by Rachele Byrd, Shivani Dayal, and Molly Hoyer

 

We would like to believe that our education system is a meritocracy—that those who are most deserving will be offered a spot at the nation’s most prestigious institutions. That ideal, however, has hardly ever been the reality of the matter. Over the centuries, various ethnic groups have been explicitly denied access to higher education. Even when they were legally allowed entry, systems had been put in place, and were then maintained, to keep them out. It was not until the 1970s that the narrative around racial groups in higher education started shifting as elite colleges and universities began to recruit more diverse students and started supported them through multicultural programs and ethnic studies departments.

It is important to take time to review the racial history of institutions such as Wellesley College in order to identify policies that have had long term effects on the educational access of different racial groups. It wasn’t until 1887, ten years after Wellesley’s founding that its first black student, Harriet Rice, graduated. She went on to become a medical doctor and served in World War I. One or two black students graduated consistently almost every year after Harriet Rice, but Wellesley didn’t gain its first black faculty member, William Cousins, until 1949. Two decades later, in 1968, the student organization Ethos was founded. Thanks to the efforts of the five founding members of Ethos, when the alumnae of AKX voted to close their house and return it to the college in 1969, the space was converted into a center for black students. It officially opened in September 1970. At the same time, in 1968, the Africana Studies department was initiated, under the title of Black Studies. The college’s Board of Trustees appointed its first black member in 1970. Indeed, this timeline demonstrates that Wellesley was at the forefront of the movement of elite colleges and universities in the effort to become more diverse. When examined more closely, however, it is evident that this progress was entirely generated by the students of color at the college, with a small amount of support from some white students and faculty. At Wellesley, students of color were (and still are) responsible for fighting for their own representation. Each step of progress towards diversity is only achieved when student voices demand it.

Despite the college’s relatively progressive history and atmosphere of “liberalism,” Wellesley actually falls in line with the diversity data from other elite colleges and universities in New England. In 1997, 60% of applicants for admission to elite institutions were white, 20% were Asian, and 7% were black. The following decades were characterized by efforts to accept more students of color. The result is that students of color make up 46% of Wellesley’s Class of 2020. More specifically, this class consists of 36% white students, 23% Asian-American and Pacific Islander students, and 6% African-American and Black students. While data was not included in the results from 1997 on Latina applicants and therefore cannot be compared to the current class, 8% of the Class of 2020 identifies as Latina/Hispanic. Although the overall number of students of color has increased significantly, the acceptance rate of African-American and Black students still has not changed from 6% in many years.

Though Wellesley has indeed become more diverse over the years, this effort has largely been the result of students fighting for more representation in the student body and among faculty and staff. Change has not come from the top down. Students are constantly working to see more faculty of color, especially in the sciences, in tenure-track positions, and in the administration. When it comes to supporting and instilling diversity in every aspect of the college, Wellesley still has a long way to go. But with the appointment of Dr. Paula Johnson, Wellesley’s first Black president, and with the conviction of students who constantly hold the college accountable for its decisions, the future looks a little brighter every day.

 

Image: Ella Elbert Smith, Wellesley College class of 1888