Black Behind the
  Black and Gold
      Dr. Stanley Warren
      October 1990

DePauw University, founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury University, began as an institution based on liberal principles and accessibility for individuals from all religious denominations. Despite this liberal perspective, women were not admitted until 1867. Ironically, Japanese were enrolled as early as 1877 and, in 1840, there had been an unsuccessful attempt to enroll Choctaw Indians. In 1882, George Washington Ziegler, Pastor of Greencastle’s Methodist Episcopal Church, became the first black to enter the senior pre-college preparatory class of the University. Ziegler’s enrollment paved the way for the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Pastor, Tucker Essily Wilson and for James U. Lawrence, both of whom were black, to also become preparatory students at DePauw. 

Enrollment of Lawrence, Ziegler, and Wilson was something of a non-event, but participation beyond that point proved to be another matter. Wilson and Ziegler applied for membership in the Adelphian Literary Society, one of several student literary organizations that served as centers of campus activity. When news of their acceptance spread, several members resigned and formed a new society.

 In spite of being rejected by the Adelphians, perseverance enabled Tucker Wilson to enter the regular university program and to complete his studies in 1888, making him the first black DePauw graduate. His presence on the graduation program as one of the student presenters is an indication that he was a respected member of his class. His talk, “The Perils of Illiteracy,” was one of several given, but there were a number of class members not chosen to speak. Reading Wilson’s senior quote, it is obvious that he was well aware of his racial designation and how others regarded him. He wrote, from the Merchant of Venice, “Mislike me not for my complexion.”

After leaving DePauw, Reverend Wilson served AME pastorates in the following Indiana cities: New Albany, Evansville, Terre Haute, Marion, Muncie, and Plainfield. Later, he served in Springfield, Illinois, Portsmouth and Xenia, Ohio; Canonsburg, Brownsville, Wilkes Barre, Charleston, Connellsville, Newcastle, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tucker Wilson was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio.

Soon after the graduation of Wilson came James Ulysses Turner, from Van Buren, Arkansas. Turner was extremely versatile; he was an athlete as well as a scholar. Not only did he graduate in 1893 with an AB degree in Greek, but he left behind a reputation as the fastest student on campus as he regularly won the 100 and 220, yard dashes in the Field Day events that were such an important part of life at DePauw. Turner was a very popular student on campus. Following graduation, he became chairman of Greek and Latin at Wiley University in Texas. After leaving Texas, he traveled to Chicago where he worked as a milk inspector and as a food inspector for the Board of Health.

BEFORE 1920
The make-up of the campus and the surrounding community was such that most white students had little or no contact with blacks. The reduced importance of the preparatory department and the increased pressure on students to complete a high school education, reduced the likelihood that blacks would enroll at DePauw. During a period of time when the black presence at DePauw was almost non-existent, an incident between DePauw and Wabash College highlighted the lack of sensitivity toward blacks that existed on the DePauw campus. In the 1903, Wabash-DePauw football game, DePauw players refused to take the field because Wabash had a black player on its team. After considerable negotiation, the game was played with the black player relegated to the bench. It seems that allowing blacks to participate in contact sports with whites was an idea that had not yet been accepted on the DePauw campus.

In the fall of 1913, a multitalented young Indianapolis musician named Noble Sissle enrolled at DePauw. He became so professionally active that staying at DePauw became difficult: “My popularity gained me many jobs on weekends, and I could pay my way through college. It got too difficult to make classes at DePauw, so I transferred to write and produce stage hits such as “Shuffle Along.” Sissle’s one semester stay at DePauw was so brief that it is difficult to determine what impact he had on the negative attitude of some students toward black participation in certain campus activities.

In spite of such attitudes, the entry of Percy Julian into the Preparatory Class of 1916 was accomplished without serious incident, even though his “southerness” and his blackness were unmistakable. Julian’s journey from Alabama to Greencastle, Indiana, a small, segregated, rural town, stemmed from a fortuitous meeting between his grandmother and a local teacher named Joan Stuart who had been raised near DePauw University in Danville, Indiana. The teacher was so persuasive that the Julian children, although unable to attend college themselves, decided to keep the dream of their parents alive by sending the next generation of children to DePauw.

