Systemic Racism in Greek Life at Puget Sound in the 1960s

Below are some general discussion questions that can be adapted to many instructional settings:

1. Through your exploration of these documents and your general knowledge of this time period, what do you know about segregation and integration in schools in the 1960s?
2. The Tacoma chapter of the NAACP began corresponding with the university and external stakeholders about discrimination in housing at Puget Sound. How did this issue connect with the fraternities on campus?
3. Based on your exploration of these documents, what is racial blackballing? Who was participating in this practice?
4. These records show that there were multiple systems in place which impeded the progress towards desegregating Greek Life at Puget Sound. What were some of those systems? Who was perpetuating them?
5. This digital teaching collection is composed of many professional letters. What is it like to learn about a historical event or time period through the lens of personal or professional correspondence? 
6. How can we connect the materials in this digital teaching collection to discussions of equity and inclusion in modern society?

Below are a few classroom activities that can be adapted to various instructional settings:

1. The practice of blackballing a person on the basis of their race is evident in several of the sources. Have students explore the sources with a detective’s eye, combing for evidence of this practice and how it was handled by the individual Greek organizations as well as by the university. Have students report their findings to the class for a greater understanding of the practice of racial blackballing.


2. These materials illustrate historic instances of systemic racism in Greek life at the University of Puget Sound. Assign students a single source to work with and have them research modern occurrences of similar incidents. How has the way colleges and universities handled racism on campuses changed in the last fifty years? What has remained the same? How can academic institutions continue to make strides towards reducing systemic racism in Greek life? Discuss these critical questions as a class. 


3. The September 22, 1965, letter from University of Puget Sound President R. Franklin Thompson to the fraternities and sororities asks students to “judge by the merit of his character rather than race, creed, or color.” What did he mean by this? How did sororities and fraternities judge prospective members? Have policies and processes changed? Have students do external research for the last two questions and examine the ways in which Greek organization membership practices have changed or remained the same over the last 50 years.