Lincoln Normal School, Marion, Alabama: A School Founded by Freedmen

Lincoln Normal School in Marion, Alabama, was among the first schools set up after the Civil War to educate freedmen.

Founded by former slaves

The school was incorporated in 1867 by nine local African American men, all formerly enslaved. With help from the American Missionary Association (AMA), they and other Marion residents raised enough money to buy land for a campus. The AMA leased a building for the school and worked with the Freedmen's Bureau and local African American residents to raise money for a permanent one, and with further funds from the State of Alabama a new school building went up on the campus.

From school to university

• 1871: the state chose the school, until then a primary and secondary school, as one of four teacher-training schools, and it was renamed the Lincoln Normal University for Teachers.
• 1874: the AMA deeded the school to the state, making it, according to the NPS, the first state-supported educational institution for African Americans in the United States.
• 1878: it was renamed the State Normal School and University for Colored Students and Teachers.
• 1887: fire destroyed the State Normal School, and the teacher-training university moved to Montgomery, where it eventually became Alabama State University. The primary and secondary schools stayed in Marion and operated until 1970.

Its legacy

Besides laying the foundation of Alabama State University, Lincoln Normal School left an important intellectual legacy for Alabama's African American community, offering a progressive, innovative model of education to its students and the wider community. It joined the African American Civil Rights Network in 2022.

The African American Civil Rights Network

The Network recognises the African American civil rights movement in the United States and the sacrifices of those who fought discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017 and coordinated by the National Park Service, it tells the stories of the movement's people, places and events through a collection of public and private resources.

Sources

• National Park Service, African American Civil Rights Network, "Lincoln Normal School (Marion, Alabama)." https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/lincoln-normal-school-marion-alabama.htm