Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

John Malcus Ellison Papers, MS-0001 , Archives and Special Collections Department, L. Douglas Wilder Library, Virginia Union University

Acquisition Information

Received from Elizabeth Balfour Ellison, 06 August 1993

Processing Information

Collection processed in December 1998.

Biographical/Historical Information

Born 02 February 1889 in Northumberland County, Virginia, John Malcus Ellison was one of twin sons. His early life was very humble allowing for very little intellectual stimulation beyond learning to read in the racially segregated schools of his rural community. As he explained in a short autobiographical sketch he wrote to James H. Croushore of Fredricksburg, Virginia in the late 1950's, At the age of 14 I was hired out for 7.00 dollars per month as a farm hand. My varied experiences caused me much unrest and anxiety as I longed for a fuller and more meaningful life Opportunities for education were very meager in my home community, and so at the age of 17 I went to Normal Industrial Institute now Virginia State College at Petersburg, Va. After two and one half years of study I transferred to Virginia Union University in 1909 and completed my High School and College work. At that time, Wayland Academy was the division of Union that provided secondary education to students. In 1917, Ellison earned his A.B. in Education at Virginia Union. He returned to his home in the Northern Neck of Virginia as pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church and principal of the Northern Neck Industrial Academy. He later founded and headed the Northumberland County High School.

In 1927 Ellison earned a Master of Arts in Religious Education and Philosophy of Religion from Oberlin College and subsequently taught at what is now Virginia State University in sociology and ethics. There he was appointed the first college minister . He did graduate work at Columbia University from 1930 to 1931 and at Union Theological Seminary in New York City from 1931 to 1932. By 1933, Ellison had earned his Ph.D. in Christian Education and Sociology from Drew University, been pastor of the Zion Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., taught Religious Education at Howard University's School of Religion, and authored several publications on rural, Negro life in Virginia. It was in that same year that he married Elizabeth Balfour, a music educator and performer from Brooklyn, New York.

Dr. Ellison assumed the presidency of Virginia Union at a very difficult time in history. The country had just entered World War II and the era of Jim Crow was at its peak in the South. Being the first African American to assume the leadership of Virginia Union, he lived with the burden of proving himself capable and worthy of the title President. It is generally believed that he succeeded at the task. In spite of the manpower drain on both the student body and the male faculty, Union survived the worst of times through 1946 when the GIs returned to school and prosperity and stability came back to the university. Ellison took an active part in the support of US troops, especially Virginia Union students in the service, and in the civilian efforts that maintained the community at home. It was also during his administration that the Belgian Friendship Building project was undertaken and successfully accomplished.

After the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, the Belgian government could not dismantle and return their elaborate exhibit and its housing to Nazi-occupied Belgium. Several options were explored to dispose of the splendid structure originally designed to be a stand-alone college in Belgium. Benefactors of Negro education, however, won the bid. The Belgian Friendship Building with its ornate friezes depicting black life in the Belgian Congo would be relocated to the campus of Virginia Union University. Negotiations for the transfer of title and property were begun in the previous administration of William J. Clark; fund raising, re-design and physical relocation were left to Ellison's stewardship. By 1949 the campus had been renovated, the Belgian building moved and fitted for the library, science laboratories and the gymnasium and a debt of nearly one-half million dollars had been retired under Ellison's leadership. This project was a major concern during the first half of his career and his papers reflect its importance.

Other improvements on the campus followed the Belgian Building project including re-organization of the university's administrative structure, significant increase in the endowment, and additions to the physical plant (e.g., Hovey Stadium, new dormitories and other facilities).

Concurrent with his academic and administrative career, Ellison kept an active ministerial career, preaching and teaching throughout Virginia on a regular basis and appearing as guest pastor a various churches, Sunday Schools and conferences all over the country. Summers were often spent teaching aspiring ministers in special programs that he helped design. He edited religious journals and newsletters as well as publications for the Scottish Rite and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Ellison was a prolific author as well; he published several books, tracts and brochures most of which were copies of his favorite and most popular sermons.

As a prominent African American educator, Ellison was active in many organizations advancing the cause of both civil rights and higher education for his race. His involvement with national organizations such as the National Youth Administration, Southern Education Foundation, Negro Organization Society, National Conference of Church-Related Colleges, the NAACP and many others was typical of African American leaders of that time as they cooperated to support the existence and survival of their schools and institutions.

After his term as president, Ellison continued on at Virginia Union as chancellor and professor until his death on 13 October 1979. He is buried at Riverview Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

Scope and Content Information

This collection contains the administrative and personal records of John Malcus Ellison as president of Virginia Union University (1941-1955), chancellor (1955-79), minister, teacher, author and editor. The bulk of the collection is from the early years of his presidency, 1941-1945, with very few materials from the later years or during his tenure as chancellor. Although most of the collection is correspondence conducted in his official capacity as president, because these materials were received from his family, the Ellison Papers are organized as a manuscript collection.

The correspondence files give an intriguing picture of Ellison in his role as president of a small, African American university in a segregated southern city. The many letters from parents, guardians and prospective students reflect his function as father and disciplinarian to the campus. The letters to and from prominent Richmond figures and leaders of the area schools, both black and white, reveal the part he played in community relations. Of special interest is the correspondence with other African American educational leaders, such as Benjamin Mays, which shows the support these educators lent one another in their struggles for their institutions to not only survive, but succeed.

The subject files disclose what organizations Ellison participated in as president. Like many of his contemporaries, he was active in national organizations as they provided a support network for African American higher education. These files also reveal what was happening on campus during the early years of his administration, including the Belgian Building files which offer a fascinating unfolding of the construction of the building.

The personal files are related mainly to his role as preacher and teacher. As with the other series, the lines are often blurred in these files between Ellison's many roles. His speeches and sermons are an interesting compliment to his writings, and often there is overlap between the two as he published collections of sermons. Included in the writings are his extensive notes in preparation for a definitive history of Virginia Union, for which many of the photographs in these materials were collected. The programs show not only which events and activities Ellison participated in, both on campus and off, but those which he attended or supported.

Due to severe mold damage and insect infestation, many records have been preservation photocopied.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged by series and chronological therein.