Clarence A. Bacote papers

Clarence Albert Bacote (1906-1981) was born in Kansas City, Missouri, February 24, 1906, the only son and eldest of three children of Samuel William and Lucy (Bledsoe) Bacote. His father, a native of Society Hill, South Carolina, a graduate of Benedict College, Virginia Union, and Kansas City University, was a Baptist minister and a civic leader. His mother, a native of Topeka, Kansas, and a musician, devoted much of her time to church choral groups. He attended the University of Kansas, where he majored in History and took his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1926. He received a Master of Arts degree in History in 1929. On August 3, 1931, he married Miss Lucia Moore of Atlanta, Georgia. They had two children, Lucia Jean, and Samuel William II. In 1955, he attained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in American History from the University of Chicago. His doctoral dissertation, The Negro in Georgia Politics, 1880-1908, created much interest in the political background of Georgia.

Dr. Bacote was Assistant Professor of history at Atlanta University from 1930 to 1939, becoming full Professor in 1939 and department chair in 1963, a position he held until his retirement. He was the first person appointed to the graduate faculty of Atlanta University. At all Atlanta University commencement exercises Dr. Bacote served as University Marshall, leading the processional and placing the hoods on the recipients of graduate degrees.

Dr. Bacote was a member of the American Association of University Professors, the American Historical Association, and the Executive Council of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. He contributed numerous articles and reviews to the Journal of Negro History, the Negro History Bulletin, and Phylon. In 1969, he published The Story of Atlanta University, the most comprehensive history of that institution.

Dr. Bacote held serious convictions as to his responsibilities toward his community. In 1930, he became the first director of the Citizenship Schools sponsored by the Atlanta branch of the N.A.A.C.P. He served as chairman of the Registration Committee of the Atlanta Negro Voters League from 1944 to 1953. In 1946, he was elected chairman of the Atlanta All-Citizens Registration Committee whose purpose was to set up machinery to get African Americans registered and at the same time to conduct Citizenship Schools to better acquaint them with the operation of their government. This committee was responsible for the campaign which resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of African American registered voters in Fulton County. In 1952, he was elected vice-president of the Fulton County Democratic Club. He managed the successful campaign of Dr. Rufus Clement for election to the school board of Atlanta, and in 1958, ran successfully himself in the election for Fulton County Democratic Executive Committee.

In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Bacote was a member of the Atlanta Charter Commission, the Georgia State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, the Georgia Records Advisory Board, and the Georgia National Register Review Board. He was the first African American appointed to sit on the Fulton County Jury Commission and was vice-chairman of the Fulton County Democratic Party. As a student of politics and history, Dr. Bacote provided detailed analysis of local, state, and national elections for four decades. He was consulted by local television stations to provide live on-air election analysis.

Dr. Bacote retired from Atlanta University in 1977, whereupon he accepted a teaching position in the history department at Morehouse College where he served until his death in 1981.