The story of Percy Julian’s rise from the Preparatory Class and segregated housing to Valedictorian and Phi Beta Kappa in a mere four years is the most remarkable educational journey in DePauw's history. Recognition of his greatness was achieved when in 1980 the University named its science and mathematics center after Julian. His later accomplishments as a chemist and entrepreneur are testaments to his genius. Eventually, the elder Julian moved the entire family to Putnam County, Indiana and the stream of Julians enrolling at DePauw over the next several years began. Each of the Julian children followed in the footsteps of Percy by attending DePauw University, with only James Julian failing to complete a degree program. He transferred to The University of Chicago. Mattie finished in 1926, Elizabeth in 1928, Irma in 1933, Emerson in 1938, and James was awarded an honorary bachelor=s degree in 1970.

Upon his death in 1975, the state of Alabama passed a resolution, “Mourning the death of Percy Lavon Julian.” Fortunately, there were many tributes to his greatness while he lived. In 1947, the NAACP awarded him its Spingarn Medal, in 1949 he received the Phi Beta Kappa Award, in 1950 he received the Chicagoan of the Year Award as well as DePauw=s Old Gold Goblet Award. DePauw also awarded Julian the McNaughton Medal in 1972 for meritorious public service. Just as DePauw had done, McMurray College named its science building after Julian. It is now the Percy Lavon Julian Hall of Chemistry. This is only the tip of the iceberg. The list of honorary degrees, citations, and other awards is unbelievably lengthy. Students of Julian=s caliber were rare, regardless of race, but others followed in his footsteps.

Nemea, Liberia was the home of Charles Blooah. At age 14, he was to have been designated chief of his tribe, but was sent to the United States instead. After learning English and maturing a bit, Blooah enrolled at DePauw. He was a very active member of Epsilon Epsilon, which was an indication of his ability in Greek language. Blooah’s interests were wide ranging. He was also a member of the Student Volunteer Band, Ministerial Association, and the League of Nations. However, there are several indications that foreign missions was his major interest. After graduating from DePauw in 1921, he went on to the University of Chicago to pursue graduate work.

The Rector Scholarship Program, which was founded in 1919 to attract high caliber students to DePauw, seemed not to be in the cards for George Gore, a young black freshman in the class of 1919. However, Gore was among a handful of students who proved to be so able that in their second year, they were awarded Rector Scholarships, which made them members of the first Rector Scholar Class. As he pursued his journalism major, Gore was known as, “Professor Mitchell’s right‑hand man.”

Gore lived up to the Rector Scholar image after graduation by publishing two books: One about the “Negro” press and the other about “Negro” public education. He also became Academic Dean of Tennessee State University and later served as President of Florida A&M University. Gore has also been credited with being the founder of Alpha Kappa Mu, commonly known as the “Black Phi Beta Kappa organization.” The norm for this period of history in the United States was for blacks and whites to be enrolled in separate, segregated institutions of higher education, which made it unlikely that many blacks would be accorded Phi Beta Kappa status. The establishment of Alpha Kappa Mu helped to broaden the general knowledge about the work being done by black schools in an era of segregation and racism.

THE 20s AND 30s
It took thirty years after the opening of Indiana Asbury University for women to be admitted. Then in 1884 Indiana Asbury had become DePauw University by virtue of a significant grant from Washington C. DePauw. Fifty‑five years after the first women enrolled in 1867, two black women came to DePauw. One was Valeria Murphy from Brazil, Indiana; the other was Mattie Julian. By this time, the Julian family had migrated to Greencastle. Both Valeria Murphy and Mattie Julian were in the graduating class of 1926.

During the same period, the Riley family, the only blacks in Bristol, Indiana, followed the pattern of the Julians by sending two sons to DePauw. John, a Rector Scholar, graduated in 1925 and went on to become a noted professor of history at Florida A&M University. Sumpter, his younger brother, graduated in 1926 and eventually become a Methodist minister.

Although there was no connection between John J. Oliver, DePauw Rector Scholar and 1935 graduate in Chemistry, and the fact that Sigma Delta Chi, the National Journalism Society, was founded at DePauw, he still made his career in the newspaper business. Oliver rose to become president of The Afro‑American Newspapers in Baltimore and after a very successful career in the newspaper business, was honored in 1988 by election to the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame and awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by DePauw at the 1989 graduation ceremony.

Academically talented black students continued to enroll at DePauw. Wesley J. Lyda, mathematics major and DePauw graduate of 1935, was another of the Rector Scholars who made major contributions to academia. Lyda’s work as an educator led to Distinguished Alumni Awards from DePauw University, his undergraduate institution, and from Indiana University, his graduate institution. Francis Hummons, a student during the same period and 1938 graduate, became a well known physician in Indianapolis.

