Oberlin Alumni Association of African Ancestry
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| Overview |
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(OAAAA)
was approved by the Executive Board in fall 1997 as the Alumni Association's
seventh self-defined group. It serves to facilitate the relationship between
the College and its African ancestry alumni; to increase the visibility of
African ancestry persons and concerns in the life of the College; to oversee
the Black Alumni Emergency Fund, the 1835 Fund, and the African Ancestry Group
Fund; and to work with the College to increase admission and retention of
African ancestry students. A representative serves on the Alumni Council.
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| Events |
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| News & Notes |
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THE OBERLIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF
AFRICAN ANCESTRY (OAAAA)*
Charter
Founding Committee:
President: Dawn Alexander ‘82
Vice President: Jacqueline Bradley ‘76
Since its founding in 1833, Oberlin
College has been a
forerunner in the development of higher education for people of color. As the
first College to admit students irrespective of race or color, Oberlin has
graduated many notable African Americans. An ex-slave and Oberlin graduate,
Blanche Kelso Bruce was the first African American to serve a full six-year
term in the United States Senate; the first black woman in the world to receive
a college-level degree, Mary Jane Patterson, was an alumna; the first black
player in professional baseball, Moses Fleetwood Walker, was an Oberlin
alumnus; the first African American female college faculty person, Sarah
Woodson Early, was an Oberlin product; Ohio's first black lawyer, John Mercer
Langston, graduated from Oberlin. Before the Civil War, Oberlin enrolled more
black students than any other American college or university. By 1900, Oberlin
had produced one-third of all African American college graduates in our nation.
Although the College has established a strong tradition in the education of
African Americans, the experiences of many black students have been different
from the experiences of their white classmates. These singular experiences
affect the degree to which black alumni will contribute - financially and
emotionally - to Oberlin
College. Recognizing that
African American alumni had never widely participated in the overall efforts of
the Oberlin Alumni Association, the Black Alumni Committee (Committee) was
organized as an "appointed committee" of the Alumni Council in 1987.
At the invitation of the President of the College and initiative of the
Executive Board, the Committee's mission has been to increase the participation
of African American graduates in alumni activities; it has placed special
emphasis on the needs and concerns of currently-enrolled and prospective black
students.
In 1997, recognizing that a strong ongoing participation from the African
American alumni is desired as part of the overall efforts of the Alumni
Association, the Oberlin African American Alumni Association (OAAAA) began
affiliate status in the Alumni Association and continues to pursue and build on
the goals set by the African American Alumni Committee.
Giving voice to the unique experiences of African Americans at Oberlin, the
Oberlin African American Alumni Association provides leadership to the Alumni
Council and is charged with:
1) Ensuring diversity within the Association, by encouraging and soliciting
greater African American alumni representation and participation in Alumni
Council plans and activities;
2) Creating policy and programs for implementation with African American alumni
at the international, national, and regional levels;
3) Ensuring that African American alumni activities are compatible with the
mission and programs of the Alumni Association;
4) Overseeing the Black Alumni Emergency Fund and the African American Alumni
Association group fund;
5) Continuing to work with the Admissions Office to maximize African American
College and Conservatory enrollment including
- matching alumni with Oberlin prospective students, and
- participating in college preparatory/orientation programs for enrolling
students;
6) Working with all Oberlin constituencies to promote persistence to graduation
of African American College and Conservatory students;
7) Welcoming new African American Alumni Association members on an ongoing
basis.
Membership is open to all African American graduates and non-graduates.
Officers are selected on an annual basis by a steering committee which is open
to all interested persons. Membership on the steering committee is on a
voluntary basis. If demand is such that elections are deemed necessary,
electoral processes will be established by the steering committee.
Approved 9/21/97
Executive Board
* The first name of the group was "The Oberlin African American Alumni
Association" (OAAAA).
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| Questions/Comments |
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If
you have any questions/comments, please email: Jacqueline Bradley '76
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| Contacts |
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