About
Morehouse College is a private, historically black, men's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Anchored by its main campus of 61 acres (25 ha) near downtown Atlanta, the college has a variety of residential dorms and academic buildings east of Ashview Heights. Along with Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, and the Morehouse School of Medicine, the college is a member of the Atlanta University Center consortium.
Founded by William Jefferson White in 1867 in response to the liberation of enslaved African Americans following the American Civil War, Morehouse stressed preparatory and religious instruction in the Baptist tradition for students who had been prevented from receiving education by former slave laws. Growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to strengthened finances, higher enrollment, and focus on the liberal arts. The college has played a key role in the development of the civil rights movement and racial equality in the United States.
The largest men's liberal arts college in the United States, Morehouse alumni include 11 Fulbright Scholars, six Rhodes Scholars, and five Marshall Scholars, and is the alma mater of many celebrated African Americans, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and filmmaker Spike Lee. The college has graduated numerous "African-American firsts" in local, state and federal government, as well as in science, academia, business, and entertainment.