Livingstone College is a private historically black Christian college in Salisbury, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Livingstone College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's degrees.
Livingstone College along with Hood Theological Seminary began as Zion Wesley Institute in Concord, North Carolina in 1879. After fundraising by Joseph C. Price and J. W. Hood, the school was closed in Concord and reopened in 1882 a few miles north in Salisbury.
Zion Wesley Institute was founded by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church. The institute changed its name to Livingstone College in 1887 to honor African missionary David Livingstone. That same year, the school granted its first degree.[4] The first group of students to graduate included eight men and two women, the first black women to earn bachelor's degrees in North Carolina.
Originally beginning with 40 acres on a Salisbury farm called Delta Grove. Livingstone College's main campus now consists of 272 acres.
The Livingstone College football team has had a long history since playing in the first Black college football game in 1892 against Johnson C. Smith University (then called Biddle University).
The rivalry between the two schools continues to this day as the Commemorative Classic. The Blue Bears also maintain a rivalry with their cross-town rival Catawba College Indians. The early October game between the two schools is called the Mayors' Cup.
Comments