Tuskegee, Alabama

"Tuskegee" redirects here. For other uses, seeTuskegee (disambiguation).Not to be confused withTuscaloosa, AlabamaorTuscumbia, Alabama.

Tuskegee, Alabama
City
The Macon County Courthouse in Tuskegee was added to theNational Register of Historic Placeson November 17, 1987.
Flag Seal
Nickname: Thou Pride of the Swift Growing South
Location in Macon County, Alabama
Tuskegee, Alabama Location in the United States
Coordinates:32°25′53″N85°42′24″W
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Macon
Government
•Mayor	Lawrence F. Haygood, Jr.
Area
• Total	17.33 sq mi (44.89 km2)
• Land	17.06 sq mi (44.19 km2)
• Water	0.27 sq mi (0.70 km2)
Elevation	463 ft (141 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	9,395
• Density	550.7/sq mi (212.63/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6(CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5(CDT)
ZIP codes	36083, 36087, 36088
Area code	334
FIPS code	01-77304
GNISfeature ID	0128211
Website	tuskegeealabama.gov

Tuskegee(/tʌˈskiːɡi/tuh-SKEE-ghee) is a city inMacon County,Alabama,United States.GeneralThomas Simpson Woodward,aCreek Warveteran underAndrew Jackson,laid out the city and founded it in 1833. It became thecounty seatin the same year and it was incorporated in 1843.It is the most populous city in Macon County. At the2020 censusthe population was 9,395,down from 9,865 in2010and 11,846 in2000.

Tuskegee has been important inAfrican-Americanhistory and highly influential in United States history since the 19th century.Before theAmerican Civil Warthe area was developed for cotton plantations, dependent on enslaved African-American people.

After the war manyfreedmencontinued to work on plantations in the rural area, which was devoted to agriculture, primarily cotton as a commodity crop. In 1881 theTuskegee Normal School(now Tuskegee University, ahistorically black college) was founded byLewis Adams,a former slave whose father, Jesse Adams, a white slave owner had allowed him to be educated. Its first founding principal wasBooker T. Washington,who developed a national reputation and philanthropic network to support education offreedmenand their children.

In 1923, theTuskegee Veterans Administration Medical Centerwas established, initially for the estimated 300,000 African-American veterans ofWorld War Iin the South, when public facilities were racially segregated. Twenty-seven buildings were constructed on the 464-acre campus.

The city was the subject of a civil rights case,Gomillion v. Lightfoot(1960), in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that the state legislature had violated theFifteenth Amendmentin 1957 bygerrymanderingcity boundaries as a 28-sided figure that excluded nearly all black voters and residents, and none of the white voters or residents.The city's boundaries were restored in 1961 after the ruling.

Etymology

The name "Tuskegee" comes fromSpanish"Tasquiqui", which came from theMuskogeeword "Taskeke", meaning "warriors".TheNative American townof Tasquique was located on theChattahoochee Riverjust south of present-dayColumbus, Georgia.

History

TheCreek peoplelong occupied this area including a settlement known as Taskigi Town. After Congress passed theIndian Removal Actof 1830 in furtherance ofPresident Andrew Jackson's goals, most of the Creek bands were removed from their homelands in the Southeast toIndian Territorywest of theMississippi River.

Pioneer white planters and other migrants moved into the area, mostly from eastern Southern states. The planters brought or purchased enslaved African Americans to clear woods and develop cottonplantations.Invention of thecotton ginhad made short-staple cotton profitable to process and it became the chief commodity crop of the Deep South through the 19th century. Short-staple cotton could be cultivated in the upland areas ofGeorgia.Alabama,Mississippi,LouisianaandTexas.Designated as thecounty seatof rural Macon County, Tuskegee developed as its only city.

Late 19th century

In 1881, the youngBooker T. Washingtonwas hired to develop theTuskegee Normal School for Colored Teacherson the grounds of a former plantation. It was founded to train teachers for the segregated school system andfreedmenfor self-sufficiency. Washington established a work-study program by which students practiced skills and trades. Over the decades, the programs were expanded. This was later named the Tuskegee Institute. Graduate courses were added and it becameTuskegee University.

