In the early ‘70s we were welcomed by the black staff. The women who staffed the desk in the residence hall, the dining staff, and the housekeepers were all very proud of us and provided special encouragement. My roommate and I felt especially cared for in our dormitory. Mrs. Turrentine checked on us if we were late coming into the dormitory; Mrs. Byrd made sure we had dinner, even when we ran into the cafeteria late; and Mrs. Mitchell made sure we sure we had supplies when the housekeeping staff went home for the weekend. The library staff asked how our courses were going and why they hadn’t seen us studying in Perkins. They were our surrogate parents and they took good care of us.
Personally, a few of the faculty made it clear that they didn’t think I belonged in my majors, if not at Duke. One stated so in class. I spent one semester asking white students to turn in my papers so the professor could not connect my work to my face. And, I was told that I could not study abroad. I only found out this was untrue when my advisor was surprised to see me the following semester. Fortunately, these personal incidents were few.
Maureen Cullins, T’76
Director, Multicultural Resource Center
Duke School of Medicine