Before the early 2000s, little was known about Everett Claudius Yates, the first Black member of the MSU marching band and orchestra. In fact, it wouldn’t be too much of an exaggeration to say that Yates had been virtually forgotten by history.
Enrolled at MSU, then called Michigan Agricultural College, or MAC, from 1912 to 1916, Yates performed as a percussionist in the marching band, then called the cadet band, and MAC’s college orchestra.
As a member of the cadet band, Yates performed at sporting events, parades and provided martial music for MAC’s military students to march to. Yates also performed in the smaller college orchestra for dances on campus and events such as the mid-winter and commencement concerts.
Beyond his musical pursuits, Yates, a horticulture major, was active in the Horticultural Club as well as the New England Club which he likely joined because he lived near Boston before attending MAC. Yates also held the rank of Second Lieutenant in MAC’s Corp of Cadets.
After graduating in 1916, Yates returned to Boston for a year before accepting a teaching position at the all-Black Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School, now known as Tennessee State University.
MSU history professor Pero Dagbovie said this career trajectory, in which early African American graduates of MSU would go on to teach at all-Black colleges in the American South, was not an uncommon path for other Black graduates of predominantly white institutions, particularly in the era of Jim Crow segregation.
“African American educators and scholars did not begin securing teaching positions at predominantly white colleges and universities in noticeable numbers until after the modern Civil Rights Movement,” Dagbovie said.
In 1922, Yates once again returned to Boston to teach at Rice School, a local elementary school. He later received a Master of Education degree from Boston Teachers College in 1931.
A man once forgotten by history
Much of the information available about Yates’ life was only uncovered during research for historian Keith Widder’s 2005 book “Michigan Agricultural College: the evolution of a land-grant philosophy, 1855-1925.”
In the book, Widder explains that the first African American graduate of MSU was William O. Thompson. Before Widder's research, star football player Gideon Smith was solely recognized as the first Black man to graduate from MSU, even though Smith and Yates both graduated in 1916 and knew each other well. Widder writes that the actual first African American graduate of MSU was William O. Thompson.
Widder speculates that Smith’s role as an exemplary member of the football team, particularly his performance in MAC’s first victory over the University of Michigan in 1913, cemented his legacy through public attention at a level that Yates was never exposed to.
Widder explains the difference between the two by writing that “playing the cathedral chimes simply did not make as lasting an impression as tackling one of Fielding Yost’s powerful running backs.”
Additionally, Dagbovie pointed out that Smith, unlike Yates, remained in touch with MSU and made multiple visits to East Lansing post-graduation, further entrenching his legacy at the university.
In the year 2024, however, Yates’ legacy is now recognized by the university and the role he played in breaking the color barrier at MSU through music can be fully understood and appreciated.
Widder wrote that Yates and others like him took advantage of the opportunities presented to them to further their education, opened the door for future Black students at MSU to follow in their footsteps and dedicated their lives to teaching Black youth during a time of extreme segregation.
These efforts, Widder wrote, "pushed out the perimeters of democracy just a little farther."
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