Artemisia Bowden- St. Phillip's College (1902-1954)
Background
St. Phillip’s Normal and Industrial School began as a Saturday Sewing School opening on March 1st, 1898. The school was founded by James Steptoe Johnston, a Bishop from the St. Philip’s Episcopal Church of the West Texas Diocese. It was created to help recently emancipated slaves gain an education. On opening day it had a total of six students which were young black females, by July 1st it had a total of thirteen students in attendance. With the guidance and leadership of Artemisia Bowden, she would transform St. Phillip’s from a Saturday Sewing School for Girls into an accredited Junior College.
Artemisia Bowden was born on January 1, 1879, in Albany, Georgia. She is the oldest of four children, to former slaves Milas and Mary Bowden. Her father, Milas Bowden, was an active member in the St. Athanasius Episcopal Methodist Church in Brunswick, Georgia, which would have a big impact on her teachings later on in life at St. Phillip’s Day School. In 1900, Artemisia Bowden graduated from St. Augustine’s Normal School located in Raliegh, North Carolina. After graduation, she taught from 1900 to 1902 at High Point Normal and Industrial School in High Point, North Carolina, where she received high praise as an instructor and educational leader. Bishop James Johnston was impressed by the operation of High Point Normal and Industrial School and sought Artemisia Bowden to lead St. Phillip’s Industrial School.
1902-1928
In June 1902, Artemisia Bowden moved from North Carolina to San Antonio, Texas to become the Principal of St. Phillip’s Industrial School. With the addition of new staff and the push from Artemisia Bowden, extracurricular activities began to appear in the school, including a Choral Club and a Needlework Guild.
Under her guidance, St. Phillip’s Normal and Industrial School was extended into St. Phillip’s Grammar and Industrial School with the addition of grades eight and nine into the curriculum. St. Phillp’s was moved from La Villita to it’s current location on Martin Luther King Dr, San Antonio. In its new location, from 1917 to 1926 Artemisia was able to add additional buildings, facilities, and a boarding department for students- St. Phillip's was established during these years as a "K-12" Boarding School for both Male and Female African-Americans. Through her determination and establishing programs for educational growth for the African-American community in 1927, she began offering junior college courses, and by 1928, the school was transformed into a fully accredited Junior College. With the year 1929 approaching, She worked under a constant financial threat to continue establishing a school for young African-Americans in San Antonio.
During the Great Depression
In 1929, the Great Depression began, a worldwide economic downturn, causing unemployment, deflation, and economioc institutions and policies. St. Phillip’s College was impacted immensely as both the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of West Texas could no longer fund the institution. Artemisia Bowden was unwilling to allow St. Phillip's to be shut down. She began campaigning to the San Antonio Independent School District, seeking approval for the District to take over St. Phillip’s Junior College. The school district at first refused the notion. She fought on the argument that San Antonio owed it to citizens to fund the school. The District continued to refuse to fund St. Phillip’s, a Black Junior College. Arguments and Debates were held over why a Black Junior College cannot to receive the same support White Junior Colleges did with San Antonio’s public. She reached out to various Individuals, Family Members, most notably her brother Edward Bowden, Churches, State Funding Organizations, and the Department of Education to receive funding and gain financial support.
In 1934, during the time of economic downturn, St. Phillip's Junior College began offering Vocational Courses and was granted status as a First-Rank Junior College by the State Certificate Law in Texas. It also gained endorsement by the San Antonio Board of Education. The argument to gain public funding was a continous battle until 1942, after almost 13 years, the San Antonio Independent School District included St. Phillip's Junior College into the Dictrict.
1935-1954
In 1935, she was awarded a Bachelor of the Arts Degree from St. Augustine’s College, formerly Saint Augustine’s School her alma mater. Following earning her degree she spent the summer working towards her graduate degree, she attended the following institutions Columbia University, Cheney State Teachers' College, the New York School of Social Work, and the University of Colorado. By the end of 1935, she received an Honorary Master’s Degree from Wiley College.
In 1942, the San Antonio Independent School District reluctantly approved St. Phillip’s Junior College into the San Antonio municipal junior college system. This change marked the end of the college’s era as a private Episcopal institution to a municipal junior college, St. Phillip’s Branch. In October 1945, the citizenry voted to place San Antonio and St. Philip’s College under a newly created district board of trustees. San Antonio College and St. Philip’s College came under the administration of the board of trustees of the San Antonio Union Junior College District by September 1946.
Artemisia Bowden was affiliated with many progressive organizations. She was the President of two organizations: San Antonio’s Negro Business and Professional Women's Club, which she also founded, and the San Antonio Metropolitan Council of Negro Women. Holding memberships in: the Coordination Council on Juvenile Delinquency of the Texas Social Welfare Association, the National Association of College Women's Clubs, and in 1947 she was named to the Texas Commission on Interracial Relations.
