Charles Harris Wesley

Charles Harris Wesley was born on December 2, 1891 in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1911, and subsequently received an MA in history from Yale in 1913. While at Yale, he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. He later served as president and long-term historian of the fraternity, publishing The History of Alpha Phi Alpha: A Development in Negro College Life (1929). Wesley graduated with a PhD from Harvard in 1925, one of the first African Americans to do so, and he earned a doctor of divinity degree from Wilberforce University in 1928.

Wesley was an African Methodist Episcopal minister and accomplished historian, becoming one of the first Black recipients of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1930 and authoring twenty-four books in his lifetime on various subjects of African American history. Among his significant publications are The Collapse of the Confederacy, Negro Labor in the United States, 1850–1925: A Study in American Economic History, and The History of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs: A Legacy of Service.

Wesley served on the history faculty of Howard University from 1913 until 1942. He was also a college administrator, serving as dean of Liberal Arts and Graduate Studies at Howard from 1940-1942. In 1942, he became president of Wilberforce University in Ohio. In 1947, he helped establish Central State University (an HBCU in Ohio) and served as its first president. Wesley continued to work there until 1965, when he returned to Howard University as a history professor. In 1976 he became Director of the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia.

In addition to his work as a scholar and college administrator, Wesley was a pastor of the Ebenezer and Campbell AME churches in Washington, DC, and a presiding elder in the AME Church. He was a Mason and active in the Elks and Odd Fellows. Wesley died on August 16, 1987 at the age of 95.

"The Problems of Sources and Methods in History Teaching," The School Review 24, no. 5 (1916).

"The Struggle for the Recognition of Haiti and Liberia as Independent Republics," The Journal of Negro History 4, no. 4 (1917).

"Lincoln's Plan for Colonizing the Emancipated Negroes," The Journal of Negro History 4, no. 1 (1919).

"The Employment of Negroes as Soldiers in the Confederate Army," The Journal of Negro History 4, no. 3 (1919).

"Review of A Century of Negro Migration," The Journal of Negro History 4, no. 3 (1919).

"Remy Ollier, Mauritian Journalist and Patriot," The Journal of Negro History 6, no. 1 (1921).

Negro history in the school curriculum. Washington, DC.: Howard University Press, 1925.

"Reveiw of Negro Labor in the United States, 1850-1925," The American Historical Review 33, no. 1 (1927).

Negro Labor in the United States, 1850-1925: A Study in American Economic History. New York, NY: Vanguard Press, 1927.

The History of Alpha Phi Alpha: A Development In College Life. Wasington, DC: Howard University Press, 1929.

"The Negro in the West Indies, Slavery and Freedom," The Journal of Negro History 17, no. 1 (1932).

"The Neglected Period of Emancipation in Great Britain 1807-1823," The Journal of Negro History 17, no. 2 (1932).

"The Rise of Negro Education in the British Empire--I," The Journal of Negro Education 1, no. 3 (1932).

"The Rise of Negro Education in the British Empire--II," The Journal of Negro Education 2, no. 1 (1933).

"The Emancipation of the Free Colored Population in the British Empire," The Journal of Negro History 19, no. 2 (1934).

"Review of The Evolution of the Negro College," The Journal of Negro History 20, no. 1 (1935).

"Education and Propaganda," The Journal of Negro Education 4, no. 2 (1935).

"The Reconstruction of History," The Journal of Negro History 20, no. 4 (1935).

Richard Allen: Apostle of Freedom. Washington, DC: The Associated Publishers, Inc., 1935.

"Review of The Rape of Africa," The Journal of Negro History 21, no. 3 (1936).

"The Religious Attitudes of Negro Youth-A Preliminary Study of Opinion in an Urban and a Rural Community," The Journal of Negro History 21, no. 4 (1936).

"Negroes as Americans," The Journal of Negro Education 6, no. 1 (1937).

"Race Distinctions Written into Law," The Journal of Negro Education 6, no. 2 (1937).

The Collapse of the Confederacy. Washington, DC: The Associated Publishers, Inc., 1937.

"Division and Reunion," The Journal of Negro Education 7, no. 1 (1938).

"Nation-Wide History Membership Campagin," Negro History Bulletin 1, no. 5 (1938).

"The Abolition of Negro Apprenticeship in the British Empire," The Journal of Negro History 23, no. 2 (1938).

"The Negroes of New York in the Emancipation Movement," The Journal of Negro History 24, no. 1 (1939).

"Reconstruction Unreconstructed," The Journal of Negro Education 8, no. 2 (1939).

