Frederick W. Wells Explained

Frederick W. Wells was an American lawyer, public official, and civil rights organizer. While a law student at Columbia Law School in New York City in the 1920s, fellow students protested his living in a residence hall because he was African American, for which he received threats.^{[1] [2]} Student organizers burned a cross outside his residence hall, drawing press coverage. The college stood by his right to live on campus but did not punish fellow law student organizers of the cross-burning and failed to act to address or take action to root out discrimination on its campus.^[3] The New York Public Library has a collection of papers including letters sent supporting him.^[4]

See also

• Dunning School
• George Edmund Haynes, sociologist who was the first African American to earn a doctorate degree from Columbia University

Notes and References

1. Web site: NEGRO AT COLUMBIA DEFIES HIS CRITICS; Law Student Living in Furnald Hall Says He Won't Be Bullied Into Moving.. April 3, 1924. NYTimes.com.
2. Web site: DEATH THREAT SENT TO COLUMBIA NEGRO; Another Letter Signed Ku Klux Klan Advises Wells to Leave Furnald Hall. BOMB SQUAD MEN ON GUARD Protest of Students' Committee Is Presented to University, but No Action Is Taken.. April 5, 1924. NYTimes.com.
3. Web site: Post-1865: Students | Columbia University and Slavery. columbiaandslavery.columbia.edu.
4. Web site: archives.nypl.org -- Frederick W. Wells papers. archives.nypl.org.