Dr. Thirkield Takes Office.
November 23, 1907
Summary
Roosevelt talks about the progress of race relations in the country at the inauguration of Dr. Thirkield as President of Howard University.
Transcription
Dr. Thirkield Takes Office.
President Roosevelt Makes a Practical Address.
Rev. Dr. Wilbur Patterson Thirkield, was yesterday installed as President of Howard University. The exercises were held in Rankin Memorial Chapel, on the university campus and picturesqueness was lent to the occasion by the multitude of academic robes and the red, green and purple hoods of honorary college degrees.
The installation took place amid a distinguished gathering, which included Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States; James Bryce, British Ambassador; Andrew Carnegie, Rt. Rev. Henry Y. Satterlee, bishop of Washington; James R. Garfield, Secretary of the Interior; Dr. Elmer E. Brown, United States Commissioner of Education; Rev. Dr. William Ingraham Haven, of New York, District Commissioner MacFarland, many prominent members of the alumni of the institution, and representatives from more than forty other universities and schools of higher education.
As the long academic procession of men, distinguished in scholarship science, the various professions, and the affairs of the world marched from the office of the president of the university to the ivy-clad chapel nearby, it formed a galaxy of rich color and a picture of impressive solemnity which marked the importance of the occasion.
…
Progress Of The Race.
All the speakers emphasized the remarkable progress which the colored race has made in forty years since it has enjoyed freedom. President Roosevelt pointed to the material gain which has been achieved by the race, a gain which he declared to be an indispensable step and a long one, in building the structure of a higher life, which must have as a basis some material foundation. He said that he knew of no men from any college in the country who have heavier burdens to bear than the graduates of Howard University. He urged them to bear these buoyantly and bravely. He spoke of the responsibility which they owe to their race throughout the country, and advised them strongly not to remain in Washington after graduation to secure a government, but to go out into the small places, where their efforts will tell for the good of their race.
Mr. Roosevelt spoke in particular of the excellent work which has been accomplished by the theological and medical graduates of the university and said that the same applies to all the other departments of the institution.
President Roosevelt’s Address.
President Roosevelt said, in part:
“During forty years, practically during the time that has elapsed since the emancipation proclamation the colored citizens of the United States have accumulated property, until now they have some $350,000,000 worth of taxable property in this country. During the same forty years they have been making for themselves homes, until now there are 500,000 homes owned and occupied by the colored citizens of our country. When a man and woman grow to acquire a certain amount of property above all when they grow to own and occupy their own home, it is proof positive that they have made long strides forward along the path of good citizenship; and the colored man, when he acquires property, acquires a home, has taken that indispensable first step, a long, long step.
…
President Roosevelt Makes a Practical Address.
Rev. Dr. Wilbur Patterson Thirkield, was yesterday installed as President of Howard University. The exercises were held in Rankin Memorial Chapel, on the university campus and picturesqueness was lent to the occasion by the multitude of academic robes and the red, green and purple hoods of honorary college degrees.
The installation took place amid a distinguished gathering, which included Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States; James Bryce, British Ambassador; Andrew Carnegie, Rt. Rev. Henry Y. Satterlee, bishop of Washington; James R. Garfield, Secretary of the Interior; Dr. Elmer E. Brown, United States Commissioner of Education; Rev. Dr. William Ingraham Haven, of New York, District Commissioner MacFarland, many prominent members of the alumni of the institution, and representatives from more than forty other universities and schools of higher education.
As the long academic procession of men, distinguished in scholarship science, the various professions, and the affairs of the world marched from the office of the president of the university to the ivy-clad chapel nearby, it formed a galaxy of rich color and a picture of impressive solemnity which marked the importance of the occasion.
…
Progress Of The Race.
All the speakers emphasized the remarkable progress which the colored race has made in forty years since it has enjoyed freedom. President Roosevelt pointed to the material gain which has been achieved by the race, a gain which he declared to be an indispensable step and a long one, in building the structure of a higher life, which must have as a basis some material foundation. He said that he knew of no men from any college in the country who have heavier burdens to bear than the graduates of Howard University. He urged them to bear these buoyantly and bravely. He spoke of the responsibility which they owe to their race throughout the country, and advised them strongly not to remain in Washington after graduation to secure a government, but to go out into the small places, where their efforts will tell for the good of their race.
Mr. Roosevelt spoke in particular of the excellent work which has been accomplished by the theological and medical graduates of the university and said that the same applies to all the other departments of the institution.
President Roosevelt’s Address.
President Roosevelt said, in part:
“During forty years, practically during the time that has elapsed since the emancipation proclamation the colored citizens of the United States have accumulated property, until now they have some $350,000,000 worth of taxable property in this country. During the same forty years they have been making for themselves homes, until now there are 500,000 homes owned and occupied by the colored citizens of our country. When a man and woman grow to acquire a certain amount of property above all when they grow to own and occupy their own home, it is proof positive that they have made long strides forward along the path of good citizenship; and the colored man, when he acquires property, acquires a home, has taken that indispensable first step, a long, long step.
…
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Upper Left Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Benton Camper
Citation
“Dr. Thirkield Takes Office.,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed September 14, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/897.