Edey says she may eventually become involved inethnic groups at Harvard, but is content to notparticipate for the moment. Lilly, however, isalready a member of both Kuumba Singers and theFirst-year Step Team, both predominantly blackorganizations.
Sense of Community
Some students, like Edey, take time to easeinto the black community at Harvard.
Dionne A. Fraser '99, vice president of theBSA, initially didn't seek out other blackstudents to discuss issues of ethnicity. By theend of her second semester, however, she wasenveloped in a friendship circle of about 60fellow black first-year students.
"At first I decided that I would befriendwhoever was friendly. And I found friends of allethnic backgrounds," Fraser says. "The Hollis 4[the room where a predominantly black group offriends hung out] crowd already seemed like aclique from the outside and I wasn't going to begmy way into the clique."
When Fraser began to spend time with otherblack students she found that she was able tobounce her ideas of racial identity andresponsibility off peers who shared similarexperiences.
"We had a lot of fun but we also learned a lotfrom being with each other. There was seriousdiscussion; we learned about black life indifferent parts of the country, from St. Louis toFlorida to Chicago," says Fraser.
Reaching Back Home and Moving On
Black students at the College may feel aspecial responsibility to learn about blackhistory and culture in order to return to theircommunities and help improve their neighborhoodconditions, Fraser says.
It's important for blacks to bond on campusbecause, according to Fraser, the real worldchallenges idyllic Harvard Yard notions that blackindividuals can be treated fairly and equally insociety as a whole.
"Nobody in the outside world sees you as aHarvard grad. You get treated like any otherblack, Harvard or no Harvard," Fraser says. "Somepeople [at Harvard] care only about their ownbusiness, but when you go back home you feelsomething's wrong when you see poor neighborhoods.It makes you want to go back to the community totry to help out."
Leslie says the networking that occurs in blackorganizations on campus fosters a spirit ofcommunal responsibility. It is just these valuablerelationships that give black students thepractical knowledge necessary to face life aftercommencement.
"Moving out of school can be a positiveexperience when other people you admire reach backand give you advice," Leslie says. "They'veovercome the same obstacles that I will face."