Interview with a Spelman Graduate

I walked up to and slightly passed the front gates of Spelman University and snapped several pictures. The premises were very clean, clutter free, and gave the appearance of prestige. As I snapped pictures, the security guard who sits in the booth seen in one of the pictures below, asked me if I had permission to take pictures or videos. He told me I needed permission to be on school grounds and to take pictures or videos, because Spelman is a private institution. This made me want to learn more about Spelman—yes, I had a yearning to know what important things were going on behind this gate and security guard.

Grace Austin wrote an article titled Past and Present: Come Together At Spelman, which tells of Spelman as a private institute of learning for women — founded in 1881 in Atlanta, Georgia. Initialized in the basement of a Baptist Church, Austin feels Spelman has helped many African American women to progress since the Reconstruction Period. Austin says about Spelman’s selection process, “with a selective 2,100 students, Spelman is considered the premier HBCU for women in the United States.” The article goes on the speak of Leadership in the Spelman community and quotes the words from Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall (founder director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center) “From our vantage point, we see ourselves as producing particular kinds of leaders. We are focused on activism leadership as opposed to a generic idea of producing women leaders.”

When reading this, my attention was quickly drawn to the words “activism leadership” and “generic idea of women leaders.” The article does not elaborate on either, but it does point out the following when it comes to Spelman Leadership:

· Participated in President Clinton’s initiative to bring Rwandan women to Spelman

· Promotes a spirit of Philanthropy

· Work hard at developing strong alumnae base for support (with a hard economy, Spelman creates a culture of in-networking)

· In 1981, established Research Center

· The first to offer a women’s study program

· Diverse group of students from backgrounds such as Germany and India, and amongst Blacks (the article points out that Blacks come from a different background, so Blacks are already in a diverse group — diversity among diversity)

From my perspective, after reading this article, Black leadership for Spelman College looks like an island, individualism, purpose, etc. My perspective comes also from an interview I did with a Spelman Graduate. Shanee’ went to Spelman from 2000–2004 and had this to say during my interview:

Me: Do you think HBCUs are diverse or diverse enough?

Shanee’: I don’t think people realize that Black women are diverse. We come from different walks of life. Some of us come from the hood. Some of us come from wealthy families, and we are also an International school, so we have a good mix of backgrounds and experience…culture doesn’t have to be the way we look. I think culture has everything to do with our experiences as well — our upbringing. I learned a lot from some of the different women I was in class with and in the dorm with — and the same with the professors. An HBCU doesn’t mean that all the professors are Black…I had some professors that were White. I had some professors that were Asian.

Me: What does or did Leadership look like for you at the time?

Shanee’: Spelman, they have definitely bred Leaders. [There are] a lot of Spelman women that are doing great things — that are very vocal and who speak their mind and are intelligent women. They are lawyers, doctors…one thing I remember when I went there is that all Freshman had to go through an African diaspora class…we talked about how we can do it all by ourselves…it just talked about who we were and it uplifted us and it empowered us. And that was the introduction to college. We were all 18 year olds and new to this world of learning academics. We also learned about who we are as people. Spelman shaped us to be the women we are today. They were also big on health. So they would have programs that promote us to get active. It was just a well-rounded school. It wasn’t just academics.

Me: Do you think that what you got from Spelman would have been any different than what you would have gotten from a predominantly white school? One that may cost less money?

Shanee’: [she laughed at the “cost less money”] I personally believe that the cost that I paid to go to Spelman was worth every penny. Because it allowed me to be around people that were smart and also people that I could relate to. It prepared me for the world, because the world doesn’t necessarily look like me.

Me: So people that look like you? Its weird that you say that because the business world is made up of different races. So to have a school that is predominantly Black, how does that prepare you for the real world?

Shanee’: Remember that I told you our professors weren’t predominantly Black. So the professors are the ones that are doing the primary teaching. We learn from each other, but we’re there to learn from our professors. So that’s the leadership in our school. And that’s the direction that we went to. Whatever the professors taught us, that’s what we were learning and that’s what allowed us to grow and figure out what it is we want to do with our lives and how to be creative. It shaped us.

How has Spelman changed over the years or has it changed over the years?

During the Reconstruction Period — in 1881, Spelman College, formerly known as Spelman Seminary, offered courses in nurse training, printing, sewing, dressmaking, laundry work, cooking, domestic arts, etc. This signified a second-class status in society when it came to women. In 1901, Harriet E. Giles responded to this perception by saying, “they think of negroes in the character of servants rather than as teachers or leaders in their race.” To change this perception, Giles and Sophia Packard, the other founder of Spelman Seminary, focused on both liberal and industrial training. In 1924, Spelman Seminary was changed to Spelman College in recognition of its course selection changes — it not only would train teachers but also would focus on liberal arts.

Marian Wright attended Spelman during the Jim Crow South and Civil Rights Movements and had this to say about Spelman College, “I am so glad I went to Spelman. As an all black women’s college it gave me the latitude and safe space — one not defined by male or white folks’ expectations, habits of competition, or by the need to preen and prove myself to anyone beyond myself and God — to dream my dreams and to forge my own path. While I hated and hate forced segregation or forced anything, I know recognize that Spelman provided the incubation I needed after leaving home to stand on my feet confidently with anyone anywhere.”

It appears that regardless of the times, Spelman College and Leadership focused and continues to focus on empowering Black women (or women) to stand any test of time.

Is a similar experience felt at other Atlanta Historical Black Colleges and Universities? Because Spelman is a private institution, how much does it cost to attend Spelman to get this experience? Is it worth it?

Maybe the myth that Blacks have been fighting to be apart of White society isn’t all that accurate. Maybe Blacks are trying to create their own and HBCUs shows Blacks how to do this. In the words of Dr. Gina Caison, maybe they are “not trying to find space but trying to create space.”

Works Referenced:

Austin, Grace. “Past And Present Come Together At Spelman.” Profiles In Diversity Journal 14.2 (2012): 30–33. Business Source Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

Edelman, Marian Wright. “Spelman College: A Safe Haven for a Young Black Woman.” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education 2000: 118. JSTOR Journals. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

Lefever, Harry G. “The Early Origins of Spelman College.” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education 2005: 60. JSTOR Journals. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.