Bringing Black Culture and Spaces to Dartmouth
Beginning of the Afro-American Society (AM)
James was one of the confounders of the Afro-American society (AAM). The AAM began in 1967 when a group of students gathered together and came to a general consensus that the Black community needed an organization. The AAM was a space for black students to be together and promote change within the Dartmouth community.
“Well, during my sophomore year — and the discussion started the later part of my freshman year — we started talking about the benefits of developing an association … we were slowly easing toward some type of critical mass as well as consensus on what we as students of color at Dartmouth very much needed in our lives, to make it better. During our stay at Dartmouth, and that's how the notion of Afro-Am came up.”
Not only did these Dartmouth students feel the need for a more inclusive space for themselves but they also wanted to be a part of the mass desegregation of people of color in America at this time and so they addressed these concerns locally.
“We wanted to advocate and be part of the national discussion and dialogue that was happening at that time. That was the age of not only Dr. Martin Luther King but also the other Black movements that were sprouting up in America and we wanted to be in those discussions.”
Recruitment of Black Students
"The coaches were telling me he said you know, you could be first string of the starters this year. I was a defensive right end but again, I said, no, I want to devote my non-academic time toward the recruitment of Black students."
Jim was originally played football at Dartmouth. Jim decided that he wanted to focus on increasing the Black student population instead, so he quit the team and prospected students during his off-term. He traveled to all parts of the northeast including New York City and Boston to find prospective students. Dartmouth gave him a couple of credit cards and a pocket full of money, and he was on the road two or three times a week. Jim would inform students of the opportunities that they could have at Dartmouth and the education that they could get at an Ivy League school.