Ivy League Pioneers: Dartmouth’s First 133 Black Students
Boston, Massachusetts
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Museum of African American History
Join fellow alumni at Boston’s Museum of African American History for a discussion with Forrester “Woody” Lee ’68 and E.E. Just Professor in the Natural Sciences Stephon H. Alexander about the early history of Dartmouth’s black students.
When Edward Mitchell began classes at Dartmouth in 1824, he was the first student of African descent in the Ivy League, by nearly 50 years. Dartmouth’s acceptance of African American students continued before and after the Civil War, and by the mid-20th century, 133 black men had attended Dartmouth, the second most of all New England colleges.
This rich, international history has largely been unexplored, until now. Lee, a professor of medicine at Yale, has been painstakingly researching the topic for the past two years. “It is a story yet to be fully revealed, understood, and woven into the Dartmouth family narrative,” he says. “We welcome this opportunity to broaden this important conversation.”
Specializing in the interface between cosmology, particle physics and quantum gravity, Stephon Alexander has served as Dartmouth’s E.E. Just Professor in the Natural Sciences since 2012. The chair is named after the African American scientist, Ernest Everett Just, Dartmouth Class of 1907.
Program
2 p.m.: Welcome and Registration
2:15 p.m.: Keynote presentation by Forrester Lee ’68
3:30 p.m.: Discussion with Professor Stephon Alexander
4 p.m.: Reception with light refreshments
5 p.m.: Event concludes
Pricing
Alumni and guests: $25
Classes of 2004-2015: $15
This Dartmouth on Location event is being organized by the Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association and the Office of Alumni Relations with the support of the Dartmouth Club of Greater Boston. To learn more about Dartmouth on Location programs or to register, please contact us at (603) 646-9159 or ar.ace@dartmouth.edu.
Top photo of the African Meeting House courtesy of Shawmut Design and Construction