1969 Lanterns, Owls, and All

“But there is something that must be recognized; the realms to which the ‘Bryn Mawr experience’ has opened my eyes may not be accessible to me once I rejoin the real outside world.”

How strange it is to revisit my words—what?—50 years after graduating from Bryn Mawr. How maddening is it that, in 2020, American society is revisiting the same racial turmoil that it had when my original piece was written. How frustrating that “special issues” like these are still necessary.

My liberal arts education served me well, professionally and personally. Bryn Mawr was a good intellectual match for me. Bryn Mawr credentials supported entry into a world I didn’t even consider accessible then, and my time at Bryn Mawr taught me how to navigate it. I would never have predicted that my social environment now would be similar to that of my undergraduate years.

I don’t think there is such a thing as a “Black Experience”—or a “Bryn Mawr Experience” for that matter. There were things that I experienced in common with other Black students at Bryn Mawr and things I took away from the overall culture itself. Both influenced and contributed to the person I ultimately became.

This issue of the Alumnae Bulletin presents reflections from Black alumnae/i and students spanning 65 years in the life of the College.

• "The Myth of the Monolith" includes messages from guest editors Taytiana Welch-McLure '13 and Jacqueline Handy '14 and links to related articles from the Winter 2021 Issue.