Where They Live

SINCE 1970, Cutter Hall has been home to a number of Dartmouth's black students. Originally set aside as a tutoring center for black freshmen and a residence for those other students interested in Black (now African and Afro-American) Studies, Cutter now houses non-freshmen by request and provides office space for the Afro-American Society (the Am). The Am, whose active membership includes a majority of the nearly 300 blacks on campus, is an umbrella organization concerned with all aspects of black life at Dartmouth.

Recently I had a conversation with nineactive Am members: Sharon Washington'81, Michael Holmes '81, Tony Lotson '81,Tammie Colvin '82, Dennard Ellison '82,Barry Caldwell '82, Dave Moore '83,Tracey Banks '84, and Laura Stephens '84.Quotations from our talk follow, with eachparagraph representing a different speaker.

On the Am, Cutter Hall, and separatism: There is a myth that a black is forced to be an Am member. By virtue of the fact that you are black you are an Am member. Whether you participate or not is up to you. There are those who, for whatever reason, choose not to participate. ...

If Cutter Hall didn't exist, blacks would still get together. If we were required to live black-white-black-white in each and every dorm, a natural tendency would still be to form groups with people you have something in common with. When I came here as a freshman the first people I sought out were black people. ...

Granted the Am is in Cutter. But you've got people staying in the Masses and Middle Fayerweather and they are part of the Am. Cutter's just a place to come to, but there are a lot of things that emanate from here. This is like a core; each of us is an extension.

On being black at Dartmouth: Sometimes I do feel like an invisible woman. I don't feel that my presence makes a difference at times, I don't feel that I'm being listened to, and it has nothing to do with intellectual capabilities but simply my color ....

One of the things that bothers me most is being the only black in class and suddenly becoming the black expert on subjects. You can't just be a student, you're the black expert. You're constantly wavering between making noise to get attention and saying, hey, don't single me out just because I'm black ....

The professor asked how many of the white students in the class wake up every morning and at some point during the day know that they're white ....

We're always accused of being too sensitive that's a product of coming here. Your nerves are exposed constantly. Because Dartmouth doesn't deal on a level of blatant racism so much, it's the subtle stuff. It's the kind of subtle stuff that will build up and gradually wear away at you until you wake up and you have a hole in you.

On racial interaction: In a sense we are obligated to interact because it's the only way we're going to know more about each other. When the Am got together with Alpha Theta and Fire and Skoal and Beta ― it might have been groups saying it's our duty to do this but once that's pushed aside I think people are dealing with each other as people ....

We as blacks have to make sacrifices to come up here. As far as college goes, it's "the best time of your life" there's supposed to be more to it than what goes on inside the classroom. For the black community, there are very limited outside-the-classroom alternatives. We have no escape method other than the Am.

On the economic status of blacks at Dartmouth: There's already been a shift in the type of black that's been admitted to Dartmouth. The upper-income blacks ― and I'm not downgrading anybody because they're in the upper-income bracket ― they have that mobility, they can afford to have the right preparation. The students in lower-income brackets who need financial aid might be just as intelligent but just can't afford [that preparation] ....

You have fewer and fewer students from the inner city. People from the inner city are more attuned to their culture and where they are coming from. When the students from the suburbs, from the higher socioeconomic levels get up here, they're not over at the Am. Granted it is their prerogative to do that, but their culture is here. It's kind of defeating if you have people of your own color who do not want to associate with you because perhaps they think they are better ....

We have a responsibility as blacks at Dartmouth to look out for blacks who are going to come after us. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for those people in '69, '70, '71. When you take people from those upper socio-economic groups, when it comes down to helping others behind them, there's a big gap. I'm not saying they don't care, I'm saying it wouldn't even occur to them to make this association: I'm here to help somebody else get in.

On the value of affirmative action: [A company] might take a black it needs to meet a quota of minorities. But, to be truthful, that's great because we're getting in, we're helping ourselves, and that enables us to go back and help our people. It's got to start somewhere. ...

Before I came to Dartmouth I didn't go to wine-and-cheese parties; I didn't mingle with vice presidents of I.T.T. That is part of my aspirations, moving into that middle class. At the same time I'm very cautious as to why they're letting me in. Are they going to let me in and lock the door and not let me out when I want to move on? On the Dartmouth community: I can feel a member of the Dartmouth community as long as me and my culture are all right, as long as you don't tell me I have to assimilate and be like you, because I'm not like you. If I'm to be a member of the community I have something to contribute. You have something to learn from me so don't take my culture away from me. That's the only way we can have a Dartmouth community. I think when I get out of here that I'm going to remember Dartmouth that Dartmouth is my alma mater, that I'm going to want to root for Dartmouth at football games. But my Dartmouth experience is very different from somebody else's Dartmouth, from a white person's Dartmouth experience. I'm going to be rooting for a different reason. I'm going to work for Dartmouth in a different way from somebody else ....

There comes a time when you just get tired. You have been all your life knowing the white culture. At a point it just becomes tiresome. It's time to come in and get to know me a little bit, please. Give me a little bit of respect.