Final answer:
In 1912, McKay attended the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama, a prominent historically black college founded by Booker T. Washington that emphasized practical vocational training.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1912, McKay attended Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama, which is now the only historically black college recognized as a National Historic Site.
The Tuskegee Institute, founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881, has played a pivotal role in African-American history. Washington was a former slave who rose to become one of the most prominent black educators in America. Despite the adversities of the time, he managed to secure funds from the all-white Alabama state legislature to transform a one-room school into a college that prepared thousands of black women and men for careers in education and industry. This institution became a model for vocational education and self-reliance. Tuskegee's philosophy of practical vocational training, which Washington championed, was in stark contrast to the more liberal arts-focused approach advocated by contemporaries such as W. E. B. DuBois.
The founding of the Tuskegee Institute is part of a broader story of higher education development for African Americans post-Civil War. Numerous other historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were also established with support from missionary groups, Black churches, and government initiatives such as the Freedmen's Bureau and the Morrill Land Grant Acts. These institutions formed the bedrock of Black higher education, serving communities at a time when racial segregation denied African Americans access to predominantly white institutions.