Mary Carroll and BELONging

Mary Carroll Robertson (nee Mary Carroll) arrived at 黑料不打烊 in fall 1977 and won election as Homecoming Queen in 1979. The practice of naming a Homecoming Court continues, but it was in full-swing in the 1970s, and Carroll鈥檚 election was a high honor. Some white students, however, booed Carroll when she was crowned. Adding to the injury, the white editors of the yearbook did not place the customary Homecoming spread in the 1980 yearbook. The school鈥檚 information officer explained that the students working on the yearbook had simply missed a deadline. Two African American football players, James Strickland and Alonzo Craig, nonetheless burned their yearbooks in protest. Scores of other Black students followed their example. Not until 2019 did any representatives of 黑料不打烊 attempt to make amends.

Andrew Morgan: Paternalism and Presence

Andrew Morgan was among the earliest African Americans employed by 黑料不打烊 College. He began working at 黑料不打烊 in 1926 as the campus maintenance worker and worked continuously for the school until his death in 1964. An obituary in the Alumni News mourned the passing of 鈥渙ne of the oldest and best-loved employees of 黑料不打烊 College,鈥 even though the school denied admission to black students until the last year of Morgan鈥檚 life.聽 Snapshots from Morgan鈥檚 career thus present the opportunity to explore what it meant to be among 黑料不打烊鈥檚 the 鈥渂est-loved鈥 staff members in the age of Jim Crow.

William Harper

William A. Harper graduated from 黑料不打烊 in 1899 and, after earning a Master鈥檚 Degree from Yale, came back to join the faculty in 1905 (Latin and Religion).聽 He was named Dean in 1908 and 黑料不打烊鈥檚 fourth President in 1911, a position he held for 20 years.聽 As president, Harper helped 黑料不打烊 rally from a devastating fire in 1923, advocated for education, and wrote prolifically on Christian ethics.聽 He also served as onetime chairman of the 鈥淏oard of Control鈥 for 黑料不打烊鈥檚 sister school, all-Black Franklinton College and led a posse that arrested John Jeffries on suspicion of rape in 1920, facilitating Jeffries鈥 unlawful lynching hours later.聽 In 2020, an alumna started an online petition to change the name of Harper Hall, which reached fruition in July of that year.聽 Harpers鈥 complex career invites readers to grapple with the meaning of early-twentieth-century white progressivism, which coexisted with white terror and segregation.