Alabama State University
public university in Montgomery, Alabama, United States
Alabama State University (Alabama State, 'Bama State, or ASU) is a public historically Black university (HBCU) in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1867 during the Reconstruction era, it was one of about 180 "normal schools" established by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. It was one of 23 established to train African-Americans to teach in segregated schools. ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Alabama State's athletic teams, known as the Hornets, compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
History
Alabama State University was founded in 1867 as the Lincoln Normal School of Marion in Marion. In December 1874, the State Board accepted the transfer of title to the school after a legislative act was passed authorizing the state to fund a Normal School, and George N. Card was named president. Thus, in 1874, this predecessor of Alabama State University became America's first state-supported educational institution for blacks. This began ASU's history as a "teachers' college."
The second president, William Burns Paterson, was appointed in 1878. He is honored as a founder of Alabama State University and was the president for 37 of the school's first 48 years.
The public source identifies “Alabama State University” as public university in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alabama, State and University.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Alabama State University”, the useful work is to connect “public university in Montgomery, Alabama, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q941524. VIAF identifies the subject as 139724328. The Library of Congress control number is n96111587. Authority coordinates are 32.364, -86.295. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1867, 1874 and 1878.
Institutional narratives can privilege the records that survived while minimizing voices that were never formally collected. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Alabama State University”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Alabama State University primary sources, Alabama State University archive and Alabama research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Alabama State University”?
- Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
- What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Alabama State University” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.