The history of African Americans at Trinity College is a vast subject whose contours have not been fully excavated through research and reflection. This encyclopedia entry is a very preliminary draft which hints at the subject but makes no claims of representativeness or comprehensiveness. The Encyclopedia's editors invite readers to conduct their own searches of the Trinity Digital Repository or other sources for additional information.
Black students were not technically barred from entering Trinity by the College's statutes. However, they were certainly not accepted for much of the school's early history. Though Robert Tomes (class of 1835) claimed in his 1880 memoir that there was a single Black student who was enrolled in the first decades of Washington College, evidence of this student is thin. If Tomes was correct, the student did not attend classes during the day, instead meeting with professors in the evenings at their homes to receive teaching. Intimating at the racism on campus, Weaver suggests that Washington College was “safe” for Southern students, who did not want to be influenced by the abolitionist influence that was typical of some other New England colleges during the 1830s.
Though never publicly stating their concerns, the Trinity administration expressed an unwillingness to accept Black students well into the twentieth century. Along with exploring ways to reduce the growing number of Jewish students during the 1910s, the Board of Trustees became aware of the need to reject applicants who happened to be Black. In his 1915 Report to the Board, President Luther stated that a few Black students had applied to the school during his presidency but he found ways to reject them all: “In each case so far I have been able to avoid an issue by methods which savor somewhat, I fear, of insincerity; but which have been effective.” This most likely meant that while he rejected them on the basis of their racial identity, he provided other more “acceptable” reasons for their rejection from the school.
Trinity carried out similar practices throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Notably, President Ogilby turned away the request in 1927 of a potentially qualified Black student of religious background by saying that Trinity had no facilities for such an applicant (i.e. they shouldn't even bother applying). In the 1950s, only a few Black students were admitted, and it was not until the 1960s that the racist admission process was addressed, as well as a push for more diversity in the student body. The administration employed recruitment efforts to attract more Black applicants. In 1967, the college received 32 applications from Black students and accepted 19. In 1968, the applicant number grew to 50 and the accepted number to 22. Despite this gradual growth of Black students, the school was still not hiring Black faculty members. The first Black professor, Herbert Edwards, was hired in 1970 and left the school in 1971.
Racism from students, faculty, and administration has been a prevalent issue that Black students on campus have had to face. One of the first student groups to formally organize against this racism and in support of Black students was the Trinity Coalition of Blacks (T.C.B.) in 1969. The group organized sit-ins, demanded change from the administration and college presidents, and made reports of racism that students had experienced on campus. These reports were often published in the Tripod, as were their list of demands to the school.
Organized efforts for the advancement of black students also occurred before the T.C.B's formation. In 1968, a sit-in was held at Williams Memorial in order to demand that the Senate consider the proposed Black Scholarship Program. Around 150 students sat outside the Trustee Room in the Williams Memorial, blocking anyone from entering or exiting through the corridor from 5 p.m. on a Monday until midnight the following Tuesday. The demonstration ended after a student committee met with members of the administration and trustees, who agreed to secure a minimum of 15 scholarships per year to black students, totaling at least $200,000 (compared to the $75,000 that was previously pledged to disadvantaged students as a whole). Originally, only the six alleged leaders of the movement were to be tried by the college's disciplinary committee for “false imprisonment” of administrators during their blocking of the corridor. This included the Trinity Association of Negroes (T.A.N.) President Terry Jones. The committee ended up indicting around 160 students, all of whom had signed their names on a petition confirming their involvement in solidarity with the six who had been originally targeted.
In 2020, the Instagram account @blackattrin was formed as a way to allow Black students and alumni to anonymously report racism they had experienced while at Trinity. There are many reported instances of racist comments made at fraternities, microaggressions from professors, school employees, and campus security, and feelings of isolation perpetuated by white classmates.
