It was September, 1928. A young man arrived in Geneva, having traveled by bus half way across the country from Omaha, Nebraska. The Episcopal Bishop in his home parish had arranged, through an acquaintance with then-Hobart College President Murray Bartlett, for the bright and promising young man to receive a scholarship to attend Hobart College.
Imagine the young man's surprise and dismay when he arrived on campus only to discover that the College would not house him-because he was Black.
Imagine his pride four years later when he graduated, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with majors in Greek, English and psychology-the first African-American graduate of Hobart College.
Alger Adams surmounted monumental obstacles to achieve the goals he set for himself.
It was a difficult time for many in this country during the Depression of the early 1930s. Basic survival was challenging for a large portion of the population across the nation. Geneva, N.Y., was no exception. Adams faced not only financial barriers, but also strong racial barriers. He had to find shelter and he had to eat. He turned to the Black community, at that time fewer than 150 in number. Most were domestic help or worked in commercial jobs. Most were poor. But most were eager to help the young man.
Adams' daughter Patricia, a corporate human resources manager turned jazz singer and band leader, remembers some of her Dad's stories of those days.
"When Dad talked about life at Hobart, the talk mostly centered around living in Geneva and trying to make ends meet. He washed dishes at a local restaurant, I know, and lived with various families in the community," she said. "Most of his classmates didn't have to work their way through college, and I remember Dad telling of working on campus, polishing brass fixtures in the hallway of one of the buildings on campus, and being passed by, ignored and unseen by classmates who couldn't touch his excellence when they sat side-by-side in class."
Charles Kenney, a lifelong resident of Geneva, was about 12 when Adams came to town. "I remember Alger quite well, even though he was older and I was, at that time, more interested in basketball than what was going on at the Colleges," Kenney reminisced. "I remember him as a good-looking guy, quiet spoken, and I knew of his problems getting housing."
He became, according to Kenney, a source of genuine pride within the Black community.
For part of his time in Geneva, Adams lived with a family on Dorchester Avenue, within view of Kenney's home. He also spent some time living with Joe and Nettie Dugan on High Street. (The Dugans would later become daughter Patricia's godparents.)
"Everyone was struggling to survive back then, and taking folks into our homes was one way we could make extra money," said Kenney. "Families used to take in the Black performers who came to town, too, because they were not allowed to stay in the local hotels. We had nationally known band leaders, such as Count Basie and others, performing at Club 86, but they had to find alternate housing."
Of the few Hobart or William Smith students who have survived the 70 years since that time, some remember Adams, but they only remember that he was here. "Whites and Blacks didn't mix much in those days," remarked Lib White '33. "Nor was there much mixing between Hobart and William Smith, except for fraternity mixers and occasional dates. In fact, William Smith women were not allowed on the Hobart campus."
And of course Adams didn't live on campus, so even the less formal types of interaction were not common for him.
But he did come to campus for classes and he did excel in the classroom, as his daughter so proudly noted. Not only did he graduate magna cum laude, but he was named to Phi Beta Kappa as well. (Patricia proudly wore her Dad's Phi Beta Kappa ribbon on her lapel during the 2002 Reunion.) He was also an undergraduate assistant in the psychology department and had undergraduate research published in The American Journal of Psychology.
After graduating from Hobart with such distinction, Adams had two clear options: he had been offered a scholarship to the Harvard Graduate School of Business and to the General Theological Seminary in New York. He chose the latter, based, according to his daughter, not only on his commitment to the priesthood but also on his practical understanding that there was not much an African American could do with an MBA in 1934.
He graduated from the seminary and between 1947 and 1955 he built two churches, St Francis in Greenburgh, N.Y. (now St. Francis & St. Martha's) and St. Augustine's (now, Holy Cross) in Yonkers, N.Y. Both churches recently celebrated their 50th anniversaries and Adams' contributions figured prominently in both celebrations.
In 1950, Adams and his wife, Jessie, purchased a weekly newspaper, the Westchester County Press. Patricia noted that it always bothered him to accept pay for his work in the church, and eventually he left the active ministry. He continued to minister in interim and part-time positions over the years, but at the time he wanted to devote himself to civil rights through the development of the newspaper, which he built to give the African-American community in the county a cohesive voice.
While they were still running the newspaper, the couple developed and built The Creative Printery in 1962. Specializing in the publication of high school and college newspapers in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), The Creative Printery offered a teaching environment for students to learn about printing and production. Adams then headed back to academe and earned a master's degree in teaching and studied journalism at which point some colleges accredited the work students performed at The Creative Printery. Adams' ran both the newspaper and the print company through 1980, when he sold The Creative Printery, running the newspaper for three more years before retiring to travel with his wife.
In addition to his many professional accomplishments, Adams wrote two novels, painted 12 oil paintings (10 of which were on display in Houghton House during Reunion 2002), played the piano and the guitar, and was active in a variety of civil rights, professional, and community organizations and initiatives.
No surprise that Hobart College was duly proud of its alumnus. In 1983, Alger Adams was invited to return so that the College could bestow upon him a well-deserved honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.
Patricia noted that her father was thrilled. "He had always been proud to have graduated from Hobart, and for the College to recognize his life's achievements, especially after having in so many real ways rejected him 55 years earlier, was a genuine honor for him," she said.
It was John Witte, long-time Hobart admissions and alumni emissary, who called Adams to the attention of the Board of Trustees. Adams had been a class correspondent since 1979, and Witte had spoken to him at his home, for the first time learning of the circumstances under which Adams had struggled to get his education here, as well as of his later accomplishments, and felt that Adams was a perfect candidate for an honorary degree.
Carroll Brewster, president of the Colleges in 1983, remembers Adams giving a stirring address to those gathered at a dinner in his honor the evening before Commencement in 1983. The citation presented to Adams from Hobart College reads: "…The College, having admitted its first Black matriculate, would subsequently forge a commitment, uncertain at first but later forcefully articulated and resolutely pursued, to encourage and to seek diversity in its student body…"
Adams will now be remembered annually through the Academic Success Dinner. The Office of Intercultural Affairs initiated the dinner last year in order to recognize the achievements of many HWS students who succeed despite financial and academic disadvantage. It is to be held each year "in honor of the first man and the first woman of color to graduate from Hobart and William Smith-The Rev. Dr. Alger L. Adams '32 and Gloria Robinson Lowry '52."
Patricia recently recalled her father's pride in his academic achievements and in his ability to compete successfully with students at Hobart who were more racially, socially and financially advantaged. "I think he was proud of his resourcefulness and skills to survive in an environment where he felt unwanted and discriminated against," she reflected. "But Dad always loved the school and I believe that the school respected him-yet the times interfered. I've come to love the Colleges, too. The welcome was so warm for me at the 2002 Reunion. Everyone went out of their way to greet me and talk to me. It lifted a lot of my sadness about Dad's earlier time here."
(This article, by Kathy Marshall, originally appeared in Winter 2003 issue of The Pulteney St. Survey.)
Contribution: First alum of color at Hobart College
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
College Activities: Phi Beta Kappa
Major: Greek, English and Psychology
Other Education: General Theological Seminary in New York