Morgan London Latta

Rev. Morgan London Latta L.L.D. (April 1853 – 13 April 1937) was an African American educator who was found guilty of operating a fraudulent university as part of a scheme to solicit and misappropriate funds. He founded the fictitious "Latta University" in Raleigh, North Carolina, exploiting the goodwill of Northern donors during the post-Reconstruction era.

M.L. Latta is often mistakenly celebrated as a pioneer in black education due to his deceptive autobiography, which he crafted to bolster his fraudulent activities. Despite being exposed by his contemporaries, denounced by the black community, and scorned by scholars, Latta's legacy continues to be controversially commemorated in Raleigh.

Early life
According to his largely discredited autobiography (See: Fraudulent Autobiography and Fundraising), Reverend Morgan London Latta was born into slavery in April 1853, at Fishdam, a Cameron/Mordecai plantation where the current Falls Lake Reservoir is located. After being emancipated at the age of nine, he reportedly supported himself and 13 family members by running their sharecropping business during the day and studying at night..

At the age of 15, Latta allegedly enrolled at Shaw University. He claimed to have studied to become an educator, received a classical education, and earned his teaching certificate. He purportedly taught for many years near his home, while starting his family and becoming a Reverend. In addition to occasionally working as a teacher, Morgan Latta held various jobs including selling sewing machines and canvassing for the proposed Lynchburg and Durham Railroad. These experiences preceded his ambitious plan to establish Latta University.

His autobiography's account of his early life is somewhat corroborated by the historical record, as records show he left his wife for a student named Laura Bivans, whom he married before purchasing land near Oberlin Village and incorporating Latta University

Marriage(s) and children
Rev. M. L. Latta procured a marriage license for himself and Eliza Evans on Feb 7th 1885, it remains unclear what events transpired as a year later he married Laura Bivens. Records indicate that they lived together in Oberlin Village from 1889 through 1929. They had ten children, Marie Latta, Morgan L. Latta Jr., James L. Latta, Laura Latta, Moses Latta, Jessie Latta, Nellie Latta, Zacharia Latta, Clementine Latta, and Ediith Latta.

Disappearance and death
In the late 1920s Rev. Latta sold and foreclosed on his land in West Raleigh. It was not known where he went, when or where he died, the circumstances of his death or where he was interred.

His disappearance and death remained a mystery for 87 years, until a volunteer researcher found his obituary in a Pennsylvania Newspaper. Rev. Morgan London Latta died on the 13th of April, 1937 in Salem, Massachusetts. He was interred on April 17th at Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania in Lehman 113, plot 28. Notably, his obituary does not mention Latta University or identify him as an educator.

Founding of Latta University
Rev. M.L. Latta founded Latta University in Oberlin Village, an antebellum enclave established by free blacks in West Raleigh. Historical records and public accounts reveal that the primary goal of the university was to enrich Latta and his family. They traveled across the North, soliciting funds for his fictitious university, employing a strategy similar to that of Booker T. Washington, appealing to white benefactors.

Latta University received its official incorporation on February 15, 1894, following the acquisition of land in Oberlin Village and fundraising efforts to finance its construction, a process spanning three years. >

Community backlash and skepticism
His neighbors in the Oberlin community were very outspoken when it came to denouncing Latta and his schemes. First hand accounts frequently appear in the public record labeling Latta’s university as a scam..:

Three years before the university's official founding, prominent Oberlin families published a signed public letter on the front page of Raleigh’s largest black newspaper, denouncing Latta and disassociating themselves from him. This letter highlighted the community's early efforts to expose Latta's exploitation of their name for credibility.

Wake County’s official history, authored by Elizabeth Reid Murray, characterizes Latta as “a real crook.” and shares interviews with Oberlin residents conducted by Shaw University Professor Wilmoth Carter:

The full quote from Dr. Carter’s interview, which is available in her book The Urban Negro in the South is particularly damning

In her book Culture Town, Linda Simmons-Henry interviewed members of Oberlin Village to preserve an oral history of the community. During one of these interviews Tulia H. Turner, briefly mentioned that the year she got married, she visited Latta University and described it as "just a small structure, and looked like it was about a two- or three-room school." She was married in 1923, the year after Latta University closed.

The Oberlin community, being on the ground and understanding the facts, provided primary accounts that continue to expose Latta's scheme to this day. Latta expressed disdain for the Oberlin residents, describing them as “rude, obnoxious, and indolent” or “officious and detestable.” Ultimately, the residents succeeded in dissociating the community's name from Latta's fraudulent activities, he even strikes it from his book entirely, saying the university is located “West of Raleigh.”

