THE SOUTHERN TIMES

John (1868-1936) and Lugenia (1871-1947) Hope

John Hope was an important leader within Georgia during this time period'. He was born in Augusta on June 2, 1868. His father was white, and his mother was black. Although he was treated as a plantation owner's son as a child, his father's untimely death resulted in neither money nor social acceptance for him. However, he was proud of his heritage as an African American.

 

His education included attending Augusta public schools, Worchester Academy in Massachusetts, Brown University, and teaching at Roger Williams University in Nashville for 4 years. After joining the faculty at the Atlanta Baptist College, Morehouse College, and became the school's first black president in 1906. There, he became both acquainted and good friends with W.E.B. DuBois. He later became president of Atlanta University in 1929.-End-Throughout his adult life, John Hope labored diligently for equality in the social theatre. Upon hearing Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise speech in 1895, Hope disagreed with him.

 

Speaking to a debating society in 1896, Hope said:"If we are not striving for equality, in heaven’s name, for what are we living? . . . Now catch your breath, for I am going to use an adjective. I am going to say we demand social equality!"

 

John Hope was also the single college president present at the New York protest meeting that stemmed in the formation of the NAACP. He was a leading civil rights activist who endeavored to bring calm to the city once again. John Hope was also president of the National Association of Teachers of Colored Schools and a leader in the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. For his work with the YMCA, he received international recognition. Morehouse, Spelman, Morris Brown, and Clark colleges, Gannon Theological Seminary, and Atlanta University formed the Atlanta University Center as a result of his leadership.

 

John Hope’s wife, Lugenia, was active and influential as well as a renowned civic leader. She organized the highly beneficial Neighborhood Union. This organization offered vocational classes for children, a health center, and clubs for boys and girls. In addition, the Neighborhood Union supplied financial aid for deprived families and brought pressure on city leaders to improve roads, lighting, sanitation, and infrastructure in the African American neighborhoods of Atlanta.