Black Ivy League
Each of these institutions are co-educational with the exception of Morehouse College, which is an all-male institution and Spelman College, an all-female institution. All institutions are currently accredited by such organizations as the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The founding of two historic members, Lincoln and Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, predates the Civil War. The remaining members were founded in the late 19th century except for Xavier University of Louisiana, founded in 1915 by the Catholic Church.
History of women in the United States
In 1821, Emma Willard founded the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York, which was the first American educational institution to offer young women a pre-college education equal to that given to young men. Students at this private secondary school for girls were taught academic subjects that usually were reserved for males. Subjects included algebra, anatomy, natural philosophy and geography.
Mary Lyon (1797-1849) founded Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1837. It was the first college opened for women and is now Mount Holyoke College, one of the Seven Sisters. Lyon was a deeply religious Congregationalist who, although not a minister, preached revivals at her school. She greatly admired colonial theologian Jonathan Edwards for his theology and his ideals of self-restraint, self-denial, and disinterested benevolence. Georgia Female College, now Wesleyan College opened in 1839 as the first Southern college for women.