St. Artemisia Bowden: Black Women's Place in Texas’ Historically Black Community College Context

• In Event: Centering Marginalized Voices in the History of Higher Education

Abstract

From 1902 to 1954, Artemisia Bowden, a Black woman, led what became St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, Texas, a rare Historically Black College and Hispanic-Serving Institution that remains operational today. Because Black women are largely missing from the history of two-year colleges, we asked: How did Bowden’s leadership shape the trajectory of St. Philip’s College? and How did Bowden’s race, gender, class position, and religious ties influence her leadership of St. Philip’s College? Interpreted through intersectionality, primary sources and secondary scholarship informed our central claim: that Bowden was largely, if not single-handedly, responsible for the survival of St. Philip’s College; her leadership, shaped by her Episcopal middle-class Black womanhood, reflected her expansive vision of democracy and Black achievement.

Authors

• Chaddrick James-Gallaway, Texas A&M University

• Francena F.L. Turner, National Park Sevice

• Jeremy Bohonos, Texas State University

• ArCasia D. James-Gallaway, Texas A&M University