Building a Community

By the time Janet, Karen and Lynn graduated in 1971, they were no longer the only African American students on campus. The three women and their peers felt it was important to create spaces where African American students could feel at home at a predominately white institution. Years went by and other African American students took it upon themselves to fill the void they saw lacking in spaces for themselves and their peers. By the end of the 1970s, William & Mary would become home to two of the “Divine Nine,” a group of historically African American sororities and fraternities, and a gospel choir.