Although John Chavis, the first African American to receive a college education in the U.S., studied here, entering what was then Liberty Hall Academy in 1795, Washington and Lee did not enroll other African American undergraduates until it admitted Walter Blake and Carl Linwood Smothers in 1968. Six African American women became part of the first coeducational class in 1985. These exhibits present aspects of this long and sometimes challenging process of integration, focusing on athletics, protests and marches, and interviews with students at the forefront of change.
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Ring-tum Phi Articles Recounting the 2000 Mock Con "I-Da-Ho" T-shirt catastrophe (with picture)
The highlighted articles detail Washington and Lee's campus climate after the 2000 Mock Convention. The Idaho Delegation voted to create t-shirts with…
Featured Collection
A Flash Forward: Has the Black Student Experience at W&L Shifted?
To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall…
Featured Exhibit
History, Progression, and Stagnation of Race within W&L Athletics
Viewing race relations through the lens of athletics is powerful. Just because a school has students of color does not...
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Interviews with Class of 2020 Members-Part 2
A student of Washington and Lee's Class of 2020 discusses their experience as a black student at W&L. This interview took place on May 17th, 2018 in…
Swimming and Diving Team 1987
This photo shows Karen Dash, the first black female student-athlete in W&L swim team history
Perry, Tony, 1976 Football Brochure
This is a page out of a brochure handed out during home football games. It includes a quote from Perry's coach about his strong prowess on the field.