a sensation, singing before Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain, Queen Victoria; popularizing spirituals written by Wallace Willis such as "Swing Low Sweet Chariot"; and changing racial stereotypes. Their tour raised nearly $50,000 (~$1.13 million in 2023) and funded construction of Jubilee Hall. (In W.E.B. Du Bois' book The Souls of Black Folk, this number is quoted at $150,000). It was the first building built for the education of freedmen in the South and is now a National Historic Landmark.
Fisk co-founder Cravath returned in 1875 and became the institution's first president. He oversaw an active construction program and expansion of the school's curriculum offerings to include liberal arts, theology, and teacher training. By the turn of the 20th century, it had strengthened its reputation, built several campus buildings, added African-American teachers and staff, and enrolled a second generation of students.
=== 20th century ===
James Griswold Merrill served as acting president of Fisk from 1899 to 1901, then …
