Black History Month - Alexander Lucious Twilight

Alexander Lucious Twilight When Alexander Lucius Twilight was born on September 26, 1795 in Corinth, Vermont, his parents knew he would do great things, but they couldn’t have known he would make history the way he did.

In 1823, he graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont, thereby becoming the first African American to earn a baccalaureate degree.

He took full advantage of that degree, too. After becoming principal of a Vermont grammar school, he made history again by becoming the first African American to be elected to pubic office, gaining a seat on the Vermont House of Representatives.

GradPortal.org honors the memory of Alexander Lucius Twilight by dedicating itself to furthering the education of under-represented students everywhere.

In 1837, in GradPortal.org’s home state of Pennsylvania, the Institute of Colored Youth became the first established black college. Today, we are proud to list over 58,000 graduate programs that are actively seeking African American students.

You may not be the first African American student to earn a degree, but by working toward one, you are adding to Alexander Lucius Twilight’s powerful legacy.

Please join us in celebrating Black History Month, and in helping as many students as possible follow in Alexander’s footsteps.

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