“The Class of Seven:” Co-educating while Black
So all seven of us applied, never thinking that all seven of us would get in.
Vicki Marks
“The Class of Seven” is Vicki’s nickname for the seven Black women who graduated in 1973. They all came from different backgrounds. Some were the products of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and others, like Vicki, had experiences in PWIs (predominantly White institutions).
One thing that Vicki was apprehensive about before going to Dartmouth was her ability to excel academically. This was a concern held by or about female college students at the time. Other women reported that their male professors were sometimes condescending. Adding to the heightened scrutiny, some alumni were apparently concerned that women would change the academic life of the school, by not participating vocally or by choosing different courses. Theresa Williams, a Black exchange student from Benedict College, wrote about her transfer experience in the Class of 1971 Reunion book. She observed that “many Black students” leveraged their personal experience of Blackness to avoid sitting exams or writing formal papers. She saw this as paternalistic and was determined, especially as a transfer from a HBCU, not to reinforce the stereotype that Black students were less academically prepared.
In Vicki’s case, she found that her education had well prepared her for Dartmouth. She was often the only Black person and only woman in her classes, but she endeavoured to be most prepared.
And that was interesting to me from my Smith experience when women were super prepared and had the intellect but just were reticent to discuss the topic. Guys would just jump in, didn't know what the heck they were talking about! And I thought, “Oh my God. I've never heard so much B.S.!” So that was interesting. So then I immediately said, "I got this, you know? I'm not going to have any problems here."
Vicki Marks
I like to think that the seven of us said, "Hey, Black women can come and thrive at Dartmouth."
Vicki Marks
Wanda Johnson Powell is a member of “the Class of Seven.” She was a close friend of Vicki’s during their time at Dartmouth, with both teaming up to host a conference in their senior year. Wanda was also interviewed in the 2022 cohort of Dartmouth Black Lives participants. Putting their stories in conversation allows us to appreciate the diversity among the Seven.
Both Wanda and Vicki began their education in a segregated school system with good Black teachers. However, Vicki integrated a White high school, while Wanda’s experience in a PWI would come later. Vicki applied to several colleges and selected Smith. Wanda was funnelled into Stephens College through a programme in high school, without much choice in the matter. Both Smith and Stephens are PWI women’s colleges. Both enjoyed Dartmouth, even Wanda though had no previous experience visiting the school.