Reuniting WVU's
Black Alumni
By Christy Day
There were sighs and shouts, familiar handshakes, hugs, and smiles.
All reflected the range of emotions returning alumni shared during
the inaugural Black Alumni Weekend at WVU in September. Many
had not set foot on campus for a number of years; others maintained
close ties to the University upon graduation. All were thankful
they decided to return to campus for this event sponsored by
the WVU Alumni Association.
The special weekend was the first step for the Alumni Association on what will likely be a long journey to bring more diversity under its umbrella. Currently, a very small number of minority and international alumni participate in the association's functions. The goal of activities such as Black Alumni Weekend is to increase that representation through a wide variety of programs and projects.
John
Mallory '68 remains close to his alma mater. At least he does
now. But it was not always that way. He completed a term on the
Alumni Association's board of directors last May. The way he
ended up on the board was unexpected and sudden. A close friend,
former WVU football star Roger Alford, was serving in that position
when he died in 1996 of a heart attack. Mallory was contacted
to fill the seat. He thought long and hard before accepting the
invitation.
"You have to understand that when I left WVU I didn't feel all warm and cuddly inside," Mallory explained. "I came from a part of New Jersey in which there were no limits on what I could aspire to be. No one told me I could not be or do something because of the color of my skin," he said.
However, in the 1960s the climate of Morgantown and WVU was quite different for him. "The culture on campus was not inclusive," he said. "There were friends I had on the football team that I could not socialize with once we left the field. Black athletes couldn't hang out at white fraternities, and at that time there were no such black organizations. I grew bitter about that and a lot of it stayed with me."
Memories of experiences similar to Mallory's are repeated time and again by black alumni from the civil rights era. Although there is no way to erase what has happened, Alumni Association Executive Director Stephen Douglas believes reconnecting people to the positives that are happening at WVU today will help.
"You
cannot simply say, 'What happened to you is in the past: get
over it and let's move on.' People carry a lot of those experiences
with them," Douglas said. "But what you can do is acknowledge
that we have all had some very different experiences. Let's find
a way we can learn from them, move forward, and avoid making
similar mistakes in the future."
Mallory believes dealing with his history at WVU will make him a stronger ally for the University, and in doing so he will help pave a brighter path for African Americans at WVU in the future. "I am no hero, and don't want to be painted as such," he said. "But I care, and I know there are hundreds of others who do, also. We have to get them back to campus, back to the University, and involved in what is happening in Morgantown. There are great things happening at WVU and it's rewarding to see that long journey of change."
In the 1980s, the journey for Charles Price '86 was challenging in a different way. He was a native West Virginian who entered the University at a time when African-American student life had made strides, but there were still concerns and issues.
"We
would have a social gathering and 500 people would come. I didn't
feel neglected or as though I missed out in that respect. However,
when it came to study time and groups were forming in class to
work on projects, I often was not included," Price said.
"People would operate within their realm of comfort and
if you were outside of that realm, you could expect not to be
included."
Even with the obstacles of race, many alumni from diverse cultures say the good and the bad from their WVU experiences prepared them for the real world. "The education I received provided me with a solid foundation," Price explained. "And issues facing me and other black students provided the opportunity for me to get ready for what life had in store. I learned early that it's not easy, and that which I faced in the classroom I would probably face in the boardroom and in other professional settings. I would not have traded what I took from WVU because the bottom line is that I have lifelong friends and experiences that now are a part of who I am."
Price
and Mallory both are advocates of African-American alumni participation
in the Alumni Association and in the University. "We have
so many diverse alumni around the world doing phenomenal things.
We cover the spectrum and now we need to come back," Mallory
said. The Alumni Association's national president, Stephen Goodwin,
agreed.
"When you look across the crowd at functions you don't see a lot of variety. We want to. We want people from across racial, geographic, and gender lines to know that this is their University and their Alumni Association. It's important that we increase that representation not only because it will increase the numbers but because it is the right thing to do," Goodwin explained. "When I saw some of the student groups that participated in Black Alumni Weekend, I was blown away. They are so talented, and I think everyone in the association and on boards throughout campus should see what is going on. It is very impressive."
The concept of Black Alumni Weekend is not new to the University. Organizations such as the Black Unity Organization and the Center for Black Culture and Research have supported similar events in the past. The Alumni Association is looking to continue this tradition and make the reunion a regularly scheduled event.
Goodwin and Douglas are looking forward
to another Black Alumni Weekend set for October 18-20, 2002.
About 75 alumni returned for the inaugural event, and both men
believe that was a great starting point. "I saw the excitement
people in the room had for this event," Goodwin said. "I
think we can harness that and have a larger response next time.
We are definitely looking forward to growing the reunion and
tapping into generations of people who could not come this year.
We have a good thing started and the possibilities are endless."
Black Alumni
Weekend
October 18-20, 2002
info: (304) 558-3481
cday2@wvu.edu