THE 50s AND 60s
It is ironic that today’s DePauw students must participate in a limited lottery to be able to live “out in town.” A perusal of Greencastle City Directories prior to 1950 will quickly point out the segregated nature of housing on the DePauw campus, which caused black students to live with families in the city of Greencastle. Segregation was thought to be the natural order until one day in 1950, Russell Freeland and Thomas Barnett were invited by a delegation of white students to live in the dormitories. Of  course, it must be noted that Barnett and Freeland had proven to be outstanding young men in every way. Their credentials were impeccable. Freeland was a star athlete, Rector Scholar, and campus leader; Barnett was a Rector Scholar and vice president of Epsilon Epsilon (Greek Club) and Kappa Pi (Art Club). Soon, they were both members of Men’s Hall Association (MHA) and residents of Longden Hall.

Other outstanding scholars were enrolled at DePauw during this same period. Robert E. Taylor went on to become an anesthesiologist while Marvin Gavin=s road to a judgeship began with a political science major in which he excelled to such a degree that, after being elected to Pi Sigma Alpha, the department honorary, he was also elected Phi Beta Kappa in 1952. He has become an active alumni as a member of the DePauw Board of Visitors since 1987.

By 1960, the total number of black women having attended DePauw had not approached double digits. The enrollment of Melba Zachery and Nina Hodges in 1955 and their residence in Lucy Rowland Hall marked the first time black women had lived in DePauw dormitories. Hodges withdrew from school after the first year, but Zachery spent her last three years in Mason Hall and graduated in 1959. She belonged to several campus organizations, became secretary to the Student Senate, and was a member of two university choirs.

Nina Shirley (McCoy) has assumed a position of leadership as a spokesman for public access for the handicapped. While at DePauw, she was involved in the 1964‑65 Young Citizens For Johnson campaign. Her academic successes at Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis were continued at DePauw, which resulted in her election to Phi Beta Kappa. McCoy has been the only black female among five black students at DePauw to achieve this high level of distinction. She is the former director of the Indianapolis Resource Center For Independent Living.

Several of the black students attracted to DePauw in the late 50s and early 60s developed leadership skills while in school that propelled them to positions of importance in later life. William Allison of the class of 1954 was a speech major whose interest in drama led him to become involved with Duzer Du. He was also a member of Men’s Hall Association and several clubs on campus. Later in life, Allison became vice president of the Coca Cola Company, stationed in Atlanta, Georgia. The circle was completed when he was elected to the Board of Trustees of DePauw University in 1988. He is also a member of the university Human Relations Committee.

Jerry O. Williams of the class of 1961 was another of those whose leadership ability surfaced at an early stage in his career. While at DePauw, he was executive officer in the Air Science Group, president of Florence Hall, an independent men’s living unit, and also ran on the cross country team. After leaving DePauw, Williams rose through, a succession of positions to become president and chief operating officer of AM International, a Fortune 500 company. Currently, he is chairman and CEO of Monotype, a company that he recently purchased in Sulford, England, which is near London.

Vernon Jordan, class of 1957, seemed destined to become a political figure from the moment he came to DePauw. It was not long before he became treasurer of the Student Senate and vice president of the democratic Jackson Club. He was also involved in oratory, taking first place in the state oratorical contest as a sophomore and third place in the national contest. After developing his oratorical and leadership skills at DePauw and receiving a law degree, Jordan became director of the United Negro College Fund and from there moved on to become president of the National Urban League, which made him an international spokesperson for black America. Jordan, who is currently affiliated with a prestigious law firm in Washington, D.C., served on the DePauw Board of Trustees from 1978 to 1981. Currently, he is an advisory trustee to the Board.

Saundra Lawson (Taylor), class of 1963, was one of several students who continued in the footsteps of active black students who preceded her. While studying psychology, she was a member of Student Senate and Mortar Board. Although she was only the second or third black woman to have lived in Mason Hall, in her senior year, she was elected president of the hall. After leaving DePauw, serving in several positions at other universities, and receiving a Ph.D. in psychology, Lawson became vice president for student affairs at Western Washington University.

Present on the DePauw campus during the same period was Kyle McGee who was a member of the Committee on Religious Concerns, Chemistry Club, and the Episcopalian Youth Group. McGee was a Rector Scholar and major in philosophy and religion. Currently he is Rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Hamden, Conn. and lecturer at Yale University Divinity School.

