The history of UW-Madison is splattered with names and personalities of men and women defined by their influence or intellect — names from long ago that now grace UW’s halls and buildings — honored permanently, in granite and mortar, for their pioneering of this university. Yet, pioneers of a different sort — names such as Noland, Burke, Raimey, Ware — pioneered a different frontier in the history of this school: that of race.
A clouded photograph and a clouded past
William S. Noland is regarded as the first black student to graduate from the University of Wisconsin. In 1875, he graduated with a B.A. in classics.
This conclusion is based on the examination of his photograph in the class album of 1875. No mention of race is made in the album, so the claim is only speculative, but Noland’s racial identity as non-white has become accepted.
“Essentially his features are not really pronounced. He is probably of a mixed race,” UW archivist Bernie Schermetzler said. “The casual observation may not indicate that he is easily recognizable, but his features in the print seem telling.”
Born Feb. 11, 1848 in Binghamton, N.Y., Noland and his family migrated to the Midwest from New York as early as 1850. He attended Madison-area schools from the ages of seven to 14.
His father, William H. Noland, was one of five children by William Senior and wife Anna. William Senior eventually became a mayoral candidate in Madison and was the first black man in Wisconsin to receive a gubernatorial appointment.
Noland began his studies in 1862, returned in ’69, graduated in 1875, and remained in Madison for the 1875-76 school year as a law student.
Most documented information about his life is found in UW’s 1875 class album. His class biographical sketch, as probably recorded by the class secretary, reads as follows:
“Mr. Noland is a member of the College of Letters. He has a sanguine temperament, a logical mind, is a good writer and speaker in public with a slight hesitancy. He has a tendency toward skepticism. He is liberal in politics, is not engaged and has padded his own canoe.”
On his future, he seemed uncertain, yet confident.
“Before entering college and during my continuance therein, I got my living in all sorts of ways, and nobody knows what I shall do when I get out.”
There is no further documentation after his time at UW, except his death fifteen years later on June 20, 1890 in Cottage City, Mass. His death was considered a suicide.
Scholar, thespian, athlete
George Coleman Poage came to UW as a skinny freshman in 1904. From La Crosse, Poage came to Madison with a reputation for possessing a sharp mind.
Poage, a track enthusiast, was the second black athlete at UW, preceded only by Julian Ware, who played baseball from 1900 to 1902. Ware was also the first black captain at UW; he served in the position for two of his three seasons.
Poage, however, is most well remembered as being the first black man to compete in the Olympic games. He was also the first black medallist, netting two pieces of bronze hardware in the 200- and 400-meter hurdles during the St. Louis Olympics in 1904.
Born in 1880 in Hannibal, Mo., Poage’s father was a railroad coachman and his mother was a domestic servant for an aristocrat.
After his family migrated north and Poage had a successful high school career, he came to UW, where he majored in civic-historical studies and was active in drama. However, his greatest area of distinction was on the track, where he set an array of records. Even so, he was denied a varsity letter until 10 years after his graduation, when UW finally recognized his contributions to athletics. Poage went on to hold a career as a postal clerk and schoolteacher in Chicago. He died in 1962. His caption in the 1904 yearbook leaves his legacy, declaring him “of matchless swiftness, but of silent grace.” An incident that shaped the future Arthur Burke, a black graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in English and literature, addressed a letter July 10, 1944, to the University Club, asking to rent a single room. The club responded to his request notifying him that he would be granted lodging. When Burke arrived in September, he was assigned a room, but the club manager, geology professor Ernest F. Bean, called Burke the next day to inform him that the club did not board black residents and offered to help Burke find accommodations at the YMCA. Burke moved. Burke later told professor Merle Curti of his eviction, prompting Curti and several of his colleagues, including professors and former University Club presidents Helen C. White and Paul Clark, to change the policy. Burke had sparked a debate on campus, as liberal faculty and student organizations such as the Daily Cardinal took Burke’s defense. A referendum on the board of directors for the University Club was called, and the club announced Oct. 28 that a majority had approved the integration of the residences, as the last apparent trace of segregation on the campus was officially removed. Moving toward present day UW UW’s black student population has grown steadily throughout the 20th century. Graduating in 1908, Eugene Marshall was one of the earliest, though perhaps not the first, black woman on campus. Mabel Raimey, class of 1918, was the first black woman to reside in “Women’s Hall,” now Chadbourne Hall. In February 1968, the black student population on campus rose up in protest of campus climate issues of the time. Students united in an effort to create an Afro-American studies department and achieve greater minority representation in the faculty, staff and student population. Black students mostly boycotted classes and staged demonstrations on Bascom Hill. In the spring of that year, an agreement was reached, and most of the group’s demands were met. The progressive legacy carries on to the present day, though many argue UW has not achieved a comfortable campus climate, specifically regarding minority-student representation. Groups such as the Multicultural Student Coalition and the Associated Students of Madison Diversity Council are still working continually to strengthen the minority voice on campus.
