{"id":1515,"date":"2018-10-10T04:00:35","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T08:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/?p=1515"},"modified":"2018-10-09T10:33:12","modified_gmt":"2018-10-09T14:33:12","slug":"commemorating-the-past-for-a-better-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/2018\/10\/10\/commemorating-the-past-for-a-better-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Commemorating the Past for a Better Future: The 50th Anniversary of Residential Desegregation at the University of Richmond"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Dom Harrington<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dom Harrington is a senior from Indianapolis, Indiana majoring in American Studies and minoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies (WGSS). She has been involved with the Race & Racism Project since 2016 and is currently serving as an advisory\u00a0board member and as the chair of the 50th Anniversary of Residential Desegregation Committee. As a student, she is also an Oldham Scholar, Oliver Hill Scholar, member of the Dean\u2019s Student Advisory\u00a0Board, a research assistant for Dr. Kristjen Lundberg, a peer adviser and mentor, and a Bunk<\/a>\u00a0contributor. She hopes to go to graduate school for mental health counseling.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This year, 2018, marks some momentous \u201cfiftieth\u201d anniversaries for this country.\u00a0\u00a0 It marks the fiftieth anniversary of the assassinations of Sen. Robert Kennedy<\/a> and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.<\/a>, along with the fiftieth anniversary of the first interracial kiss to air on American television<\/a>.\u00a0 However, 2018 is an especially important year for this university because it marks the fiftieth anniversary of residential desegregation on the University of Richmond’s campus. I\u2019ve spent the past few months working with dedicated students trying to tackle the significant task of commemorating this occasion, and I\u2019m incredibly excited for all that is yet to come this school year.\u00a0 With this, I\u2019d like to thank the Race & Racism at the University of Richmond Project for giving me the space to share my thoughts on why commemoratory events surrounding this pivotal anniversary are not only nice, but necessary.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fifty years ago this fall, the University of Richmond was forced to residentially integrate campus<\/a>–or officially accept a black student–and in turn allow them to live on campus for the first time.\u00a0 To briefly set the scene: The University desegregated its non-residential downtown school, University College, in the spring of 1964<\/a>. \u00a0\u00a0This happened ten years after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka<\/a><\/em> was decided, which mandated the desegregation of public schools. Despite this being a long time, Virginia was also the state of massive resistance<\/a>, so compliance didn\u2019t have overwhelming support at this time.\u00a0 The University of Richmond\u2019s status as a private institution allowed the administration to decide when integration would occur.\u00a0 The University hoped that this 1964 step of desegregating would be enough<\/a>, however, from 1964 to 1968 an increasing number of internal and external pressures, including students, alumni, Baptist organizations, and even the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare<\/a>, amounted to essentially forcing the University to desegregate campus.<\/p>\n

Thanks to archival digging<\/a>, we know about the first black student to go to University College. His name is Walter Carpenter, yet we certainly don\u2019t know as much as we should.\u00a0 Furthermore, we don\u2019t know anything about the other black folks who attended University College from 1964 to 1968.\u00a0 The first black Westhampton College women were Madieth Malone<\/a>, Isabelle Thomas<\/a>, and Josephine Ethel Otey<\/a>. These women were day students\u2014commuting to campus instead of living in the dorms.\u00a0 The first black person to live on campus is named Barry Greene<\/a>, and he graduated in 1972.<\/p>\n

