{"id":291,"date":"2025-05-07T19:25:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T19:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casey.dcreate.domains\/?page_id=291"},"modified":"2025-05-10T17:26:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T17:26:05","slug":"portrayals-of-integration-and-coeducation-a-primary-source-analysis-of-the-davidsonian","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/casey.dcreate.domains\/?page_id=291","title":{"rendered":"Portrayals of Integration and Coeducation: A Primary Source Analysis of The Davidsonian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To answer my research question \u201cHow did coverage of the integration of Black students on American college campuses compare with documentation of similar efforts towards coeducation?\u201d I scoured Davidson College\u2019s Archives. I found two articles from The Davidsonian<\/em>, the college\u2019s student newspaper. One from September 15, 1962 titled \u201cCongolese Student Enters as Pre-Med\u201d documents the arrival of Davidson\u2019s first Black student. The other from May 5, 1972 titled \u201cTrustees Give Unanimous Approval For Immediate Acceptance of Coeds\u201d heralds the full inclusion of women. The Davidsonian<\/em>\u2019s advocacy for coeducation and racial integration during this time creates the understanding that the authors are doing their best to advance those goals. Viewing the articles through this prism of attempting to promote justice is crucial to grasping the authors\u2019 intentionality in the angles they approach these stories with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although both articles document steps towards a more diverse Davidson during the same time period, they feature major contrasts in how they portray such steps of integration. Both articles emphasize continuity amid major change and are not overtly celebratory in their coverage to avoid inciting bigoted opposition. However, they diverge in the significance they place on the news item and the extent to which they make the story feel personal and intimate, reflecting the different social positions at the time of women and Black people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To begin with a striking similarity between the case studies of racial integration and coeducation, both Davidsonian<\/em> pieces paint the picture of a college which will stay largely the same even in the face of a seismic social justice milestone. The 1962 article underscores Benoit Nzengu\u2019s (the Congolese student) many connections to Davidson College, such as a Presbyterian upbringing and multiple connections to Davidson alumni. The author acknowledges Nzengu as the son of a Presbyterian minister, \u201clike many Davidson students.\u201d Just as notable as what the article does say is what it omits. The feature on Nzengu never mentions that he is Black, let alone recognizes him as Davidson\u2019s first Black student. It also leaves out the landmark decision in 1961 by the Board of Trustees to admit African students, which opened the door for Nzengu. As a result, the inclusion and exclusion of certain facts paint Nzengu as a mere continuation of everything Davidson has been over the prior century, not someone disruptive. Given the racism prevalent in the 1960s, particularly in the South, this spin was necessary to advance integration. A feature focused more on the implications of this milestone might cause backlash from closed-minded students, alumni, and community members and even incite them to petition the Board to overturn their prior policy. While it certainly minimized the courage and importance of Nzengu, this version protected him from the vitriol inevitable in a race-oriented article.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case of coeducation is no different in this regard. The article does not frame the groundbreaking coeducation vote as a tremendous shift, but merely a way to \u201cproceed with the implementation of the plan for coeducation recommended by the faculty.\u201d It masks the upheaval of coeducation as simply the continuation of addressing administrative details like building more housing and hiring a new minister, turning a polarizing topic into a banal one. Moreover, it omits the historical context of both Davidson\u2019s long history as an all-male institution and the women who broke Davidson\u2019s gender barrier as non-degree candidates in prior years. Once again, this approach has clear logic. Alumni fond of their all-male education might balk at an article championing the triumph of feminism. Such a celebratory tone could lead to backlash and resentful harassment on campus. Rather, this \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d piece documented a powerful event in Davidson history without causing excessive uproar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This similarity is particularly thought-provoking considering the radically different media landscape we inhabit today. In recent months, the first transgender member of Congress, the first Black college football head coach in the national championship, and the first Black woman to win a Grammy for Best Country Album have all attracted widespread media attention\u2014not only regarding the accomplishment of that person, but on the achievement\u2019s larger implications for a marginalized group. The Davidsonian<\/em>\u2019s more muted appreciation of such trail blazers is a product of a community that is less self-congratulatory and more closed-minded than today\u2019s culture, reflecting both Davidson\u2019s ties to the Protestant ideals of humility and work ethic and the bigotry embedded in the institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, while neither article went far in singing the praises of integration, they differed greatly in the scope and perspective they approached the story with. In covering Nzengu, The Davidsonian<\/em> never mentioned the prospect of other Black students coming to campus, presenting him as a tokenized novelty without explicit racial implications attached to his arrival. On the other hand, the coeducation clipping pointed to administrators \u201cprepar[ing] materials to be sent to 200 girls,\u201d making this a story not of an individual, but a mass. Similarly, the Nzengu article featured numerous personal details of his life story, his studies, and the Congolese warfare that forced him to leave. That level of personalization strikes a major contrast with the procedural, impersonal nature of the coeducation article, which centered on administrative details like how \u201cThe board\u2026 directed the president to report annually to the trustees\u201d and neglected personal anecdotes or descriptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of these differences comes down to inherent differences in the assignments: one is a feature story about one man, the other is a news story about an administrative policy affecting hundreds of people. However, a social justice explanation is also crucial. All Davidson students knew women\u2014they did not need to be humanized. On the other hand, for the many members of the Davidson community with minimal familiarity with Black students, bringing Nzengu\u2019s personality, intellect, and backstory to life normalized his presence, demonstrated his humanity, and ingrained him in their campus culture. Without such an introduction, the risk of racist tropes defining him was high. On the other hand, for the women\u2019s movement, immediately asserting their numerical size and strength was crucial. Honing in on specific examples, and thus downplaying their larger might, might relegate them to the background of Davidson as just a peripheral part of the school. To put the \u201cco\u201d in coeducation, accentuating their size and equal role in Davidson was essential. Meanwhile, a similar approach for Black students\u2014expressing hope for a substantial cohort of Black students\u2014might inflame racists who could not bear an immediate significant Black presence on campus and would thus risk derailing integration altogether. Therefore, starting with a single student and highlighting his intellect and humanity was a more sustainable route. These differences reflect the fact that despite similar aims, movements directed at gaining for Black people and women, respectively, had to employ different tactics due to different roles in society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abernethy, Knox. \u201cCongolese Student Enters as Pre-Med.\u201d The Davidsonian<\/em>, vol. 51, no. 1, 15 Sept. 1962, p. 1, 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson, Rich. \u201cTrustees Give Unanimous Approval For Immediate Acceptance of Coeds.\u201d The Davidsonian<\/em>, vol. 61, 5 May 1972, p. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archival Research Cover Letter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n