Case 2 of "The Inevitable Present: Integration at William & Mary"
Shown here is an image of Case 2 of the "'The Inevitable Present': Integration at William & Mary" Exhibit located in the Marshall Gallery (1st Floor Rotunda) and the Read & Relax area of Swem Library at the College of William & Mary, on display from February 4th 2013 to August 13th 2013
The following is a transcription of the labels in this case:
The rejection letters received by African American applicants to William & Mary in the 1950s are strikingly similar. While some were turned away because of a late or incomplete application, most rejections included a statement like this:
“The College of William & Mary is a state-supported institution of the Commonwealth of Virginia which complies with all its laws, rules and regulations. We may not enroll Negroes except as provided for under the statutes of the Commonwealth.”
Letters generally closed with a referral for the applicant to Virginia State College, the present-day Virginia State University in Petersburg and a refund of the application fee. One applicant who received such a rejection letter in the summer of 1955 was Barbara Blayton, daughter of the late Alleyne Houser Blayton and Dr. J. Blaine Blayton, a prominent Williamsburg-area physician and civic leader. Eight years later, Barbara Blayton’s younger brother Oscar would become the first African American undergraduate student admitted to William & Mary.
Office of the President, Davis Young Paschall Records,
UA 2.15, Acc. 1982.74, Box 33, Folder 34: Negro Education, 1954-1971
New Journal and Guide, 2 July 1955
The article is available through the ProQuest Historical Newspapers database at proxy.wm.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview...
Another woman rejected by William & Mary in June 1955 was Miriam Johnson Carter, since her chosen course of study, Education, was offered by Virginia State College. Mrs. Carter was on sabbatical from her teaching position in Philadelphia for the 1955-1956 school year, and wished to spend this time taking classes near her family in Gloucester, Virginia. After her initial application was denied, she exchanged letters with William & Mary administrators attempting to gain admission to a different graduate program. Her request to study at the Institute of Early American History and Culture was denied because the Institute was a research organization that did not support students. She then inquired about taking courses at the Virginia Fisheries Lab, the present-day Virginia Institute of Marine Science, but was told that, while her grades were sufficient, her coursework was not advanced enough.
At the beginning of August 1955, now at her family’s home in Gloucester, Carter again requested admission to the Education program. Another exchange of correspondence between Carter, William & Mary, and this time also Richmond followed. As a result, Miriam Johnson Carter was finally accepted to study law during the 1955-1956 academic year, making her the first African American woman admitted to William & Mary during the decades-long process of desegregation. Carter’s correspondence with administrators is unique in its length and persistence.
Office of the President, Davis Young Paschall Records,
UA 2.15, Acc. 1982.74, Box 33, Folder 34: Negro Education, 1954-1971
In 1967, Lynn Briley, Janet Brown, and Karen Ely became the first African American female undergraduate students as well as the first African American residential students at William & Mary. The three did not know one another previously nor did they know they would be roommates living together in Jefferson Hall basement. Integration at William & Mary was not simply accomplished overnight or with the admission of the first African American residential or female students, but was part of a long process of the university and its people.
In 2011, the Hulon Willis Association honored the three alumnae during Homecoming festivities, which marked their 40th class reunion. In 2012, a plaque was hung in Jefferson Hall honoring Briley, Brown, and Ely.
The Flat Hat, 20 October 1967
The Flat Hat student newspaper, first published in 1911, was digitized by Swem Library and is available from the W&M Digital Archive at digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/20
From the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. See swem.wm.edu/research/special-collections for further information and assistance.
Case 2 of "The Inevitable Present: Integration at William & Mary"
Shown here is an image of Case 2 of the "'The Inevitable Present': Integration at William & Mary" Exhibit located in the Marshall Gallery (1st Floor Rotunda) and the Read & Relax area of Swem Library at the College of William & Mary, on display from February 4th 2013 to August 13th 2013
The following is a transcription of the labels in this case:
The rejection letters received by African American applicants to William & Mary in the 1950s are strikingly similar. While some were turned away because of a late or incomplete application, most rejections included a statement like this:
“The College of William & Mary is a state-supported institution of the Commonwealth of Virginia which complies with all its laws, rules and regulations. We may not enroll Negroes except as provided for under the statutes of the Commonwealth.”
Letters generally closed with a referral for the applicant to Virginia State College, the present-day Virginia State University in Petersburg and a refund of the application fee. One applicant who received such a rejection letter in the summer of 1955 was Barbara Blayton, daughter of the late Alleyne Houser Blayton and Dr. J. Blaine Blayton, a prominent Williamsburg-area physician and civic leader. Eight years later, Barbara Blayton’s younger brother Oscar would become the first African American undergraduate student admitted to William & Mary.
Office of the President, Davis Young Paschall Records,
UA 2.15, Acc. 1982.74, Box 33, Folder 34: Negro Education, 1954-1971
New Journal and Guide, 2 July 1955
The article is available through the ProQuest Historical Newspapers database at proxy.wm.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview...
Another woman rejected by William & Mary in June 1955 was Miriam Johnson Carter, since her chosen course of study, Education, was offered by Virginia State College. Mrs. Carter was on sabbatical from her teaching position in Philadelphia for the 1955-1956 school year, and wished to spend this time taking classes near her family in Gloucester, Virginia. After her initial application was denied, she exchanged letters with William & Mary administrators attempting to gain admission to a different graduate program. Her request to study at the Institute of Early American History and Culture was denied because the Institute was a research organization that did not support students. She then inquired about taking courses at the Virginia Fisheries Lab, the present-day Virginia Institute of Marine Science, but was told that, while her grades were sufficient, her coursework was not advanced enough.
At the beginning of August 1955, now at her family’s home in Gloucester, Carter again requested admission to the Education program. Another exchange of correspondence between Carter, William & Mary, and this time also Richmond followed. As a result, Miriam Johnson Carter was finally accepted to study law during the 1955-1956 academic year, making her the first African American woman admitted to William & Mary during the decades-long process of desegregation. Carter’s correspondence with administrators is unique in its length and persistence.
Office of the President, Davis Young Paschall Records,
UA 2.15, Acc. 1982.74, Box 33, Folder 34: Negro Education, 1954-1971
In 1967, Lynn Briley, Janet Brown, and Karen Ely became the first African American female undergraduate students as well as the first African American residential students at William & Mary. The three did not know one another previously nor did they know they would be roommates living together in Jefferson Hall basement. Integration at William & Mary was not simply accomplished overnight or with the admission of the first African American residential or female students, but was part of a long process of the university and its people.
In 2011, the Hulon Willis Association honored the three alumnae during Homecoming festivities, which marked their 40th class reunion. In 2012, a plaque was hung in Jefferson Hall honoring Briley, Brown, and Ely.
The Flat Hat, 20 October 1967
The Flat Hat student newspaper, first published in 1911, was digitized by Swem Library and is available from the W&M Digital Archive at digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/20
From the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. See swem.wm.edu/research/special-collections for further information and assistance.