Messiah to honor alum who graduated 100 years ago

In the early 20th century, Rachel Flowers enrolled at Messiah Academy in 1916, the first African-American to attend Messiah. She graduated in 1918.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of her graduation, Messiah celebrated this historic milestone in September with a three-day event, “Remembering, Rejoicing, Reflecting: A Centennial Celebration of Rachel Helen Flowers, 1918-2018.”

Christina Thomas ’14, who returned to campus to give the keynote lecture for the celebration, began researching Flowers as a history student.

As an African-American student attending a predominately white institution,” said Thomas, “my research began as a simple curiosity about the first African-American student to attend this institution.

As an undergraduate, Thomas presented a lecture about the 1918 grad at the 2014 Humanities Symposium and then continued a three-generation Flowers family history as her senior project.

“What started as a small project grew into a larger research project,” said Thomas. “Simultaneously, my love for African-American history grew even stronger.”

Now a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University, Thomas is concentrating on 19th and 20th century U.S. and African-American history.

Through Homecoming Weekend, an exhibit honoring Flowers will be open to the public in the Murray Library and Learning Commons.

—Staff report