Ebenezer Bassett was the first African-American to graduate from the college now known as Central Connecticut State University. Then, in 1869, he became the first African-American to serve as a U.S. diplomat.
Now 150 years after that appointment by President Ulysses S. Grant, CCSU has renamed its Social Sciences Hall in honor of Bassett — a recognition that comes with another historic first, university officials said this week.
The university committee that pushed to memorialize Bassett declared this was the first time a public university in Connecticut would have an academic building named in honor of an African American. Check out the full story.
By Vanessa de la Torre, Connecticut Public