Greene\u2019s story, as well as the other pioneering black alumni of UR, has too long been forgotten. It\u2019s high time we remember them, and our history, for a few reasons.\u00a0 First, acknowledging those who have come before us is crucial to chipping away at the wrongdoings of the past. Walk around this campus, and you\u2019ll see who we remember, and who we don\u2019t.\u00a0 You\u2019ll also see what<\/em> we remember and what we don\u2019t. For instance, take the statue of E. Claiborne Robins in between Ryland Hall (a building itself named after an enslaver<\/a>), and Weinstein Hall.\u00a0 Robins\u2019 business sold an intrauterine contraceptive that led to the deaths of 21 women and over 13,000 women became sterile<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The point of this blog post is not to spark a debate about what should be done about current sites of memory, but rather to point to the fact that there\u2019s a lacuna in remembrance on this campus.\u00a0 We can remember these problematic figures from our past, but don\u2019t remember pioneering black students, faculty, and staff.\u00a0 We can remember this University\u2019s cherished traditions, like ring dance<\/a>, yet still have little to no idea about the history of race and racism at this institution. We must ask ourselves who and or what are we forgetting? It\u2019s about time we remember and honor those who led the way in desegregating this campus, and paved the way for the diverse student body that we have today.<\/p>\n

Not only is acknowledging all<\/em> of the history of this University important, but it has completely reshaped how I see its current challenges, and how I envision solutions for the future.\u00a0 For instance, curating an exhibit on the outside influences that pushed the university to integrate<\/a> has completely reshaped my conceptualization of the \u201cinevitability\u201d of progress. This reconceptualization has given me insight on how to make change at this university–not through passivity, but through firm pressure from within and outside an institution.\u00a0 We could simply look at the past few years, and how it took pressure from students, faculty, alumni, and national media attention to finally get this University to make overdue changes regarding Title IX and sexual assault on campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Finally, perhaps if folks were more aware of where we\u2019ve been, regarding race and racism, we could have more fruitful conversations about the state of race on campus today.\u00a0 For instance, if folks knew about the racial politics of hiring here, then maybe more students would make connections to what folks in administrative and faculty roles vs. service roles look like on campus.\u00a0 In addition, if more students knew about the history of black student life, they wouldn\u2019t be surprised at the recent Princeton Review<\/a> rating that placed UR at #9 for having the least race\/socio-economic status mixing among students. (Even though this University touts its commitment to diversity whenever it can.)<\/p>\n

Barry Greene himself recently discussed his experiences here in an oral history interview with the Race & Racism Project conducted by Ayele d\u2019Almeida, Mysia Perry, and Jacob Roberson<\/a>.\u00a0 Greene recounted feeling uncomfortable occupying space on this campus both inside and outside of the classroom.\u00a0 Although some peers, particularly Jewish students, brought him into their friend group, navigating where to sit in the dining hall was a struggle because a number of students didn\u2019t want to sit with him. Taking this into account and knowing that black students are still faced with difficulty in trying to carve out spaces in an institution that wasn\u2019t built with them in mind, it\u2019s disheartening to see just how much things have changed, but have also remained the same.\u00a0 It\u2019s because of this fact that memory within our community is so important.<\/p>\n

Those who\u2019ve come before us deserve their place in the history of this university, especially if they didn\u2019t receive it while they were here.\u00a0 This past August, another group of black freshmen arrived on this campus–wide eyed and bushy tailed.\u00a0 The events we are planning, including, but not limited to, a Meet at the Museum on October 18,\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0and a CCE Brown Bag<\/a> and a Homecoming Event entitled \u201cA Story Unfolding\u201d<\/a> on November 2 are important because not only will we be acknowledging what needs to be acknowledged but we are ensuring a place on this campus for current students in ways that weren\u2019t afforded to those who\u2019ve come before us.\u00a0 We are ensuring that our community is more aware, and through this awareness we can only hope for a better and stronger University of Richmond community.\u00a0 As a current black student, to the first four black students on this campus: Josephine Ethel Otey, Isabelle Thomas, Madieth Malone, and Barry Greene, I suppose I only have one thing left to say: thank you and we see you.<\/p>\n

Please visit memory.richmond.edu<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Dom Harrington Dom Harrington is a senior from Indianapolis, Indiana majoring in American Studies and minoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies (WGSS). She has been involved with the Race & Racism Project since 2016 and is currently serving<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2990,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[64768],"class_list":["post-1515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dominique-harrington"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2990"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1515\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}