The vision Joseph Carter Corbin shared when he founded Branch Normal College in 1873 can be compared to a house of opportunity.
Charles Robinson, the history-making chancellor of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, made the connection as one of three featured speakers at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Day Sesquicentennial Celebration on Wednesday.
"I really think about the question today: Where do we go from here?" Robinson told a filled STEM Conference Center less than a year into his appointment as the Fayetteville campus' first Black chancellor. "[Corbin] worked, forged and shaped this state into fertile fields of educational opportunity. Though many were denied the opportunity to taste the sweet and succulent fruits of liberty, they could provide for future generations what they were denied."
"They" were the first seven students to enroll at Branch Normal, now UAPB, when it opened Sept. 27, 1875 – 148 years ago Wednesday. Corbin, who was born and raised in Ohio, was the Arkansas state superintendent of public instruction in April 1873 – hence, the yearlong sesquicentennial celebration – when state Sen. John Middleton Clayton sponsored an act that would establish a college for Black students to become teachers in Arkansas' Black schools.
Pine Bluff was chosen as the site for Branch Normal because Jefferson County had the largest Black population, and it was south and east of Pulaski County, according to historians. The school opened in a one-story frame house on the corner of what is now Second Avenue and Oak Street and grew to enroll 241 students by 1894.
"We dedicate this day to complete the house of foundation, and it must be supported by the twin pillars of justice and freedom," Robinson said, his preacher-like voice rising to a crescendo. "This house needs the wise wisdom of hopes to filter in through the window. This house must have a long table of equality, and on that table, there must be a piping hot pie of American opportunity. This house belongs to us."
The celebration was the brainchild of author and researcher Gladys Turner Finney, a 1957 graduate of what was then Arkansas AM&N College who wrote a biography of Corbin and emceed Wednesday's event. Finney also helped unveil a portrait of Corbin commissioned by retired art department chairman Henri Linton and painted by recent UAPB graduate Justin Thomason. The portrait will be displayed at UAPB's Corbin Hall.
The location of the original Branch Normal house – built earlier to serve as a barrack – is now marked with a street topper in Corbin's name. Mayor Shirley Washington announced the historic designation as she proclaimed Wednesday as "Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Day" in the city.
Corbin's contribution has also drawn resolutions from U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and District 8 state Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff. Flowers said she attended the lab school named after Corbin at what is now UAPB through fourth grade, when it closed.
"He left us a legacy, and I'm proud to have been part of that legacy," Flowers said.
Little Rock television and radio journalist Ashley Crockett, a fifth-generation descendant of Corbin, said the Branch Normal founder was appointed by God to open doors of educational opportunity for Black people in Arkansas. Crockett said she often wondered why he was led from Ohio to Arkansas at a time of segregation to fulfill a vision.
David Ware, state historian and director of the Arkansas State Archives, said it's possible Corbin saw an opportunity and a need for young Black students that led him to the South, but the details surrounding that journey are unknown.
"In my opinion, Joseph Carter Corbin did more than create a school. He provided an opportunity for students of color," Crockett said.
If Crockett could ask Corbin about his mission, she added, Corbin would respond the best is yet to come.
"Make it your mission to push his vision and make it live on forever," she said.
Artist and recent University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff graduate Justin Thomason, left, former UAPB art professor Henri Linton and author/researcher Gladys Turner Finney unveil a portrait of school founder Joseph Carter Corbin that Thomason painted Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, at the UAPB STEM building. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington presents a resolution honoring Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, as Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Day in the city to UAPB Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Chancellor Charles Robinson (left); University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander; and author/researcher Gladys Turner Finney prepare for a program celebrating UAPB founder Joseph Carter Corbin on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
David Ware