Why Hic, Haec, Hoc for the Negro? -or- Did Our Northern Friends Make a Mistake?, 1900

Lovinggood wrote this pamphlet in defense of classical education for African Americans. The Latin words “Hic, Haec, Hoc” represent different forms of the English word “this”. Here in the pamphlet’s title they function as a shorthand for the knowledge of grammar, syntax and rigorous memorization characteristic of Latin education.

Credits: Dr. Reuben S. Lovinggood papers. Huston-Tillotson University, Downs-Jones Library Archives and Special Collections