Spelman College is a private, independent liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, Georgia. Spelman is historically an African American institution and ranks as the oldest liberal arts college for black women in the United States. It is a part of the Atlanta University Center system.
Educators Sophia B. Packard and Harriet Giles founded the college as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary in 1881. The first classes were held in the basement of the Friendship Baptist Church. At that time, the school’s students were mostly former slaves. In 1883, the school moved to property that was used by Union troops during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The oil millionaire John D. Rockefeller visited the seminary in 1884. He was so impressed with the school that he gave it a large donation. The school’s name was changed to Spelman Seminary in honor of Mrs. Harvey Spelman, Rockefeller’s mother-in-law. The school adopted its present name in 1925.
All Spelman students are required to take a two-semester interdisciplinary course called African Diaspora and the World. Well-known graduates of Spelman College include Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). Author Alice Walker also studied at Spelman. The college’s athletic teams are called the Jaguars.
The college’s website at https://www.spelman.edu/ offers additional information.