Although never a regularly enrolled student, John W. Lee is an interesting footnote in the history of blacks at DePauw. As part of the Navy V‑12 Program, he attended DePauw, residing in Lucy Rowland Hall, for several months in 1945. He preceded by several years, Russ Freeland and Tom Barnett as black dormitory residents at DePauw. In 1945, he was commissioned as Midshipman in the Naval Reserves. As Lee neared the date for his discharge, the internal and external pressure to commission blacks as regular Navy officers was mounting. At the time of his discharge, he was summoned to Washington and offered a regular commission. The offer, which was laden with pressure, was accepted. On March 15, 1947, Lee became the first regularly commissioned black naval officer in U.S. history because other black officers, even those on active duty, were in the reserves. He remained in the Navy until retirement in 1966. Lee became Chairman of the Joint Planning Team, Allied Forces Central Europe, before retiring as a Lieutenant Commander.

Ken Lester, a high school student from Cleveland, Ohio, wrote to the National Scholarship Service and Fund For Negroes (NSSFNS) in his senior year to inquire about DePauw University. NSSFNS had been through an experience with another DePauw student, Ron Gibson; therefore, the response was candid and less than encouraging. It indicated that the attitude in Greencastle seemed to be, “... southern, conservative, and rural.” In 1967, these words were alarming to a black youth who had heard painful stories about life for blacks in the South. However, Lester matriculated to DePauw, but after his sophomore year , transferred to spend what he calls his, “junior year abroad in Detroit.” He transferred back to DePauw for a very successful senior year.

ATHLETICS
In spite of the relatively small number of black students attending DePauw in the early years, outstanding performances in athletics were not uncommon. Beginning with the 100 yard dash supremacy of James U. Turner in the 1890 Field Day Exercises to the All-American status of Alan Hill in track and field in 1981 and 1982, there have been many superior athletic performances by black students. The standard for most predominantly white colleges in Indiana, prior to 1969, was to allow blacks to participate in non‑contact sports such as track and field, but to severely limit their play in football and baseball. However, in the 1920s, Kentucky State University, a traditionally black school, was a fixture on DePauw's baseball schedule. Ironically, the 1962 DePauw basketball team made history in Florida as Melvin Jolly, a mainstay on the team who happened to be black, became the first of his race to play at Stetson University in Deland, Florida.

Most young black men in Indiana who were talented and interested in playing baseball, or football in the late 1940s, were relegated to playing with YMCA teams or traveling with semi‑professional squads. Russell Freeland, who came to DePauw from Lawrenceburg, Ind., was the prototypical scholar‑athlete. Without much fanfare, he became a star in baseball and basketball and was the first black to play varsity football at DePauw. Freeland was a Rector Scholar who, while in the midst of his athletic and academic pursuits, became president of the junior class. A winner of eight varsity letters, his efforts were rewarded in 1989 by being the second black athlete elected to the DePauw Athletic Hall of Fame.

Over the years, there have been other noteworthy black athletes at DePauw, several of whom also exhibited outstanding leadership qualities. Richard Dean, All‑American football lineman in 1963, was the first black to be elected to the DePauw Athletic Hall of Fame. Dean, a linebacker on defense and a center on offense, captained the DePauw team for two years. In his senior year, he was named most valuable lineman in the Indiana Collegiate Conference before being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1956, Milton “Mickey” Pharr was president of Tusitalia (creative writing), but he was also a member of the “D” Association because of his success as a relief pitcher on the DePauw baseball team. Lennie York, sprinter and member of the DePauw football squad in the mid‑1950s, as a sophomore was double sprint champion in both the ICC and Big State Meets. York was a Rector Scholar, president of Toynbee (sociology) and secretary‑treasurer of the “D” Association. John Duncan, currently an attorney with the U.S. Air Force, was a Rector Scholar in 1963 and in 1964 was Indiana Collegiate 440 yard dash champion. Emmanual Roberts, 1973 graduate, holds the single season mark for goals in soccer with 23.

Willis “Bing” Davis, an outstanding basketball star, was Most Valuable Player and All‑Conference in his junior year and member of the DePauw track team in the mid‑1950s. Davis, an art major, returned to DePauw in 1971 as a faculty member in the art department. His years at DePauw were marked by a long standing disagreement with a member of the political science department over affirmative action and related issues. From 1974, a series of their memoranda shows the clear division between liberal and conservative views on the issue of affirmative action. These struggles were precursors of the difficulty to be faced by students and faculty seeking change at the university in the next decade.

