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Black alumns are distinct but loyal
By John S. Cole FSU Communications Group
Segregation didn't create the need for the Black Alumni Association at FSU; integration did, its members say. For the first wave of blacks integrating FSU in the mid 1960s, the process, while peaceful compared to other Southern white colleges, was far from easy.
"My first year in college, it was clear that the welcome mat was not there," said John Marks, one of nine black students who enrolled at FSU in 1965. "We were not treated the same as other freshmen. "Nobody tried to keep us out, but there weren't a lot of people welcoming us here."
That changed, Marks said, but while a growing number of white students greeted their new classmates with kindness and friendship, many of FSU's first blacks suffered grade discrimination, anxiety, threats and, most of all, loneliness. Long after graduation, some black alumni remained bitter, refusing to visit the campus even for Homecoming or class reunions.
But through all the indignation, protests, triumphs and changes there was one constant - their support for one another.
"We kind of bonded together," said Marks. "We had ourselves; we looked out for each other."
Years later, that bond is still there, kept alive partly through the efforts of the Black Alumni Association, an organization dedicated to bridging the gap between FSU's black students and alumni, and the mainstream FSU community.
While the BAA is a chartered affiliate of the larger FSU Alumni Association, its aims and goals are much more specialized.
"We wanted to provide a framework for black alumni to meet formally and informally to discuss academic, social and other alumni-oriented issues," said Cassandra Jenkins, national president of the FSU Black Alumni Association.
The BAA focuses on issues important to blacks at FSU. Its doors are open to members of all races and backgrounds, Jenkins said, "as long as they are committed to the aims and goals of the Black Alumni Association ".
Since its inception in 1983, the BAA has worked to improve the quality of life for black students at FSU, to ensure that blacks have a voice in university operations, to increase the number of black faculty and to get black alumni more involved in university activities.
Black Alumni representatives have served on countless selection committees, task forces and work groups put together by the university.
Jim Melton, president of the FSU Alumni Association and director of alumni affairs, said the BAA is an integral part of the alumni community.
"What they do is vital," he said. "It's another way we can relate to our alumni and, more importantly, a way our alumni can relate to us."
Over the years, the number of blacks at FSU has climbed, from one in 1962 to more than 3,000 last year.
Of those who graduated, many have enjoyed sterling success in post college life. They include astronaut Winston Scott, olympic medalist Kim Batten and Pratt & Whitney executive Hansel Tookes III, who received achievement awards from the Black Alumni Association in August.
Batten, a 1993 graduate in social work, won the silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1996 Olympics. In August 1995 she set the world record in that event.
Tookes, a 1969 graduate in physics, was a Navy pilot for seven years, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander. His flying career eventually landed him executive positions with aircraft companies Hamilton Standard and Pratt & Whitney.
Tookes is now president of government engine business at Pratt & Whitney.
Scott, a music major who joined the U.S. Air Force shortly after graduating in 1972, was one of six crew members aboard the space shuttle Endeavor in January. He is one of a handful who have walked in space. Scott gave the school momentos from his foray in space.
During a break in his itinerary, the astronaut waxed nostalgic about his days at FSU, but also remembered what he called turbulent times.
"We didn't have any big problems," he said. "There was no violence, but there was still a lot of unrest. The members of the Black Student Union were very, very active in trying to get the university to recognize what we perceived as some unique needs."
Some of those needs were basic, he said, "like some black studies, some black history courses, some black products in the exchange, little things like that."
When it came to social activites and unwinding, blacks once again turned inward, Scott said.
"There were two sets of activities," he recalled, "You'd have the campus-wide activities and then the black students would quite often be off to ourselves doing our own things."
It was only natural, said Marks, for blacks to want to be around other black students.
"There is a natural affinity and attraction that students in groups have for each other," he said. "It's a part of our world."
In 1983, that attraction led a handful of alumni, including Marks, to plan a reunion for some of the school's first black students. The plans were soon expanded, said Jenkins, then a recent graduate of the School of Criminology's master's program.
"They opened it up to everyone," she said. "They didn't want to limit it, and a lot of people wanted to participate."
Most agree that blacks at FSU today enjoy an atmosphere that is far less hostile than that suffered by the pioneers.
But many black alumni point out that blacks still are heavily outnumbered by whites and continue to face challenges assimilating to life at the university.
So, having an organized group that black students and alumni can turn to, socially and academically, is just as important as it ever was, Marks said. "There may come a time when (the Black Alumni Association) is not needed," he said. "But right now, it's a good idea."