Phelps Stokes investigation
In 1916, the Phelps-Stokes Fund initiated a comprehensive study of American black universities under the auspices of the US Department of Education. The study's inaugural chapter shed light on the pervasive issue of 'larceny by false pretense,' identifying Morgan Latta as the most “flagrant case” they have witnessed. Despite Rev. Latta's claims that the university land was neither in his name nor for his benefit, the investigation revealed that the donated land was actually registered under his wife Laura's name. This is corroborated with Wake County property records showing multiple properties in her name, something quite uncommon for a married woman in 19th century Raleigh.

Philadelphia Charities Bureau investigation
In Pennsylvania, Latta’s scheme had a significant toll on black communities, particularly targeting middle and upper-class blacks in the North who were motivated to support their Southern counterparts. Latta's fraudulent activities not only misappropriated funds but also eroded trust within these communities. The fraudulent operations continued for several years before the Charities Bureau of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce was called to investigate in 1916. The Bureau conducted a thorough investigation, uncovering that Latta University was a sham. Their report highlighted that the university did not function as an educational institution and that funds raised were not used for their intended purposes.

The investigation concluded with a decisive statement that Latta University was a fraud. As a result, the Bureau sought to apprehend anyone claiming to represent the institution, aiming to prevent further exploitation.

Legal actions and incarcerations
By 1907, the word was spreading about the fraudulent nature of Latta's operations. Fifteen years after black communities and newspapers initially raised alarms, the broader public began to reach the same conclusion. Over the next ten years, Latta's family and associates operating their scam in the North frequently faced apprehension

Co-conspirators
John Bivans and his wife played a key role in Latta's fundraising scheme by soliciting donations under false pretenses. When Bivans was arrested soliciting donations, Latta would wire the police chief, claiming that Bivans had been misappropriating funds and requesting leniency, as Bivan's was a cripple. This would result in the donations being sent back to Raleigh, Bivans being released, sometimes the mayor warning him never to return. This pattern is seen repeated in local newspapers for years across towns in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and other states.

In 1916, Bivans was convicted in New York despite Latta's plea for his release. During his trial, Bivans revealed that he was Latta's brother-in-law and acting under Latta’s direction. Regardless, Bivans was sent to the penitentiary on Blackwell’s Island.

Extent of Latta's fraudulent activities
The record clearly indicates that Latta and his university were engaged in fraudulent activities, though the extent of these scams remains uncertain. The New York Age, one of the most prominent black newspapers of its time, published multiple articles condemning Latta University's honorary degree abuse, whereby Latta conferred honorary doctorates --for a fee. The issue became so severe that years later, the state attempted to pass a law to outlaw fraudulent degrees, using Latta University as a prime example. When the bill was narrowly defeated, the sponsor remarked that this decision "...leaves Latta University and its industrious president free to make B.A.’s, B.S.’s, LL.D.’s and D.D.’s of the newly made rich in the metropolis."

Closure of Latta University
Latta University officially closed on paper in 1922, as Latta sold off land to pay debts and sold the deed to the school. The remaining land was sold in 1929, except for a small parcel that included his house. The family was last listed in Oberlin on the 1930 census, where Latta no longer described himself as a professor but as a preacher. In 1933, his final parcel of land, including his home, was foreclosed and sold at auction to cover his debts. >

Fraudulent autobiography and fundraising
Rev. M.L. Latta's autobiography, History of My Life and Work, published in 1903, is a key reason he remains a notable figure today. The publication of his book significantly enhanced Latta's fundraising efforts by lending an aura of credibility to his scheme. In his book, African Americans in the Post-Emancipation South, Morehouse College history professor and former editor of the Journal of Negro History, Alton Hornsby Jr., specifically highlighted Latta as an example of fraudulent black universities, detailing how Latta used his autobiography to swindle donors...

Harry Morgan, in Historical Perspectives on the Education of Black Children, describes Latta as an 'outstanding example' of fraud and highlights the dubious nature of Latta’s operations at the time the book was published.

In his autobiography, Latta exaggerated the scale and success of his university, claiming it had 23 buildings and accommodated over 1400 students. He even fabricated stories of traveling to Europe and consorting with Queen Victoria, who he claimed pledged to grant him an entire province if he requested it. The book included many photos of students, yet none showed more than 20 individuals. Additionally, Latta's own records did not support the number of students he claimed.

The autobiography featured doctored photos, placing Latta in fictional environments, such as the "photo" above of him speaking "in the Auditorium at London." During a trial in 1908, under oath, Rev. Latta admitted that these images were faked in Philadelphia photography studios.

Latta often asserted that his university was "one of the largest schools in the South in every respect," and to support this, he took pictures of the same buildings from different angles, labeling them as different structures. For example, the "Chapel," "Young Men's Dormitory," and "Young Ladies' Dormitory" were actually the same building photographed from different angles, explaining why the Young Men's Dorm had no entrance.

