The History of Virginia Union University

Virginia Union University (VUU), formerly called Richmond Theological School for Freedmen, was founded in 1865 with the mission of providing higher education to African Americans in the post-Civil War era.

After slavery was abolished, the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) sought to assist African Americans in education and strengthening their culture. ABHMS is a Christian organization that meets the needs of those struggling to survive. John Mason Peck, an American missionary and abolitionist, organized the ABHMS in 1832 to respond to the Native Americans and freed African American slaves. His goals were to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and establish and educate Christian leaders within these groups.

Isaiah Foreman, a student at Virginia Union University, recently presented a talk about the history of the school as part of AARP Virginia’s series on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Foreman started his presentation discussing Lumpkin’s Jail, which was owned and operated in Richmond by Robert Lumpkin from 1844 until 1865. Lumpkin was described as a vicious and cruel slave trader whose land included the jail, an auction block, a large holding area for slaves, a hotel, tavern, and his residence. The stretch of land is known as the Devil’s Half Acre.

Lumpkin married a 13-year-old slave named Mary. After Lumpkin died, Mary inherited the property and all his assets. Mary leased the building where the jail was to the Rev. Nathaniel Colver to become a learning facility for African Americans. What once was a place of bondage became a place that educated and liberated African Americans.

In 1870, the school was renamed Richmond Theological Institute and was moved into the hotel on Lumpkins’ land. In 1899, Wayland College of Washington, D.C. merged with Richmond Theological Institute and became what is known today as Virginia Union University. Booker T. Washington and Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. both attended Wayland College.

Foreman discussed each building located on the campus starting with MacVicar Hall, which was named after the school’s first president, Malcolm MacVicar. The first lady’s dormitory was called Kingsley Hall. Today, Kingsley Hall is the home of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology. Coburn Hall holds chapel services. Coburn Hall was constructed in 1899 and named after Maine’s governor Abner Coburn. It held Virginia Union’s original chapel and library collection.

The other halls discussed were Pickford Hall, Huntley Hall, and Gray Hall. The executive offices are in Pickford Hall; Huntley Hall houses athletes; and Gray Hall was used for the school’s first cafeteria. Foreman also highlighted The Belgium Friendship Building. The building has a small theatre, and it hosts events, workshops, and seminars at VUU. The tower on Belgium Friendship illuminates at night with the school’s logo symbolizing 160 years of existence.

There are many well-known graduates of VUU. Some are listed below:

•  L. Douglas Wilder – The first African American who was elected as governor of Virginia and the first African American to serve as governor of any U.S. state since Reconstruction. He graduated in1950. 
  
• Charles Spurgeon Johnson – A sociologist who did his undergraduate work and completed his graduate and doctoral studies at the University of Chicago. As the first black president of Fisk University, he led the school during the Jim Crow era. He was known as a civil rights activist who collaborated with Blacks and liberal whites to achieve practical results. 
  
• Rosa L. Dixon Bowser – An African American educator who was the first African American hired in Richmond as a public-school teacher in 1872. She played a crucial role in advancing education for African American women. 
  
• Samuel DeWitt Proctor – An educator, theologian, and civil rights activist who served as president of VUU. He also served as president of North Carolina A&T State University. 
  
• Mayme BaCote – Served, a Democrat who represented the Hampton and Newport News area in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2004 to 2016. 

Virginia Union University has evolved into a well-known institution due to its religious and academic programs, Foreman said.