"Review of Southern Negroes, 1861-1865," The American Historical Review 44, no. 3 (1939).

"Organized Labor and the Negro," The Journal of Negro Education 8, no. 3 (1939).

"Negro Education on the Graduate Level," The Journal of Negro Education 9, no. 1 (1940).

"Review of Black Folk Then and Now," The Journal of Negro Education 9, no. 1 (1940).

"The Concept of Negro Inferiority in American Thought," The Journal of Negro History 24, no. 4 (1940).

The Negro in the Americas. Washington, DC: Graduate School, Howard University, 1940.

A Brief History of 75 Years of Negro Progress. Detroit, MI: n.p., 1940.

"Education for Citizenship in a Democracy," The Journal of Negro Education 10, no. 1 (1941).

"Review of Gullah: Negro Life in the Carolina Sea Islands," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 24 (1941).

"Negro Autobiography and History," The Journal of Negro Education 10, no. 2 (1941).

"The Negro in the Organization of Abolition," Phylon 2, no. 3 (1941).

"The Negro and the School Histories," The Journal of Negro Education 10, no. 4 (1941).

A manual of research and thesis-writing for graduate students. Washington, DC: Graduate School, Howard University, 1941.

"The Northern Crusade in Negro Education," The Journal of Negro Education 11, no. 1 (1942).

"Review of The Economic History of Liberia," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 220 (1942).

"Manifests of Slave Shipments Along the Waterways, 1808-1864," The Journal of Negro History 27, no. 2 (1942).

"The Outlook for the Graduate and Professional Education of Negroes," The Journal of Negro Education 11, no. 3 (1942).

"The Participation of Negroes in Anti-Slavery Political Parties," The Journal of Negro History 29, no. 1 (1944).

"The Negro Citizen In Our Wars For Freedom," Negro History Bulletin 7, no. 4 (1944).

"Freedom Through the Truth," Christian Education 27, no. 4 (1944).

"The Negro's Struggle for Freedom in Its Birthplace," The Journal of Negro History 30, no. 1 (1945).

"Negro Suffrage in the Period of Constitution-Making, 1787-1865," The Journals of Negro History 32, no. 2 (1947).

"International Aspects of the Negro's Status in the United States," Negro History Bulletin 11, no. 5 (1948).

"Religion and Education," Christian Education 31, no. 3 (1948).

"Liberia Begins Its Second Century," Negro History Bulletin 12, no. 3 (1948).

"Retrospect and Prospect," Negro History Bulletin 13, no. 8 (1950).

"Carter G. Woodson-as a Scholar," The Journal of Negro History 36, no. 1 (1951).

"Racial Historical Societies and the American Heritage," The Journal of Negro History 37, no. 1 (1952).

"The Dilemma of the Rights of Man," The Journal of Negro History 38, no. 1 (1953).

"How the A.S.N.L.H. Influences Education," Negro History Bulletin 17, no. 2 (1953).

"The Association and the Public," Negro History Bulletin 17, no. 4 (1954).

"Thirty-Ninth Annual Meeting," Negro History Bulletin 18, no. 1 (1954).

"Report From St. Louis," *Negro History Bulletin * 18, no. 5 (1955).

History of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World, 1898-1954. Washington, DC: Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, 1955.

"Do Negroes Believe In Themselves?," Negro History Bulletin 21, no. 1 (1957).

"Ebony Honors Association's Founder," Negro History Bulletin 21, no. 6 (1958).

Negro Makers of History. Washington, DC: The Associated Publishers, Inc., 1958.

The Story of the Negro Retold. Washington, DC: The Associated Publishers, Inc., 1959.

"Douglass For Hall of Fame," Negro History Bulletin 24, no. 1 (1960).

"Letters About 'Uncle Tom'," Negro History Bulletin 24, no. 3 (1960).

"Resurgence In Africa's Historical Tradition And The Ameriacn Reaction," Negro History Bulletin 24, no. 4 (1961).

"Exhibition," Negro History Bulletin 24, no. 5 (1961).

"Review of Why the North Won the Civil War," The Journal of Southern History 27, no. 2 (1961).

The History of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Ohio, 1849-1960: An Epoch in American Fraternalism. Wilberforce, OH: Central State College Press, 1961.

"Cover: First Proclamation By The Governor Of Ohio," Negro History Bulletin 25, no. 6 (1962).

"The Civil War and the Negro-American," The Journal of Negro History 47, no. 2 (1962).

"WLIB Radio Broadcast: You and the News," Negro History Bulletin 25, no. 8 (1962).