In the early 1960s, another scholar‑athlete made his mark. Olu Oredugba, a native of Nigeria, between stints as a member of the DePauw track team where he set a school record in the 880 yard run, was so successful in the pre-medical curriculum that he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is currently a physician in California. There have been several excellent football players at DePauw, but none exceeded Bart Simpson, a halfback in the mid‑1970s. His ball-carrying exploits were highlighted by a 39‑carry, 190 yard performance in 1974 against perennial rival Wabash College. During that season, Simpson gained 1009 yards and finished his career with 2,012 yards.

During the late 1970s, the basketball fortunes of DePauw were in the capable hands of Jeffrey Bibbs. Bibbs, a clever ball handler and great shooter, was voted Most Valuable Player in both his junior and senior years. He holds the DePauw career scoring record with 1,632 points.

Selected by many, along with Russell Freeland, as one of the two best all around athletes in DePauw history, was Alan Hill of the early 1980s. Hill was accorded All‑American status in track and field in 1979 and 1980. In 1982, he was Division III national pole vault champion. His exploits as a defensive back and kick‑off‑return, specialist were so spectacular that he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He is currently a member of the admissions and financial aid staff at DePauw.

Jeff Bibbs made his mark as a great scorer for the DePauw basketball team, but Scott Lewis gained a reputation as a defensive specialist who always drew the top scorer on opposing teams. Lewis ranks second in career steals, assists, and games played for the Tigers. He is currently an assistant coach at East Carolina University.

The women=s basketball program has depended for three years on the rebounding and shooting of Seana Murphy. Murphy’s all‑around ability and her hard play have earned her the respect of everyone who follows the “Lady Tigers.”

Blacks and swimming have been far from synonymous. Until recently, there had been no interest by blacks in the DePauw swim team or the intra‑mural swim program. That barrier was broken in 1988 when Garfield Doran from St. Croix joined the men’s team followed in 1989 by Daphne Hall on the women=s team.

FACULTY AND STAFF AT DEPAUW
The faculty and staff presence at DePauw has been much less volatile than that of black students. In 1932, Percy Julian returned to DePauw as a research fellow. He held this position until 1936 but was never allowed to officially join the faculty although he taught and delivered lectures. Julian was denied positions at The Paper Institute in Appleton, Wis., the University of Minnesota, and DePauw. Although he was recommended by Dr. William Blanchard of the chemistry department, and had proven his ability to do the jobs, in each instance, the issue of race proved to be the deciding factor.

Ironically, it may have been his stint in the DePauw laboratories that allowed Julian the time and opportunity, not present in his busy schedule at Howard University, to further develop central concepts leading to some of his later discoveries. Dr. Wesley Lyda, a friend of Dr. Julian’s who was at DePauw in the 1930s when Julian returned, related the following story about the drug used in the treatment of glaucoma: “Percy knocked on my door one morning about 3:00 a.m., waking up the neighborhood with, ‘Wesley, Wesley wake up B eureka, eureka, I found it B I have just synthesized physostigmine!’” Following this discovery, published research articles authored by Percy Julian and Dr. Joseph Pikl of the DePauw chemistry faculty propelled DePauw into a very respectable position in chemistry among research universities in America. It was these close personal relationships, both on the DePauw campus and in the Greencastle community, that caused Dr. Julian to remember DePauw with fondness. The Julian family has established the Percy Julian Scholarship Fund to aid capable science students at DePauw who are in need of financial assistance.

It was several years after Percy Julian before a black faculty member was hired. Oliver Rice worked in admissions as assistant to the Dean from 1969 to 1972, but the first black tenure track faculty member at DePauw was Willis “Bing” Davis who began in 1971 as an assistant professor of art. Davis resigned in 1976 and is currently chair of the art department at Central State University. Dr. William Thomas came in 1972 as assistant professor of education and director of black studies. He left in 1973 and was replaced by Dr. Stanley Warren. Warren remains at DePauw at this writing as professor of education and associate dean of the university. Joining the faculty in the same year as Warren was Iris V. Edwards as an instructor in the School of Nursing. Edwards experienced difficulty with her classroom evaluations and was not offered a new contract after the 1973‑74 school year. In 1988, Dr. Mac Dixon‑Fyle, specialist in African History, came to DePauw as associate professor of history.

Currently, blacks serve in several other positions at the University, but none is in tenure track slots other than Warren and Dixon‑Fyle. There was an admissions officer, a director of new student financial services who also serves as an admissions officer, a director of minority affairs, an instructor in English, instructor in French, assistant professor of education, reference librarian, chaplain, and a security officer. Recently, a recruiter for Hispanic students was hired.

