Fun Fact # 283 The Institute

 Fun Fact #283

The Institute

In 1881 Macon County Alabama, a former Confederate General named W.F. Foster was sweating bullets.  He had made a deal with a local African American Leader –Lewis Adams– that if Lewis helped him win reelection Lewis could open a school for African Americans. Foster won in a landslide when the entire community voted for him, and In 1881 Lewis was at last able to open The Tuskegee Institute. This institute would go on to become a prominent site helping to start the careers of several African American Leaders and helping to pave the way for the Civil Rights movement. Today it still exists as Tuskegee University, with 65 programs, over 3,000 students, and teachers from over 30 countries.