Atlanta University Photographs

Seventy-two days following the end of the Civil War, the American Missionary Association (A.M.A.) Began formal educational work for African Americans in Atlanta. Edmund Asa Ware, the Educational Director of the A.M.A. in Georgia, promoted the idea of establishing a university to provide educational opportunity for the recently freed slaves and refugees of the war. The Atlanta University opened on October 13, 1869.

The University offered training for students of all ages including kindergarten, grade school, normal industrial, academy and college. In 1894, all pre-high school level work ceased, and during the first two decades of the twentieth century, the University phased out its high school courses. In 1929, Atlanta University affiliated with Morehouse and Spelman in a cooperative plan known as the Atlanta University System. Among the features of this system was a division of labor between the schools to eliminate unnecessary duplication of educational efforts. Under this plan, the University discontinued all undergraduate work and devoted its resources to graduate and professional education, while Morehouse and Spelman operated on a college level.

The Atlanta University Schools of Social Work, Library and Information Studies, Arts and Sciences, Education, Business Administration, and Library Services were all established between 1920 and 1946. On July 1, 1988, Atlanta University and Clark College consolidated to form Clark Atlanta University.