"Negro History Week: A Cooperative Efford In Atlanta," Negro History Bulletin 25, no. 8 (1962).

"ASNLH Annual Meeting," Negro History Bulletin 25, no. 8 (1962).

"Racial History in Our Schools," Negro History Bulletin 25, no. 8 (1962).

Ohio Negroes in the Civil War. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1962.

"Little Known Abolitionist," Negro History Bulletin 26, no. 7 (1963).

"Creating and Maintaining an Historical Tradition," The Journal of Negro History 49, no. 1 (1964).

"Crown of Gold," Negro History Bulletin 27, no. 8 (1964).

"To Us From Falling Hands," Negro History Bulletin 27, no. 8 (1964).

"Review of Tuskegee Institute Conference on Disadvantage," The Journal of Higher Education 36, no. 1 (1965).

"The Great Man Theory of Emancipation," Negro History Bulletin 28, no. 5 (1965).

"Dr. Wesley Receives Award at ASNLH Annual Meeting, Detroit, 1964," Negro History Bulletin 28, no. 5 (1965).

"Message from the ASNLH President," Negro History Bulletin 28, no. 8 (1965).

"W.E.B. DuBois--The Historian," The Journal of Negro History 50, no. 3 (1965).

"An Aspect of Bibliography and Research in Negro History," Negro History Bulletin 29, no. 3 (1965).

"Dr Wesley's Foreword to the Pictorial History of the American Negro," Negro History Bulletin 29, no. 5 (1966).

"Fiftieth Anniversary of the Journal of Negro History," The Journal of Negro History 51, no. 2 (1966).

The Negro in Our History. Washington, DC: The Associated Publishers, Inc., 1966.

"Review of The Negro-American in Paperbacks: A Selected List of Paperbound Books Compiled and Annotated for Secondary School Students," Negro History Bulletin 30, no. 5 (1967).

"Review of The Negro American: A Documentary History by Leslie H. Fishel Jr., Benjamin Quarles The Negro in 20th Century America. A Reader on the Struggle for Civil Rights," Negro History Bulletin 31, no. 1 (1968).

"Henry O. Tanner The Artist," Negro History Bulletin 31, no. 1 (1968).

"The Annual Report," The Jouranl of Negro History 53, no. 1 (1968).

The Quest for Equality. From Civil War to Civil Rights. New York, NY: Publishers Co., 1968.

Negro Citizenship in the United States: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Negro-American, Its Concepts and Developments, 1868-1968. Washington, DC: Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, 1968.

The Collapse of the Confederacy. New York, NY: Russell & Russell, Inc., 1968.

The History of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Ohio, 1849-1971 : An Epoch in American Fraternalism. Washington, DC: Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, 1968.

Negro Americans in the Civil War; From Slavery to Citizenship. New York, NY: Publishers Co., 1968.

"The Annual Report for 1969," The Jouranl of Negro History 54, no. 1 (1969).

In Freedom's Footsteps : From The African Background To The Civil War. New York, NY: Publishers Co., 1969.

Neglected History: Essays in Negro American History by a College President. Wilberforce, OH: Central State College Press, 1969.

Richard Allen, Apostle of Freedom. Washington, DC: The Associated Publishers, Inc., 1969.

History of Sigma Pi Phi: First of the Negro-American Greek-Letter Fraternities. Washington, DC: Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Washington, 1969.

"Annual Report of the Director," The Journal of Negro History 55, no. 1 (1970).

"The Need for Research in the Development of Black Studies Programs," The Journal of Negro Education 39, no. 3 (1970).

The Fifteenth Amendment and Black America, 1870-1970. Washington, DC: Associated Publishers, 1970.

Women Builders. Washington, DC: Associated Publishers, 1970.

"Annual Report," The Journal of Negro History 56, no. 1 (1971).

"Ethiopia," Negro History Bulletin 35, no. 1 (1972).

"Black Studies and History Week," Negro History Bulletin 35, no. 2 (1972).

"Racism in History," Negro History Bulletin 35, no. 3 (1972).

"Racism and Voting," Negro History Bulletin 35, no. 5 (1922).

Afro-American Encyclopedia. Miami, FL: Educational Book Publishers, 1974.

Henry Arthur Callis: Life and Legacy. Baltimore, MD: Foundation Publishers, 1977.

Prince Hall, Life and Legacy. Washington, DC: United Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, Prince Hall Affiliation, 1977.

"John W. Davis," The Journal of Negro History 66, no. 1 (1981).

The History of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc.: A Legacy of Service. Washington, DC: National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc., 1984.