In April of 1947, Miss Artemisia Bowden and Reverand S.H. James Jr. discussed the topic of Equal Education Opportunities for Young African Americans, also known as Dual Education. She stated African Americans are not being given equitable educational rights as White students. In segregated schools, more money is spent on a White child’s education, around $84.79, whereas Black children receive $36.97 or less for their education. There was an equitable difference in the salaries of educators in segregated school systems as well, often payments were lower to Black workers than to their White counterparts. Artemisia Bowden often took her used her own money or was able to receive a loan from family members or the Episcopal Church to pay her educator wages. The number of degree opportunities for a professional education for young students displayed a large gap as well between White Colleges and Universities to Black Colleges and Universities. This unequal and unjust educational difference prohibits African American students’ ability to earn a higher degree of education.
“Every soul has an inherent right to all possible aid to perfect his character. We need democracy that in essential needs makes no differentiation between rich and poor nor Black and White.” – Artemisia Bowden.
In June 1954, after 52 years of serving at the institution as an instructor, principal, and the dean of St. Phillip’s College, Artemisia Bowden retired. In November, 1954, the new building for the school was dedicated in her name to honor her services to the Black community and educational services in the San Antonio area. On November 28th, 1954 she received the honorary title, Dean Emeritus, for all her work, impact, and devotion to St. Phillip’s College.
During her 52 years at St. Phillip’s College she earned a total of three degrees. In 1935 Artemisia Bowden was awarded the Artium Baccalaureates Degree (A.B. Degree) from St. Augustine’s College and an Honorary Master’s Degree from Wiley College, Marshall, Texas. Her final Received Honorary Degree of Doctor of Pedagogy (Ped. D.) from Tillotson College during the school’s 75th Anniversary on January 27, 1952. On November 28th, 1954 she received the honorary title, Dean Emeritus, for all her work, impact, and devotion to St. Phillip’s College.
Final Thoughts
Today, Artemisia Bowden should serve as an example to educators everywhere that anything is possible, regardless of gender, age, or race. She refused to give up her fight for equal education and equal rights for African Americans. This resulted in better education for her students and a stronger surrounding community.
Fun Fact: Her ashes were spread in Corpus Christi Bay.
Current Events to Honor Artemisia Bowden
- August 18th- Bowden Feast Day with the Episcopal Church
- St. Phillip's College performs a stage play to honor the historical journey of Artemisia Bowden as the first African-American Female Leader of St. Phillip's College.
"It takes faith, hope and persistence to make a dream a reality." - Artemisia Bowden
References
Primary Sources
Artemisia Bowden: Editor, Educator, Founder, Educational Administration. (1964, May 25). Saint Augustine’s College.
Bowden, A. (1947, April). Are we giving Negroes Equal Educational Opportunities? Personal Documentation from Artemisia Bowden.
Douglas, L. (1930, November 26). Correspondence with Artemisia Bowden Regarding St. Phillip’s College. State Department of Education: Austin.
Favrot, L. (1929, November 4). Correspondence to Artemisia Bowden Regarding Denying Contributions. General Education Board.
Mogavero, A. (1898). Saturday Evening Sewing Class. The Portal to Texas History. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth129433/?q=saturday%20sewing%20school
No Creator. (1939). Portrait of Artemisia Bowden. The Portal to Texas History. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth129478/?q=artemisia%20bowden
No Creator. (n.d.). Photograph of Artemisia Bowden and Young Girls. The Portal to Texas History. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth129364/?q=artemisia%20bowden
San Antonio Register (San Antonio, Tex.),Vol. 17, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, April 25, 1947. San Antonio, Texas. The Portal to Texas History.http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398893/.
St. Phillip’s Dedication Honors Dean. (1954, November 29). San Antonio Express, 3C.
Wright, A. (1933, June 10). Correspondence to Artemisia Bowden Regarding Salary Contribution. The John F. Slater Fund.
Secondary Sources
Alamo College Districts, St. Phillip’s College. (n.d.). SPC : History: Alamo Colleges. SPC : History | Alamo Colleges. https://www.alamo.edu/spc/about-spc/our-college/history/.
Alamo College Districts, St. Phillip’s College. (n.d.). SPC : Artemisia Bowden: Alamo colleges. SPC : Artemisia Bowden | Alamo Colleges. https://www.alamo.edu/spc/artemisia-bowden
Britannica. (n.d.). Great Depression. https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression.
McArthur, J. (1994, November 1). Bowden, Artemisia. Handbook of Texas Online. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/bowden-artemisia.
Wendzell Norris, Jr., C. (1975). St. Philip’s College: A Case Study of a Historical Black Two-year College. [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Southern California]. https://api.core.ac.uk/oai/oai:digitallibrary.usc.edu:p15799coll17/454859