Washington was known for his emphasis oneducationandself-improvement.The institute became known for stressing a practical education withwork experiencebystudents,to prepare them for the agricultural and mechanical work available in the small towns andrural areasto which most would return.Teaching was a highly respected calling, as education was a major goal among the freedmen and their children. Washington believed that African Americans would achieve acceptance by Southern whites when they had raised themselves.

Washington led the school fordecades,building a wide national network of whiteindustrialistdonorsamong some of the majorphilanthropistsof the era, includingGeorge Eastman.At the same time, Washington secretly provided funding for itslegal defenseof some highly visiblecivil rightscases,including supporting challenges to Southern states' discriminatory constitutions and practices thatdisenfranchised African Americans.Washington worked withJulius Rosenwaldandarchitectsat thecollegeto develop models for rural schools, to be used with Rosenwald's matching funds to build more schools for black children in the South.

Early 20th century

Beginning in 1932, theschoolwas the site of the now-infamousTuskegee Syphilis Study(1932–1972), started to testtreatmentsof thedisease.600 African-American men became involved, being offered freemedical careby the U.S. government for their participation, while being unwittingly tested forsyphilis.With funding cut by theGreat Depression,staff cut back on medication to treat the disease and studied the effects of untreated syphilis onpatientsand theirsexual partners.Those in the study who had syphilis were not told, nor were they informed that treatment was available for their disease, even afterantibioticshad been developed.

One of the most famous teachers at Tuskegee wasGeorge Washington Carver,whose name is synonymous with innovative research intoSouthernfarming methods and the development of hundreds of commercial products derived from regional crops, includingpeanutsandsweet potatoes.

During World War II, Tuskegee and Tuskegee Institute were also home to the famedTuskegee Airmen.This was the first squadron of African-Americanpilotstrained in theU.S. Militaryfor service in that war.

Tuskegee University in the 21st century is a center of excellence for African-American education. The heart of the university has been designated as aNational Historic Districtand was listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 1974.

TheTuskegee Veterans Administration Medical Centerwas opened in 1923, authorized by Congress. A total of 27 buildings were constructed on the 464-acre campus, which provided housing and ahospitalto serve the needs of more than 300,000 African-Americanveteransin theSouthfrom World War I.It attracteddoctorsfrom top schools, such as Dr. Toussaint Tourgee Tildon, a graduate ofHarvard Medical School.He was one of the first six African-American doctors to work at the hospital; as director of the complex for 12 years (1946–1958), he achievedaccreditationfor amedical residencyprogram at the hospital. He also worked to ensure accessibility for graduates to good medical positions in the federal government.

In the 1930s, a group of black men from the Tuskegee Men's Club began efforts to get more blackvotersregistered. Beginning in 1941, the group reorganized under the name the Tuskegee Civic Association (TCA). With the group's consistent effort to register more voters, the area's statistics of registered black voters continued to increase. The group and potential voters were often met with obstacles that prevented them from being successful. The surrounding black community showed support and wanted to recognize black leaders in the community. The work of the TCA also had a huge emphasis on educating their communities on variouscivic duties.Though the existing support for the TCA was not often vocalized, many black community members wanted to challenge the political system that was present in Macon County. The group shed a light on the disparities in the numbers of black people applying forvoter registrationand those who were successful, even going as far as talking to theUnited States Commission on Civil Rights.(See alsoUnited States Commission on Civil Rights.)

Voting rights challenge

Main article:Gomillion v. Lightfoot

Following passage of theCivil Rights Act of 1957,activists made progress in registering black voters in the city. African Americans in Tuskegee and other Alabama cities had been largelydisenfranchisedafter passage of a new state constitution in 1901, which included requirements that were discriminatory in practice, including apoll taxandliteracy tests.

