his family, and his lawyer. Despite this, some of his students at the Blyden Society
Edward Wilmot Blyden
Edward Wilmot Blyden was an Americo-Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician primarily in Liberia. He also taught for five years in Sierra Leone, and his writings were influential in both countries....
and Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
community centre voiced concerns that he may have been murdered by gangsters over unpaid business loans.
See also
- Arthur Schomburg
- John G. JacksonJohn G. Jackson (writer)John Glover Jackson was a Pan-Africanist historian, lecturer, teacher and writer. He promoted ideas of Afrocentrism, Black atheists, and Jesus Christ in comparative mythology....
- Marcus GarveyMarcus GarveyMarcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
- Black history monthBlack History MonthBlack History Month is an observance of the history of the African diaspora in a number of countries outside of Africa. Since 1976, it is observed annually in the United States and Canada in February, while in the United Kingdom it is observed in October...