Hampton University

Hampton University is a historical Black college and university (HBCU) located in Hampton, Virginia. The campus overlooking the northern edge of the harbor of Hampton Roads was founded on the grounds of "Little Scotland", a former plantation in Elizabeth City County not far from Fort Monroe and the Grand Contraband Camp, each tangible symbols of freedom for former slaves shortly after the end of the Civil War.

Among the school's famous alumni is educator Dr. Booker T. Washington. Under what is now called the Emancipation Oak tree, Mary Smith Peake taught the first classes on September 17, 1861, in defiance of a Virginia law against teaching slaves, free blacks and mulattos to read or write, a law which had cut her own education short years earlier. Several years later, the Emancipation Proclamation was read to local freedmen under the same historic tree.

During the Civil War, the Union-held Fort Monroe in southeastern Virginia at the mouth of Hampton Roads became a gathering point and safe haven of sorts for fugitive slaves. These individuals were labeled "contraband of War by the Union commander, and thereby safe from return to slave owners. As large numbers of individuals sought status as contrabands, they built the Grand Contraband Camp nearby from materials reclaimed from the ruins of Hampton, which had been burned by retreating Confederates.

Hampton University can trace its roots to the work of Mary S. Peake of Norfolk which began in 1861 with outdoor classes taught under the landmark Emancipation Oak in the nearby area of Elizabeth City County adjacent to the old sea port of Hampton. The newly-issued Emancipation Proclamation was first read to a gathering under the historic tree in 1863. The tree is still located on the campus today, and also serves as a symbol for the modern City of Hampton. The Emancipation Oak was cited by the National Geographic Society as one of the 10 great trees in the world.

After the War, a normal school ("normal" meaning to establish standards or norms while educating teachers) was formalized in 1868, with former Union Brigadier General Samuel C. Armstrong as its first principal. The new school was established on the grounds of a former plantation named "Little Scotland" which had a view of the great harbor of Hampton Roads. It was legally chartered in 1870 as a land grant school, and was first known as "Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute."

At the close of its first decade, the school reported a total admission in the ten years of 927 students, with 277 graduates, all but 17 of whom had become teachers. Many of them had bought land and established themselves in homes; many were farming as well as teaching; some had gone into business. By another 10 years, there had been over 600 graduates. In 1888, of the 537 of them alive, three-fourths were teaching, and about half as many undergraduates were also currently teaching. It was estimated that 15,000 children in community schools were being taught by Hampton's students and alumni that year.

Among Hampton's earliest students was Booker T. Washington, who arrived from West Virginia in 1872 at the age of 16. He worked his way through Hampton, and then went on to attend Wayland Seminary in Washington D.C. After graduation there, he returned to Hampton and became a teacher. In 1881, Washington was sent to Alabama at age 25 to head another new normal school. This new Institution eventually became Tuskegee University. He built Tuskegee into a substantial school and became nationally famous as an educator, orator, and fund-raiser as well. He started work which ultimately caused over 5,000 small community schools to be built for the betterment of Black education in the South.

In 1878, Hampton established a formal education program for Native Americans, beginning the Institute's lasting commitment to serving a multicultural population. Recent initiatives have proven unsuccessful in renewing the interest of indigenous people in Hampton. (Virginia has two reservations and a growing number of recognized Native American tribes). There are a number of grave markers in the university cemetery that display the diversity of tribes that attended the school.

Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute became simply Hampton Institute in 1930 and became Hampton University in 1984. Originally located in Elizabeth City County, it was long-located in the town of Phoebus, which was incorporated in 1900. Phoebus and Elizabeth City County were consolidated with the neighboring City of Hampton to form a much larger independent city in 1952. The City of Hampton uses the Emancipation Oak on its official seal. From 1960 to 1970, noted diplomat and educator Jerome H. Holland was president of the Hampton Institute.

The school is informally called simply "Hampton" or "HU" by many students, faculty and supporters. Students informally refer to the school as "HIU", or Hampton Institute and University. The "Institute" refers to the undergraduate program, while the "University" is the graduate program. Hampton and Howard University constantly claim the title, "The Real HU".

A 15 acre portion of the campus along the Hampton River, including many of the older buildings, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District. Buildings included are:
• Mansion House, original plantation residence of Little Scotland
• Virginia Hall built in 1873
• Academic Hall
• Wigwam
• Marquand Memorial Chapel, a Romanesque Revival red brick chapel with a 150 foot tower

The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and was further declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

Hampton's colors are blue and white, and their nickname is the "The Pirates". Hampton sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in which they joined in 1995 after leaving the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Since joining, Hampton has won MEAC titles in many sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's track, and men's and women's tennis. In March 2001, the men's basketball team made NCAA Tournament history, becoming only the fourth 15th-seeded team to defeat a 2nd-seeded team. Hampton defeated Iowa State, 58–57 on March 15, but lost to Georgetown two days later. The win still makes SportsCenter's Top 10 NCAA tournament upsets.

Notable alumni include:
Charles Phillips President, Oracle Corp.
Kimberly Oliver 2006 National Teacher of the Year
Spencer Christian former weatherman for Good Morning America
Wanda Sykes Comedian
Douglas Palmer Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey
Angela Burt-Murray Editor-in-Chief of Essence Magazine
Booker T. Washington Educator
Alberta Williams King Mother of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rick Mahorn former NBA Player Detroit Pistons