In 1957, a total of 1000 voters were registered, with the 400 registered black voters nearly equaling the number of white voters. But in the city, African Americans outnumbered whites on a four-to-one basis; among them were many highly educated, professional African Americans working at the Tuskegee Institute and the Veterans Administration hospital. That year, without debate and against the protests of many African Americans, the state legislature redrew the boundaries of the city, enacting Local Law 140, which created an irregular, 28-sided city boundary that left only ten black voters within the newly defined city, and excluded 420 black voters.Those excluded included the entire professional staff of the Institute and the hospital. No white voters were excluded by the change.

The law was intended to guarantee that minority whites could retain control of the city even if more blacks succeeded in the arduous process of registering to vote. Some 3,000 African-American residents protested passage of the law at a church in Tuskegee; they also began an economic boycott of white businesses in the city.They referred to the boycott as a "selective buying campaign" due to the fact that boycotting was illegal under state law. It lasted about four years, during which twenty-six businesses operated by white proprietors closed down.

African Americans also organized a legal challenge to the law, supported by theNAACP,in a case known asGomillion v. Lightfoot.The law was initially upheld by the US District Court and affirmed by the Appeals Court based in New Orleans. However, it was struck down by the US Supreme Court in 1960, with the ruling implemented in 1961.The court ruled that thegerrymanderingof city boundaries was racially motivated and violated theFifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitutionwhich states that "states were not insulated from federal judicial review when they jeopardized federally protected rights."The exclusionary gerrymandering was overturned and the previous boundaries of the city were restored.

This case was cited in the laterBaker v. Carr(1964), in which theSupreme Courtruled that Tennessee's malapportionment ofelection districtsviolatedcivil rights.It ruled that representation in both houses of allstate legislatureshad to be based on population, under the "one man, one vote"doctrine, and that such districts had to be regularly updated to reflect population changes.

Post-Gomillion

In 1963, Tuskegee was to have been the first Alabama community to comply with a federal order todesegregateitspublic schools.Theschool superintendent,C.A. (Hardboy) Pruitt, at first opposed the admission of Black students, but worked with other community leaders to comply with the final order of thefederal district court,with plans to admit 13 Black students in September 1963 to what had been an all-white high school. But Gov.George Wallaceopposed compliance with the federal order anywhere in the state on the grounds that it would lead to violence. Behind the scenes, Wallace enlisted the aid ofKu Klux Klanmembers andneo-Nazisof theNational States' Rights Partyto gin up protests calling for the closing of schools that were scheduled to integrate.Wallace subsequently ordered public schools closed across the state and deployedstate trooperson September 3, 1963, to block the opening of Tuskegee High School.The school was integrated on September 10, 1963, after PresidentJohn F. Kennedyfederalized the AlabamaNational Guardand 13 Black students were among only 165 students to begin the school year, against a total enrollment of about 550.

Johnny Fordwas elected the first black mayor of the city in 1972, and served six consecutive terms in office. Lucenia Williams Dunn was elected the first black woman mayor in 2000.

Governance

Tuskegee Municipal Complex

In the 21st century, Tuskegee has acouncil–manager governmentled by a four-member city council, a mayor, and an appointed city manager.

Thecity councilacts as a legislative body of the city, passing laws and regulations and appointing citizens to the city's various boards. Each member of the city council is elected for a four-year term from one of three geographic single-member districts. Tuskegee has one city council member who is elected at-large to a four-year term and serves as mayor-pro tem. The duties of the mayor are to promote the city, communicate with residents, and preside over City Council meetings. As such, the position of mayor in Tuskegee is primarilyceremonial.

Geography

Tuskegee is located in central Macon County at32°25′53″N85°42′24″W(32.431506, −85.706781).

According to theU.S. Census Bureau,the city has a total area of 17.3 square miles (44.9 km²), of which 17.1 square miles (44.2 km²) are land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²), or 1.56%, are water.

Climate

According to theKöppen climate classification,Tuskegee has ahumid subtropical climate(abbreviatedCfa).

