Davidson College has a rich archival collection, and we acknowledge the continued work to be done caring for these resources. Below we share selected moments in Davidson’s history relevant to the task at hand. We attempt, in our limited powers, not to be comprehensive, but a more thorough understanding of counter histories through the lens of minoritized and marginalized communities at Davidson College. Through a gathering of “known” or “legitimate” Davidson histories, promoted heavily by the institution in public facing documents such as the Report to President Carol Quillen from the Commission on Race and Slavery, and “counter histories,” the unrecognized stories that texture the dominant narratives, we will create a single chronology that demonstrates, first, the college’s engagement in systemic racism & second, the presence and contributions of BIPOC individuals at Davidson College since its founding. While the “firsts” (students, faculty, staff, alumni of color) represent documented successes of activism, intellectual and professional accomplishments by communities of color, we must avoid oversimplified "tokens" by sketching the fullness of historical context and communities. We acknowledge how recent many of these dates are with humility and must annotate and amend our public historical records because, despite their gaps and omissions, they're still our starting point for a fuller story. Let us tell the story of every Black student to have attended Davidson College.
The 1960s / The Integration of Black Students at Davidson College Benoit Nzengu (1962 - 1966) Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja (1963 - 1967) who are you Wayne Crumwell (1964 - 1968)? who are you Leslie Brown (1964 - 1969)? (1965 - 1969) who? who are you Maurice K. Fonson (1966 - 1969)? who are you Mike Maloy (1966 - 1970)? who are you Calvin Murphy (1966 - 1970)? The Black Student Coalition was founded in 1967. who are you James Parks (1968 - 1971)? who are you Narayanan Ramachandran (1968 - 1971)? who are you Lester Strong (1969 - x)? who are you Lemuel Turner (1969 - 1972)? who are you Ronnie Williams (1969 - 1972)? 1970 1971
