After Nearly 200 Years, The First Known Black Man To Attend Yale Has Been Honored With A Master’s Degree
After years of rejected petitions and open letters, posthumous degrees have been awarded at Yale University.
According to Yale, Pennington, and Crummell — who both studied theology — weren’t allowed to formally register in classes, participate in classroom discussions, or access library resources because they were Black.
One of the student groups behind Pennington receiving his honorary degree was the Pennington Legacy Group. Noah Humphrey, the founder, believes that the decision is long overdue.
“We are still not done, but this means that we have set a foundation that is forever,” Humphrey said, according to the report.
“I mean, the fact that we have some of the brightest scholars in the world, but we couldn’t come to an agreement on giving the first Black student their rightful degree is insane,” the third-year Divinity School student added.
Humphrey, alongside the Pennington Legacy Group, aims to continue in their efforts toward having Yale do more in “correcting the injustices.”
