Historical Background - Archival Resources - Africana Studies 101: Introduction to Africana Studies

Department Blog

Around the D is our official departmental blog. There are blog posts produced by archives staff, students, and faculty pertaining to college and local history. Listed below are select blog posts related to race, diversity, and Blackness at Davidson.

George Nzongola’s senior portrait, 1967 Quips and Cranks.

Nzongola was the second Black student to enroll at Davidson from the Congo.

"It Hasn't Been Exactly Easy": Early Student Reflections on Integration at Davidson
Around the D blog post on the experience of first black students at Davidson College, from Benoit Nzengu’s admission in 1962 to the graduation of Denise Fanuiel in 1977, particularly through their own words and reflections.
"Thereby Hangs a Tale": The Winding Path to Integration at Davidson
Around the D blog post focused on the history of integration at Davidson College, from the mid-1950s up until the admission of the first black student in 1962.
August 28, 1963
Around the D blog post about the March on Washington.
MLK and Davidson
Around the D blog post about campus perceptions of Martin Luther King Jr. throughout the decades.
Uncovering the Unknown: Artifacts Excavated from Beneath the Sparrow’s Nest During July 2017
Around the D blog post about Sparrow's Nest, a campus building that formerly was a slave/servants' quarters for Thomas Williams Sparrow, brother of a Davidson College professor.

If you would like to write or submit a post for Around the D, please email us at archives@davidson.edu!

Davidson Disorientation

Disorienting & Reorienting: Recovering and Analyzing Legacies of Colonialism, Slavery, and White Supremacy at Davidson College
The “Davidson Disorientation” was an alternative campus tour created and hosted by Tian Yi (‘18) and Sarah HD Mellin ('20), as part of the student organization Davidson Teach-Ins, in Spring of 2018. The tour highlighted the history of White supremacy and anti-Blackness on campus by linking locations at the college to specific racist histories and legacies. This project is an expansion and extension of that work, compiled by Sarah HD Mellin; it is based off of additional scholarly and archival research in both the Davidson and NC State archives.
Video of the first disorientation video
Mellin's Thesis
Mellin's continued this research in their senior thesis "Beneath the bricks: reckoning with legacies of colonialism, slavery, and white supremacy at Davidson College" (2020).

Online Davidson Encyclopedia

For more college history from A-Z, explore our Online Encyclopedia. Here you will find entries ranging from all aspects of campus life, including student activities, campus buildings, and more.

Archives, Special Collections & Community Research Guides

Activism and Protests at Davidson College
by Emily Privott Last Updated Apr 3, 2025 360 views this year
Integration at Davidson
by Jessica Cottle-Hart Last Updated Jan 30, 2025 98 views this year
Digital Collections
by Ikra Javed Last Updated Jan 31, 2025 668 views this year
Justice, Equality, Community (JEC) Initiative
by Jessica Cottle-Hart Last Updated Jan 30, 2025 41 views this year
Microaggressions: Finding Davidson College Archives and Library Resources
by Jessica Cottle-Hart Last Updated Jan 30, 2025 43 views this year
19th Century Primary Sources
by Jessica Cottle-Hart Last Updated Jan 30, 2025 37 views this year
Lingle Hut
by Jessica Cottle-Hart Last Updated Jan 30, 2025 28 views this year

Africana Studies 101: Introduction to Africana Studies

College History Timelines

Books on the History of Davidson College

Department Blog

Davidson Disorientation

Online Davidson Encyclopedia

Archives, Special Collections & Community Research Guides