Rev. Latta faced multiple court appearances related to what appears to be insurance fraud. He insured his buildings, and over the years, his properties were destroyed by five different fires and a cyclone. Consequently, Latta University appears on the 1914 Sanborn Fire Insurance map. However, contrary to his claims of having 23 buildings, the survey shows only two.

Despite numerous primary accounts (see: Community Backlash and Skepticism) and documents revealing his autobiography to be false, it played a crucial role in his fundraising efforts and, decades later, in establishing his legacy. (See: Controversial Legacy).

Controversial views and opinions
Rev. M.L. Latta's political views were a source of significant controversy and criticism, particularly from prominent black leaders. In her book The Urban Negro of the South, Dr. Wilmoth Carter highlights that Latta's acceptance by whites and rejection by blacks were due to his corrosive views. He held particularly abhorrent opinions on lynching which he blamed largely on the black victims— claiming so much widespread “ignorance among the colored people that such extreme depredations as assaulting white ladies of the South takes place.”.

Beliefs on black inferiority
Latta publicly expressed that blacks were generally ignorant and lacked ambition, stating "Our race is ignorant, as a rule, with few exceptions. The colored people, as a race, don’t seem to have much ambition about them." He often described blacks as a ‘weak’ race, and believed that blacks were uncivilized and inferior, advocating that they should be submissive and deferential to whites, whom he regarded as 'more capable men.'

Endorsements of white supremacy
In his writings, Rev. Latta praised prominent white supremacists who supported his endeavors. This included public commendations for figures like Charles Brantley Aycock and Josephus Daniels, despite their significant roles in advancing Jim Crow segregation and disfranchisement in North Carolina. Such endorsements, given their contentious actions, ignited fury and condemnation within the black community.

Opposition to black political engagement
Latta opposed black political participation, he frequently preached that "The colored people should take no part in politics and leave it to more capable men". He proclaimed that there was “nothing in politics for colored people.”, and urged African Americans to “get religion, educate themselves, buy property, stay out of politics, and put money in the bank."

Rev. Latta regularly used his own community, that of Oberlin Village, as an example of why he believed "blacks cannot govern themselves." Given all of the above, he frequently attributed the resistance he faced from black communities to "ignorance, prejudice, and jealousy."

Flawed research enabled fraudulent legacy
Despite the dubious nature of Latta's claims, the City of Raleigh has celebrated Reverend Latta for decades. His home received the designation of a Raleigh Historic Landmark and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This recognition was based solely on the narrative presented in his autobiography, the very tool he used to deceive donors.

In 2002, the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources submitted paperwork nominating Latta’s home for the National Register of Historic Places. The state's historical support relied almost entirely on Latta’s autobiography, citing it over 25 times in a ten-page submission, with the only other source being an "unpublished student report"

When Latta’s home burned down in 2007, the city initiated a costly archaeological excavation to find any significant archaeological deposits related to Latta and his university. The investigation yielded minimal findings, such as a horseshoe and some trash, yet this was deemed sufficient to advise the city and the Raleigh Historic Districts Commission to redesignate the empty lot as a Raleigh Historic Landmark.

The 2010 Raleigh Historic Landmark designation submission essentially replicated the 2002 National Register text, which was based on Latta’s autobiography taken as fact. This ongoing recognition underscores the extent to which Latta's deceptive narrative has influenced historical records.

City knowingly embraces false narrative
For years, the commemoration of Rev. Morgan Latta in Raleigh has prompted questions about the city's uncritical embrace of a man whose fraudulent legacy has been well-documented. Despite ample evidence exposing Latta as a conman, Raleigh has invested significant resources into commemorating his fictional achievements, he's even been inducted into the Raleigh Hall of Fame. In 2014, the City of Raleigh Museum hosted the exhibit “Latta’s Living Legacy”, which displayed an "original copy" of his autobiography as well as some items from the archeological excavation

In recent years, the City spent close to a million dollars on a park commemorating Latta's life, and enshrined his dubious achievements with park signage, bronze historical markers, even Social Studies classroom content for schools, all regurgitating the same falsehoods as indisputable facts.

Efforts to caution city officials about the reliance on Latta's autobiography as the sole historical source were met with resistance. During the public comment period for Latta University Historic Park, comments expressing concerns were removed from public view “so as to be sensitive to living descendants”. Despite these warnings, Raleigh and Latta's descendants at the Latta House Foundation persist in perpetuating Latta's false narrative, which wastes tax payer money, and blatantly disregards the voices of black communities and newspapers that openly exposed Latta as a fraud.