Climate data for Tuskegee, 1991–2020 simulated normals (453 ft elevation)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	56.8 (13.8)	61.2 (16.2)	68.7 (20.4)	75.7 (24.3)	82.9 (28.3)	88.3 (31.3)	90.9 (32.7)	90.1 (32.3)	86.0 (30.0)	77.0 (25.0)	66.9 (19.4)	59.2 (15.1)	75.3 (24.1)
Daily mean °F (°C)	45.7 (7.6)	49.3 (9.6)	56.1 (13.4)	63.0 (17.2)	71.1 (21.7)	77.7 (25.4)	80.6 (27.0)	79.9 (26.6)	75.2 (24.0)	64.9 (18.3)	54.5 (12.5)	48.2 (9.0)	63.9 (17.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	34.5 (1.4)	37.6 (3.1)	43.5 (6.4)	50.4 (10.2)	59.4 (15.2)	67.1 (19.5)	70.2 (21.2)	69.6 (20.9)	64.4 (18.0)	53.1 (11.7)	42.1 (5.6)	37.0 (2.8)	52.4 (11.3)
Averageprecipitationinches (mm)	4.87 (123.74)	4.88 (124.04)	5.15 (130.74)	4.42 (112.36)	3.82 (97.11)	4.49 (113.96)	4.92 (125.08)	4.35 (110.46)	3.68 (93.35)	3.19 (81.14)	4.19 (106.38)	5.31 (134.95)	53.27 (1,353.31)
Averagedew point°F (°C)	36.5 (2.5)	39.0 (3.9)	43.9 (6.6)	51.3 (10.7)	60.1 (15.6)	67.5 (19.7)	70.7 (21.5)	70.2 (21.2)	65.3 (18.5)	55.0 (12.8)	45.0 (7.2)	39.9 (4.4)	53.7 (12.0)
Source: PRISM Climate Group

Attractions

The Hangar One Museum at theTuskegee Airmen National Historic SiteatMoton Field

Lake Tuskegee is a city-owned recreational area with playgrounds, picnic areas, and some 92 acres of water providing fishing, sailing, and water skiing opportunities.

Downtown Tuskegee includes aspects of history in Tuskegee/Macon County from the time of incorporation to the present. It also has a site serving as the Tuskegee Visitor Center and is home to the Tuskegee Human & Civil Rights Multicultural Center.

Tuskegee area attractions include:

• Tuskegee Universityand theTuskegee Institute National Historic Site(including the Oaks, Grey Columns, and George Washington Carver Museum)[1]
• Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site@ HistoricMoton Field[2]
• Main Street Historic Districtand North Main Street Historic District
• The Tuskegee Human & Civil Rights Multicultural Center
• Butler Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church,site of protests against 1957 state gerrymandering of the city
• Tuskegee Veterans Administration Medical Center
• The Tuskegee Repertory Theatre/Jessie Clinton Arts Center[3]
• Tuskegee City Lake
• Tuskegee National Forest··[4]
• Kirks Old Farm Museum

Demographics

The table at right shows the effects of the state passing a law in 1957 to redefine the city of Tuskegee in a way that excluded nearly all black residents, dramatically reducing the population by 1960. The city and other officials were sued underGomillion v. Lightfoot(1960); the US Supreme Court ruled against the state's action.The city boundaries were reinstituted, as reflected by the dramatic "increase" of population in the city recorded in 1970. The population in 1960, with the restored borders, was 7,240, according to the 1970 U.S. Census.Because of lack of economic opportunities in the largely rural area, both the city and rural county have lost population since the late 20th century.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	1,563		—
1880	2,370		—
1890	1,803		−23.9%
1900	2,170		20.4%
1910	2,803		29.2%
1920	2,475		−11.7%
1930	3,314		33.9%
1940	3,937		18.8%
1950	6,712		70.5%
1960	7,240		7.9%
1970	11,028		52.3%
1980	13,327		20.8%
1990	12,257		−8.0%
2000	11,846		−3.4%
2010	9,865		−16.7%
2020	9,395		−4.8%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of thecensusof 2010, there were 9,865 people, 3,749 households, and 1,956 families residing in the city. The population density was 636.5 inhabitants per square mile (245.8/km²). There were 4,624 housing units at an average density of 298.3 per square mile (115.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.8%BlackorAfrican American,1.9%White,0.1%Native American,0.5%Asian,0.0%Pacific Islander,0.3% fromother races,and 1.3% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population wereHispanicorLatinoof any race.