Several black DePauw graduates have themselves pursued doctoral study and become college professors. Among these are Robert Smithey, class of 1950, Oscar Brookins, class of 1965, Jim Johnson, class of 1969, and Ed Greene, class of 1971.

PROTEST AT DEPAUW
Responding to injustices, both small and large, has been part of the DePauw tradition from its beginning. For many students, these efforts seemed a natural part of the co‑curriculum. “Challenge,” an interracial club whose purpose was to “eradicate discrimination at DePauw,” was a force for campus change in the late 1950s and the 1960s. Even earlier, the Council on Minority Problems, with such students as Russell Freeland and Marvin Gavin leading the way, had begun to point out inconsistencies in the treatment of black students at DePauw.

The Birmingham bombings of September, 1963, in which four black children were killed, elicited strong reaction from around the world, but that was just the beginning. Even as DePauw students and faculty participated in dramatic protest marches, a plot to assassinate President John Kennedy was being hatched. A speaker from the Student Non‑Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), one of the highlights of 1964, reminded all that the events of the 1960s were so large that it was impossible to insulate against them. Everyone was affected.

Shortly before Christmas 1965, Ron Gibson, a talented, very popular student was pledged by Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. The fact that he was black could not have gone unnoticed since there had never been a black student member of a Greek unit at DePauw. By the end of his first year in the fraternity, the situation had changed dramatically. Amid charges of racism extending over two stormy years, Gibson and Lambda Chi parted company. His letters to The DePauw and to the college referral office of NSSFNS indicated his displeasure with his fraternity, and with the “small world of DePauw.”

In 1969, black students at DePauw, in cooperation with Mirage staffers who were preparing an insert for the annual yearbook, coined the phrase, “The Black Behind DePauw’s Black and Gold.” These students were fighting for justice, which was to be symbolized by the establishment of black and African studies programs. Obviously, they knew something of the struggles by black students, such as Ron Gibson and their white supporters, to achieve full equality for all in a segregated society whose mirror image was present on the DePauw campus and on predominantly white campuses around the country. They recognized their places as links in the continuous attempts to overcome inequality.

In 1969, Charles Evers and Richard Hatcher were campus visitors. It seemed a natural outgrowth of events of the day and the response of  “Challenge” was the formulation of a more specialized student organization, “Students Against Racism.”

The push for integration and equality knew no boundaries. One result of the growing insistence on recognition of unique needs resulted in the establishment in May of 1969 of the Afro‑American House in Locust Manor, a vacant campus living unit.

Within an atmosphere where change was already in the air, it is not surprising that the Vietnam war and the peace movement that it spawned found their way to the DePauw campus. Logically it was many of the same students whose first taste of fighting for justice and freedom was experienced as they protested the treatment of blacks who led the peace movement on the DePauw campus.

Many forces came together to cause black students to feel the need for organizing themselves into a separate social entity and to seek out an isolated location for meetings and social gatherings.

Ironically, in 1967 DePauw fraternities agreed to eliminate their internal mechanisms for excluding blacks. Of the seven black freshmen on campus, one black student, Charles Hutchinson, received several bids to join the fraternity system. Since he was the only black student to receive a bid, Hutchinson and the other black freshmen theorized that there was a conspiracy. Consequently, he immediately expressed a preference for independent status.

The reaction was swift. An editorial viewpoint in The DePauw criticizing the black students was followed by a sharp response written by George McMillan and approved by the other black freshmen. This disagreement was, in effect, the straw that broke the camel=s back. A worsening social situation for black men and the sudden appearance of African students in residence at fraternities were contributing factors to the complete break‑down of communication between black and white men on the DePauw campus and the creation of a social organization by black students. Mid‑year, 1968, black students established the Association of Afro‑American Students (AAAS). Original members were Sharon Gamer, Elsa Brown, Suzanne Davis, Hurley Goodall, Jim Jackson, and Jim Johnson who was selected as president of AAAS. Alice Stevenson and Mary Jo Clark, exchange students from Clark College of Atlanta, Georgia were also participating, but non‑voting members.

Jim Johnson, student senator and leader in the movement to create AAAS, was instructed by AAAS members to seek university recognition through Student Senate. Based on the fact that there was a non‑discrimination clause in the AAAS constitution, which meant the organization was open to any DePauw student, Senate passed the proposal. Immediately following the positive action by Student Senate, AAAS changed its constitution to restrict its membership to Afro‑American students only. Johnson, angered by this betrayal, resigned from the presidency of AAAS. He was replaced by Jim Jackson who served for a few turmoil filled days before being replaced by George McMillan.

