Connecticut College Black Womanhood Conference

History

The Class of 1931 had the first black student to enroll and graduate from Connecticut College, followed by another student in the Class of 1949 who did not graduate. During the 1950s, six black students were present at the College, but the classes of 1959 to 1967 at were made up of only white students. However, in 1968, ten black students enrolled in the College. This change prompted administrative efforts to further recruit underrepresented groups into the college. In the same year, the first Afro-American Society at Connecticut College was founded, simultaneous to the admission of men into the previously all-women's college.

After a year of planning, the Black Womanhood Conference was set to take place on April 18-20, 1969 with the aid of Sue Johnson, executive coordinator, and Dr. Mabel Smythe, Advisory Board and Board of Trustees member. Student leader Beverly Phillips described the purpose of the conference in the following statement: "Being Black, we feel that the Black contribution to America has been slighted. Being Black women, we have tried to bring distinguished Black women of many fields to this campus, to talk about what it is to be Black in this society and to discuss the Black experience as it relates to their individual professions."

Keynote address

Vinie Burroughs, star of the one-woman, Off-Broadway production Walk Together, Children, performed a speech that integrated excerpts from Black American literature in order to convey the experiences of black women, asserting that "black womanhood is singularly featured in the works of black poets and writers."

Seminars

Seminars led by prominent black woman figures representing a wide range of professional interests took place in the dormitory common rooms. Guest speakers included Jewel Plummer Cobb, a professor of biology at Sarah Lawrence College, cancer researcher, and upcoming Dean of the College at Connecticut College; Dr. Alyce Gullatee, a Washington D.C. psychiatrist and Emmy-award nominee for NBC special The Disabled Mind; Ruth Wilson, an elementary school teacher in New Haven; the Honorable Constance Baker Motley, a judge in the federal district court for the Southern District of New York; Inge Hardison, sculptor of black historical figures; Joyce Mitchell Cook, philosophy professor at Bryn Mawr College; Rachel Robinson, medical researcher and wife of professional baseball player Jackie Robinson; and Dr. Mabel Smythe, United States Ambassador and Connecticut College Board of Trustees member.

Performances

As the opening event of the conference, as well as to represent black women's influence in the fine arts, husband-and-wife duo Pearl Primus and Percival Borde, founders of a touring Afro-Caribbean dance company performed West Indian and African dance. As a continuation of the theme of black women in the arts, Saturday night closed with a performance by singer-songwriter and activist Odetta.

Closing address

Eleanor Holmes Norton, assistant legal director of American Civil Liberities Union and future Congresswoman, delivered a concluding address that dealt with the role of black women in American and differences between white and black families. Inspired by the work of Gwendolyn Brooks, Norton explored how the nuanced experiences of black women and their families distinguish them from white women and families; this difference can enable the establishment of egalitarian ideals within black family structures and the professional world.

Legacy

The conference is believed to be the first of its kind to occur on an American college campus. This was a significant accomplishment given the conference's historical proximity to the Civil Rights Movement, as well as the majority of white women on Connecticut College's campus. Proceeds collected from the conference were donated to a black student scholarship fund in order to build upon mission of the College to foster admission of underrepresented groups.