Founded in 1869 by the American Missionary Association, a New York-based abolitionist society, Tougaloo University was chartered as a teaching college in 1871 and conferred its first baccalaureate degree in 1901. The school was renamed Tougaloo College in 1916 and in 1954 became Tougaloo Southern Christian College after merging with the Southern Christian Institute. During the Civil Rights Movement, it served as a safe haven for movement leaders. The school was again renamed Tougaloo College in 1963.
