Black Domers: African-American Students at Notre Dame in Their Own Words

by Theodore M. Hesburgh (Editor), Don Wycliff (Editor), David Krashna (Editor)

Black Domers tells the compelling story of racial integration at the University of Notre Dame in the post–World War II era. In a series of seventy-five essays, beginning with the first African-American to graduate from Notre Dame in 1947 to a member of the class of 2017 who also served as student body president, we can trace the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of the African-American experience at Notre Dame through seven decades. Don Wycliff and David Krashna’s book is a revised edition of a 2014 publication. With a few exceptions, the stories of these graduates are told in their own words, in the form of essays on their experiences at Notre Dame. The range of these experiences is broad; joys and opportunities, but also hardships and obstacles, are recounted. Notable among several themes emerging from these essays is the importance of leadership from the top in successfully bringing African-Americans into the student body and enabling them to become fully accepted, fully contributing members of the Notre Dame community. The late Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, president of the university from 1952 to 1987, played an indispensable role in this regard and also wrote the foreword to the book. This book will be an invaluable resource for Notre Dame graduates, especially those belonging to African-American and other minority groups, specialists in race and diversity in higher education, civil rights historians, and specialists in race relations.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

422 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2017

About the author

American Catholic priest and President of Notre Dame University in Indiana.
Born: May 25, 1917, Syracuse, NY
Died: February 26, 2015, Notre Dame, IN

Reviews

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my other reviews on Instagram @books4mia

Wrapping up Black history month, this is a highly recommended read for all Notre Dame Grads!!

Important takeaways:
*South Bend Black families supported Black students in ways the university would not.

*Father Hesburgh stood up for Black students, ensuring that the university would boycott any business that was racist. But he did not do enough to increase Black enrollment at the university. There were only 12 black students at the university while he touted his accomplishments “integrating Notre Dame” on the US National Civil Rights Committee

*Many Black alum feel tolerated but not embraced by the majority white alums and students.

What can we do to make Notre Dame better? I’m not sure I have the answers, but I am thinking about it.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, a collection of ND alumni voices makes me wonder if I completely squandered the opportunities handed to me on a golden platter at age 18.

But seriously, this should be required reading for every Domer. While my relatively liberal views on social issues (particularly gender issues) caused me to butt up against established norms at ND, I still looked like the majority of the student body so I (mostly) flew under the radar. Still, those conversations made me realize that ND could be a bit isolating if you didn't fit neatly into a very white box. That's just not acceptable.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I found it enlightening and the summary of what was going on during the decade offered good perspective ahead of the reflections.