Despite the adversity faced on campus, Black students continued to persevere and make differences. 1990 saw the college's first Black Alumni Gathering. Smaller events by Umoja House had been organized in the past, but this was the first official reunion sponsored by the college. This allowed Black students currently on campus to connect with past Black students of the school who potentially had similar experiences to them. In 1999, the first meeting of the Black Student Union was held, where black students gathered to talk about the issues that commonly affected them. Leaders of Trinity College Black Women's Organization (T.C.B.W.O.), Men of Color Alliance (M.O.C.A.), and Imani also gave speeches about the goals of their organizations. In 2000, the college's first African American Film Festival was held as a part of Black History Month, and was introduced by famous actor and director Ossie Davis.
Black History Month events have been occurring on campus since at least the early 1980s. They are primarily organized by Black student groups, including Umoja House, Imani, M.O.C.A., and T.C.B.W.O. Throughout the month of February, the groups aim to highlight Black culture through films, music, games, dance, and lecture series. The school itself has slowly taken a bigger role in facilitating events. In 2019 the college organized a closing dinner in which activist and author Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, came to speak.
Black men were also hired as employees in the College's early years, but only in janitorial and groundskeeping roles. James Williams*, hired sometime in the 1820s, served the College for over 50 years. William Courtney Adams worked at Trinity from 1849 to 1902, and Benjamin Franklin Anderson joined the staff in 1867 until his retirement in 1882. Both were Black men who held similar groundskeeping roles as Williams.
* James Williams : Williams served as a janitor to the school from 1823 to 1878. Referred to as "Professor Jim" by students, Williams was a central figure to the college. He was the first one to turn the sod when the school moved from Old Campus, made traditional speeches on Commencement Day, and is the reason behind the Lemon Squeezer. It should be noted that despite his prominence in early Trinity text detailing these events, Williams was not always depicted fairly. Research dissecting his representation notes that much of it was in a “in a caricaturized manner,” and that in actuality he was not “treated seriously” by students at the time. Research has also gone to building a biography of Williams' life outside of Trinity and his prescribed role as “Professor Jim.”
These past and present organizations work to benefit the lives of black students on Trinity's campus.
Notable Black Students, Faculty, and Staff
James Williams, More than Trinity College’s Janitor
Trinity College in the Twentieth Century (2000) by Peter and Anne Knapp, pp. 17.
The Trinity Tripod, 12/11/1979.
The Trinity Tripod, 11/26/1974.
The Trinity Tripod, 10/06/1970.
The Trinity Tripod, 03/20/1970.
The History of Trinity College (1967) by Glenn Weaver, pp. 109, 184.
Black Students on Campus
Talk by daughter of Malcolm X concludes Black History Month Celebration at Trinity College
The Trinity Tripod, 02/22/2000.
The Trinity Tripod, 11/22/1999.
The Trinity Tripod, 09/25/1990.
The Trinity Tripod, 04/30/1968.
The Trinity Tripod, 04/24/1968.
The Trinity Tripod, 04/23/1968.
Organizations for Black Students
Bantam Link - Caribbean Students' Association
Bantam Link - Men of Color Alliance
Bantam Link - Trinity African Students Association
Bantam Link - Trinity College Black Women's Organization
The Trinity Reporter, Spring 2017.
The Trinity Tripod, 09/23/1997.
History of Black Student Admissions
Section: "Uncovering Unwritten Rules Against Jewish and Black Students at Trinity College,"in On The Line: How Schooling, Housing, and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and its Suburbs (2023-01-22), by Jack Dougherty and contributors.
Trinity College in the Twentieth Century (2000) by Peter and Anne Knapp, pp. 19, 29, 50.
The Trinity Tripod, 03/07/1989.
The Trinity Tripod, 01/09/1970.
The Trinity Tripod, 04/17/1968.
President Remsen B. Ogilby papers, Trinity College Archives, Watkinson Library.
Trinity College Trustees Minutes, Vol 3 (1908-1926), p. 169.
My College Days (1880) by Robert Tomes, pp. 113-114.