Meeting places were hard to come by. AAAS began to meet in the television rooms of the Union Building. These rooms are glass enclosed and situated on the traffic path through the Union Building, which makes any group meeting there very conspicuous and a center of curiosity. For a small band of black students, it was doubly so.

The black students began to think of themselves as analogous to the international students and wanted to be treated as such. The International Center became the model for what they wanted for themselves. In February of 1969 at a meeting of the Committee on the Disadvantaged Student, members discussed a manifesto presented by black students. Among items deemed “absolutely necessary” were: a. a Black Student Union House, b. a black admissions officer, c. a required African or African‑American course, d. black convocation speakers. They also strongly requested institution of a black literature course and a history of black leadership course.

As these DePauw students of the late 1960s were busy laying an important cornerstone for future students, their attention was divided between justice issues on the DePauw campus and related events that were national in scope.

While the successes of the civil rights movement developed into complacency among some young students, others simply turned their attention to broader issues. Apartheid in South Africa had been a way of life for many years, but, finally, the internal struggle waged solitarily by African blacks for so long gained media focus. Suddenly, the world was watching. The black Diaspora was being defined in a way that awakened the conscience of liberal, activist students, both black and white.

Students coming to DePauw in the 1970s brought with them the full impact of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, desegregation, busing, and public response to these community shaping events. It is difficult to know what effect these activities and their aftermaths had on the psyche of the country .Given the direction of these events, it is very likely that the impact on blacks and whites was very different. The residue was the stuff of which the racial difficulties of the 1970s were made.

When black congressmen boycotted President Richard Nixon’s state of the union message in 1971, the tone for the 1970s was set. It was the decade of the Attica Prison riots, the first black political convention, held in Gary, Indiana, the Watergate break‑in, the Jamestown massacre, and the revelation that more than 12 percent of the casualties in Vietnam were black.

It is no wonder that George McMillan, one time president of the Association of Afro‑American Students (AAAS) remarked, “The social life at DePauw is geared to whites, and we need to have our own.” Black students at DePauw and at many other colleges were feeling the pressures of the negative racial atmosphere settling over the country. It was a time when black students, particularly on predominantly white campuses, began to reassess their plans for the future.

Militant students of the 70s continued to press for change. But, the broadened spectrum of educational and occupational possibilities experienced by black college graduates all over the United States was a direct result of the civil rights activities of the 1960s. DePauw graduates of the 1970s did greatly benefit  from these changes. Deborah Toler, Paul “Baii” Akridge, Holbrook Hankinson, Shelley Lloyd, and Edward Greene all went on to receive PhDs in various fields which led to significant positions for each of them. Brad Ware, Frank Lloyd, Riley Lloyd, Vernita Tucker (Thomas), Charles Dinwiddie, and Amos Acoff, earned medical degrees. Additionally, accountants, such as Charles Bennett, and business school graduates were much in evidence in the classes of the 1970s. Lawyers from the classes of the 70s are Colette Borom (Carpenter), Ulysses “Deke” Clayborn, Beatrice Kemp, Lawrence Mayberry, and Gail Wright who attended DePauw for only part of her undergraduate career.

The Lloyd family of Indianapolis, whose four children attended DePauw, mirrored the Julian family in some respects. Frank, Jr., Shelley, and Riley graduated from DePauw while Karen attended for one year before transferring to another institution. Frank Lloyd, Sr. is the retired President of Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, their mother, Daisy Lloyd, is a well known politician and real estate entrepreneur, Frank, Jr. and Riley are successful young physicians. Shelley is a Ph.D. recipient in instructional systems technology, and Karen is an attorney. The probability is great that some day the Lloyds will make contributions to society that will be the subject of discussions in future times.

THE 1980s
Apartheid demonstrations, usually soliciting promises of divestment of financial considerations in South Africa, occurred several times at DePauw in the middle and late 1980s. The result was some consciousness raising, but little in the way of divestment. However, divestment did occur on several campuses. Recent changes in apartheid have vindicated reactions by student activists. Nelson Mandela is now free and pressure is mounting for a one-person, one-vote system in South Africa.

