On April 22, 1901, a new building named Dorothy Hall was dedicated at the Tuskegee Institute, a school in Alabama that provided vocational training to African Americans. Paul Laurence Dunbar was on campus as a visiting lecturer at the time. Two hours before the ceremony, Booker T. Washington, the principal of Tuskegee, asked Paul to write a poem to read at the dedication.
Dorothy Hall, the Girls' Industrial Building of the Tuskegee Institute, was dedicated last week. The exercises began in the chapel with singing by the choir. A pleasing departure from the printed program consisted in the reading of a poem by the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar prepared for the occasion.
"Tuskegee Has a New Hall." Observer (New York, New York). May 2, 1901.
This has been a gala week at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. A party of sixty persons visited the school. In the party were philanthropists, financiers, distinguished ministers and educators of national reputation. On Monday the dedication exercises of Dorothy Hall, the new girls' industrial building, were held. A dedication poem specially prepared for the occasion was read by Paul Laurence Dunbar, who has been present at the institution for ten days reading for our students and lecturing upon literary subjects.
"Education in Dixie. Distinguished Northerners Visit Tuskegee and Witness the Dedication of Dorothy Hall," by Emmett J. Scott. The Colored American (Washington, D. C.). May 4, 1901. Page 3.
While Paul was at Tuskegee, he exchanged irreverent letters with his wife Alice in Washington, D. C., sarcastically referring to wealthy Northern benefactors as "muck-a-mucks" and "Philistines."
I saw in today's Journal the list of the big high muck-a-mucks you have down at Tuskegee. Quite a notable gathering and I know it will be enjoyable for you.
Alice Moore Dunbar to Paul Laurence Dunbar, April 21, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
Now is the city in the hands of the Philistines and unto them are all of her secret places given over. They throng her walls, they take possession of her houses and her streets, while yours humbly lies low. The Rockefellers, Ogdens, Morgans and many more are inspecting everything from school-rooms to shit-houses.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Moore Dunbar, April 22, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
I went out and the Philistines caught me. There were about twelve around me at once. When I escaped I ran into Washington. "Where have you been?" he said, "I've been looking for you." "I knew it, and I've been lying low." Then he struck his hands together, "I've just thought of something. I wish you could write a poem for the dedication and read it this afternoon." This, please, is two hours or less before the services. I got into a buggy immediately and went to town and got 12 (Twelve!) bottles of beer. I was to report at half-past two. At twenty-five minutes of three the thing was ready. When I got out, Washington met me. He read it. Then he said, "How did you do it?" Then I said a few things and he laughed. At the meeting I got an ovation and when I got through, he announced how it had been done and the audience went wild. Miss Stokes, the donor of Dorothy Hall, almost bowed and smiled her head off. Mr. Washington is elated and altogether I am a hero.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Moore Dunbar, April 22, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
Paul's letter refers to either Olivia or Caroline Phelps Stokes, two sisters from a family of wealthy philanthropists from New York. They donated $15,000 for the construction of Dorothy Hall, as well as other building projects at Tuskegee. The poem Paul wrote for the dedication was later published in one of his books.
The women of a race should be its pride;
We glory in the strength our mothers had,
We glory that this strength was not denied
To labor bravely, nobly, and be glad.
God give to these within this temple here,
Clear vision of the dignity of toil,
That virtue in them may its blossoms rear
Unspotted, fragrant, from the lowly soil.God bless the givers for their noble deed,
Shine on them with the mercy of Thy face,
Who come with open hearts to help and speed
The striving women of a struggling race.Excerpt from "On the Dedication of Dorothy Hall, Tuskegee, Ala., April 22, 1901," by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Published in Lyrics of Love and Laughter (1903).
Dorothy Hall still stands on the campus of Tuskegee University. In the 1990s, the building was expanded and is now known as the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center.