A Tribute to the First African American Woman Graduate of the Yale School of Music

Helen-haganHelen Eugenia Hagan was a concert pianist and composer who graduated from the Yale School of Music in 1912. She is believed to be the school’s first African-American woman student.

Hagan began playing organ at the Dixwell Avenue Congregational Church in New Haven before the age of 12. The church is the oldest African American congregational church in the world.

After graduating from Yale, Hagan studied in France for two years. Upon, her return home, she became a concert pianist. In 1919, she became the only African-American performer to travel to France during the First World War to entertain Black troops. Later, Hagan was a member of the music faculty at what is now Tennessee State University and served as dean of music at Bishop College in Marshall, Texas.

Hagan is buried in an unmarked grave in New Haven’s Evergreen Cemetery.

Elizabeth Foxwell, featured Hagan in her recent book In Their Own Words: American Women in World War I (Oconee Spirit Press, 2015). Foxwell said she was “shocked” to learn that such an accomplished woman was buried in an unmarked grave. She launched a successful crowdfunding effort to erect a monument to Hagan at Hagan’s gravesite.

The Yale School of Music contributed to the effort. Robert Blocker, dean of the Yale School of Music, said: “Over a century ago, Helen Hagan embodied the ideals of the School of Music that are reflected in our current students today – artistic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and service to humankind. Her achievements as a woman of color at the dawn of the 20th century are remarkable. We owe Elizabeth Foxwell profound gratitude for sharing Ms. Hagan’s inspiring life with us and ensuring that her legacy is memorialized appropriately.”

A dedication ceremony at the Evergreen Cemetery has been scheduled for this coming November.

Related Articles

1 COMMENT

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers

Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.

The University of Texas School of Architecture Names Its Library After Its First Black Graduate

John Chase graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin in 1952, making him the school's first-ever Black graduate. Over seven decades later, the university has established the John S. Chase Architecture and Planning Library in his honor.

Pew Research Center Reports on the Growing Black Population in the United States

Over the course of the twenty-first century, the Black population in the United States has grown by 33 percent to a total of 48.3 million. In 2023, 27 percent of Black American adults have completed at least a bachelor's degree.

Featured Jobs