Occupationally, black students of the 1980s, both at DePauw and elsewhere, seemed to be on the same track as students of the 70s. For those who were educationally prepared, new doors were opening and a broad economic base was emerging. Politically, the early 80s was the beginning of unprecedented successes in black America. Andrew Young in Atlanta, Thurman Milner in Hartford, and James Chase in Spokane won mayoral posts. The late 80s witnessed David Dinkins’ rise to the mayor’s post in New York City, and in Virginia, Douglas Wilder become the first elected black governor in the history of the country. Many other political successes were realized as thousands of blacks won elections at every level, including Congress. Nationwide, more than 7,000 blacks now hold elected office.

Educated blacks were facing the specter of a community divided between economic gains based on educational attainment and a lack of trust in the available leadership. By the late 1980s, qualifiers were needed when referring to black socio‑economic status or party‑line political support. Black professionals were growing in number and moving into the mainstream, but were being accused by poor blacks of neglecting their heritage and their community responsibilities. As time passes, it becomes more and more difficult for black students who experienced no segregation, no legal inhibitions, and no blatant racism to dedicate themselves to group survival. With the unevenness of success and achievement among black Americans, it is understandable that there is confusion among blacks about the availability of the typical American dream and the responsibility of those black Americans who achieve it.

Fortunately black DePauw graduates of the 1980s appear destined to continue the successes exhibited by those before them. Some such as Charles Jackson, Tom Jackson, Leslie Jones and Mary O’Neal in law; Cathy Bryant, Vivien Dorsey, and Paul “Ho” McDougal in medicine; Angela Ross and Robert Allen in dentistry are preparing themselves for leadership roles.

DePauw’s School of Music, where many excellent musicians built their foundations, was the launching pad for jazz musicians, Pharez Whit ted and Don Parker. Whit ted completed a masters degree in music and is currently the leader of  “Decoy,” a popular Indianapolis jazz group. Parker, after also completing a masters degree at the University of Texas, is teaching percussion and marching band at the University of Arkansas in Pine Bluff and performing regularly.

Entering the decade of the 80s, there were approximately 40 black students enrolled at DePauw. This figure had declined gradually over the previous five years, and by 1985, admission of black students into the freshman class had declined to single digits. It was also the period in which the African Studies Program was eliminated, followed shortly by the Black Studies Program. Re‑establishment of the Black Studies Program in 1989 was a fitting symbol of a new era as was the graduation of Joe Webster, the fifth black Phi Beta Kappa in DePauw’s history. Webster, who is currently enrolled in medical school, was also president of Mortar Board in his senior year .

The year 1986 was the beginning of a significant growth period for blacks at DePauw. In successive years from 1987 through 1990, with the help of new administrative leadership, a generous scholarship program for black students (Black Student Leadership Awards), and an intensive recruitment effort by Charles Richardson and Alan Hill of the Admissions Office, the numbers and quality of black students increased. The beginning numbers went from six in 1986 to 26 in 1987 to 30 in 1988 to 50 in 1989 to 58 in 1990. In the fall of 1990, because of these increased numbers and a good retention rate, the semester opened with 141 black students on the DePauw campus.

A contributing factor to the increased visibility of blacks on campus has been the resurrection of a predominantly black fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, and the beginning of a predominantly black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, as well as the formation of a very entertaining black gospel choir.

As we enter the decade of the 1990s, DePauw University, which has come such a long way since the days of Percy Julian, is attempting to remain as a competitive, vital, thriving institution. It has shown itself to be committed to a diverse campus, both in population and climate, by selecting appropriate personnel, such as black and Hispanic recruiters, and carefully planning strategy that will help to lead the university through the demographic mine field of the next ten years. Predictions are that over 50 percent of the students in the public schools will be black or Hispanic. Obviously, thriving in this atmosphere requires an aggressive approach toward the creation and sustenance of an acceptable campus climate.

The success of future efforts to recruit and retain black students at DePauw depends on many factors that are very difficult to predict. Employment rates, housing patterns, high school graduation rate, government response to spiraling college costs, racist tendencies in society, increasing enrollment at predominantly black institutions, and alumni support. Three critical factors are: a. how well DePauw can convince its students, alumni, and the general public that the positive changes in campus climate are permanent, b. the way in which black alumni choose to support the institution and, c. the institutions will to survive the short sightedness of those who criticize its aggressive efforts to recruit minority students.

The shadow of Tucker Wilson is long and narrow, but the number of black alumni from DePauw is growing and their significance is just beginning to be felt.

END

For more information see:  DePauw's African-American Heritage: The Pioneers

and the Clifton J. Phillips Papers