William H. Sheppard and Lucy Gantt Sheppard, with their Children, circa 1900

Sheppard and Family.JPG

Title

William H. Sheppard and Lucy Gantt Sheppard, with their Children, circa 1900

Subject

Sheppard, William H. (William Henry), 1865-1927
Sheppard, Lucy J. Gantt
Missionaries
African-Americans--History--Tuscaloosa (Ala.)

Description

William Henry Sheppard, the son of freed former slaves, was born on March 8, 1865, in Waynesboro, Virginia. he was a graduate of Hampton Institute (now Hampton University, in Virginia) and Stillman Institute (now Stillman College, in Tuscaloosa). He is pictured here with his wife, Lucy Gantt Sheppard, and their children.

In his four years at Stillman, Sheppard studied to become a missionary under the guidance of Reverend Charles Stillman, the principal founder and first leader of what is now Stillman College.

Sheppard became a missionary to the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), where he exposed atrocities perpetrated by commercial interests against the people of the Kasai region; he was charged with libel by the Kasai Rubber Company, and his trial (in which he was acquitted) brought international attention to the systematic abuse and occasional murder of African people in the rush to plunder the continent's wealth.

The British government bestowed upon Sheppard the title of "Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society" for his service as a missionary.

Source

Stillman College

Date

Circa 1900

Contributor

Crystal Mealer (Description)
Betty Slowe (Description)

Type

Photograph

Identifier

1113

Coverage

Tuscaloosa (AL)

Original Format

Photograph