Berea College Research Paper

Throughout this research paper, the discussion topic deals with whom or what Berea College should serve. Sources will be used to discuss the Appalachian region, Christian colleges, the Berea territory, and the history of Berea college. The topic of discrimination will also be discussed mainly focused upon what it is, how it can be used for good, and if it is okay to practice. Berea should primarily serve students who come from poor economic background regardless of their race, region, or religion because students might not have the same opportunities at another institution. Berea College should devote most of its acceptance percentage to the lower-class students of Appalachia. With the remainder percentage, Berea should accept lower class students

from other areas besides the Appalachian and Berea territories, as well as international students. With that being said, there is a possibility that students from the upper class might benefit from these opportunities. For example, some of those opportunities may be studying abroad, paid internships, and various campus resources. Therefore, another small percentage of Berea’s acceptance should be students from the upper-class across the United States. The focus of admission should be around students with low income rather than those with higher income.
Berea College, which was founded by the “OG” Reverend John G.

Fee, has grown to be the light within the dark. But how did it start. In 1854, Fee with the help of Cassius Marcelus Clay, founded the town of Berea, Kentucky. And four years later in 1858 and 1859 he founded Berea College. Fee based the institution on Christian principles, with its main purposes being is to spread knowledge of Christ and to give all people quality education. Due to the institutions beliefs, Berea college and Fee faced a lot of backlash. For example, in December of 1859, sixty armed men attacked Berea while Fee was away, and the town was deserted. Fee lived in exile in Ohio until 1864, when he returned to Berea (Henderson). Due to the different troublesome events that took place in Berea and the surrounding areas, Fee made it a must that Berea College continues to work toward Gods plan even if it contradicts what everyone else believed in at the

time.
Along with the backlash and disapproval of what the institution does, the commonwealth of Kentucky decided to pitch in on the fight against Berea College as well.

"An Act to Prohibit White and Colored Persons from Attending the Same School" is what the headlines stated, was introduced in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1904 by Breathitt County Representative Carl Day. The bill was signed into law by Governor J.C.W. Beckham the next day. Berea College was criminally convicted of violating the Day Law and was fined $1,000. Berea’s Board of Trustees decided to immediately challenge the Day Law in court. Berea College appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in 1908 the Court handed down an 8-1 decision against the College. Ironically, only Justice John Marshall Harlan dissented. Harlan believed that the law was unconstitutional under the "Due Process" clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and was a governmental intrusion into the private lives of citizens. Nonetheless, the decision affirmed the legitimacy of the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s right to prohibit individuals

and corporations from operating integrated schools. Ferguson decision upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the "separate but equal" doctrine. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Berea College v. Commonwealth of Kentucky meant that states were able to prohibit integrated schooling in private institutions as well as in public schools. Board of Education case – that racial segregation in schools was overturned. That same year, Jessie Reasor became the first African-American graduate of Berea College in 50 years. Matching a challenge grant of $200,000 from industrialist/philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the College’s Board of Trustees purchased over 400 acres of land in Shelby County, Kentucky to build a college for African-American students disenfranchised by the Day Law. By the fall of 1912, the Lincoln Institute began to educate its first students. One of the most recent headline Berea has been involved in stems from President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Plan. In an article written by Erica Green of the New York Times she interviews The president of Berea College Lyle Roelofs. As well as statements from Senator Bernie Sanders and the state of Kentucky’s senior senator Mitch McConnell. Celebrated as a model for how post-secondary institutions can help fulfill the American dream, the Kentucky liberal arts college admits only students whose families cannot pay for college — 98 percent use federal Pell grants, and 64 percent are first-generation college students states Green in her article with the New York Times. “The truth is that while Berea College is an excellent school, there are colleges all over this country that use their endowment funds to provide free or significantly reduced tuition for lower-income students,” said Mr. Sanders. Sanders also said that he was “glad that Senator McConnell has suddenly developed an interest in making college affordable for working-class families,” and that Mr. McConnell, the majority leader, added language to distinguish that only an institution with at least 500 “tuition paying” students would be subject to the tax, effectively shielding little Berea from a Republican-designed tax aimed at the wealthy Ivy Leagues. “Democrats’ fanatical