There were 3,749 households, out of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 19.0% weremarried couplesliving together, 28.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.8% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 18.5% under the age of 18, 27.8% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,251, and the median income for a family was $43,472. Males had a median income of $40,653 versus $26,631 for females. Theper capita incomefor the city was $15,471. About 22.2% of families and 31.6% of the population were below thepoverty line,including 40.0% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

Tuskegee Racial Composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	171	1.82%
Black or African American	8,863	94.34%
Native American	18	0.19%
Asian	59	0.63%
Pacific Islander	4	0.04%
Other/Mixed	174	1.85%
HispanicorLatino	106	1.13%

As of the2020 United States Census,there were 9,395 people, 2,936 households, and 1,470 families residing in the city.

Media

Tuskegee has one weekly newspaper,The Tuskegee News,which has operated since 1865.

Transportation

U.S. Route 29andU.S. Route 80pass through Tuskegee.State Route 81goes north from the town. Four miles north up Route 81 is the interchange withInterstate 85.

A short distance beyond I-85 is the hamlet of Chehaw, whereSouthern Railwaypassenger trains made stops at the Western Railway of Alabama Depot. Into the mid-1960s both the Southern'sCrescentand itsPiedmont Limitedmade stops at the depot.The railway'sCrescentwas the last train to make stops at the station.The Southern Railway moved the train out in 1970 for a rerouting from an Atlanta-Montgomery-New Orleans itinerary to an Atlanta-Birmingham-New Orleans itinerary.

Notable people

• Ajiona Alexus,actress; born in Tuskegee
• George Washington Carver,agricultural scientist, died in Tuskegee in 1943
• Sadie Peterson Delaney,chief librarian of the Veterans Administration Hospital
• Tom Joyner,radio host/personality; born in Tuskegee and went toTuskegee University
• Nella Larsen,nurse, librarian, and novelist; worked at Tuskegee Institute in 1915
• Rosa Parks,born in Tuskegee; she became acivil rightsactivistin the 1950s inMontgomery, Alabama,contributing to the more than year-longMontgomery bus boycottthat achieved desegregation of the city system
• Lionel Richie,rhythm & blues singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and occasional actor; born in Tuskegee
• Robin Roberts,news anchor,Good Morning America;born in Tuskegee
• Rory White,basketball player
• Bill Winston,pastor, televangelist, author and entrepreneur; born in Tuskegee
• Sammy Younge Jr.,civil rights activist; born in Tuskegee

Sister cities

• South Berwick, Maine,USA

See also

• List of people from Tuskegee, Alabama
• Civil Rights Movement
• Tuskegee Airmen
• Tuskegee Syphilis Study,an infamous clinical study

Gallery

• 
  Tuskegee Post Office (ZIP code:36083)
• 
  Macon County-Tuskegee Public Library
• 
  Tuskegee Human & Civil Rights Multicultural Center
• 
  Tuskegee Fire Department
• 
  A view of the Macon County Courthouse from the park in the town square The Main Street Historic District was added to theNational Register of Historic Placeson March 12, 1984.
• 
  A statue of a Confederate soldier in the town square park is shown. The pedestal reads: "Erected by TheDaughters of the Confederacyto the Confederate Soldiers ofMacon County".
• 
  The North Main Street Historic District was added to theNational Register of Historic Placeson March 7, 1985.
• 
  Built in 1857, Grey Columns now serves as the home of the president ofTuskegee University.It was added to theNational Register of Historic Placeson January 11, 1980.
• 
  TheButler Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Churchwas added to theNational Register of Historic Placeson August 28, 1995.

External links

• Official website