The history of African American women at the University of Illinois, 1901-1939

The period known as the “nadir” of the African American experience—roughly between 1880 and 1920—happens to coincide with the matriculation of the first African American students at the predominantly white University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I). Most research conducted on the African American student experience at the U of I focuses on the Civil Rights-Black Power years, but few studies have examined the experiences of the earliest students—specifically African American women students—during the early twentieth century. These women created and sustained their own organizations—Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Chapter, and later, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Alpha Nu Chapter—to address the educational, social, and cultural needs of African American women students on campus. In conjunction with African American male students, they established a Negro Intelligentsia lecture series, along with an African American student magazine, The College Dreamer, to promote African American culture on campus and to showcase the intellectual achievements of African American students across the country. In addition, African American women students participated on the Interracial Commission of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) to educate the campus and Urbana-Champaign community on issues concerning race and to improve race relations on campus. This dissertation explores the multifaceted ways in which the earliest African American women students cultivated a collective consciousness while laying the foundation for their sense of agency, leadership development, and subsequent campus/community involvement. It also examines how the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. served as a conduit through which the University, as well as the chapter members, recruited more African American women to attend the U of I. Moreover, this dissertation investigates the historical experiences of African American women, the obstacles they encountered, and the manner in which they confronted those obstacles in pursuing higher education at the U of I. It provides a framework for understanding the subsequent activism of African American students at the U of I during the Civil Rights-Black Power years.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Hoff, Tamara Lynette

Contributors dc:contributor

• Span, Christopher M.
• Anderson, James D.
• Pak, Yoon K.
• Perkins, Linda M.

• History
• Education
• Black Studies
• Gender Studies

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2015 Tamara Hoff

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/88159

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/88159