Jacob Roundtree: Echoes from the Past, Memories Sparked by a Return to Grounds
Liz Crowder, 2019. Jacob Roundtree (center), with his son Jacob (left) and daughter Lovey (right)
Growing up in rural Chesapeake, Virginia, Jacob Roundtree ran freely through the woods and farmlands. He enjoyed hunting with his father as a young man and always considered himself an athlete, playing tennis, football, baseball, and running track. But Jacob Roundtree always recognized the value of school.
As an exemplary high school student, college became an option for Roundtree. Mr. Roundtree worked at a fruit stand owned by his high school guidance counselor, and the close relationship they formed gave Jacob access to lots of information on scholarships. With the help of his guidance counselor, Roundtree took countless exams and submit numerous applications which earned him a great deal in scholarship money.
Mr. Roundtree had received acceptances from many of the nation’s historically black colleges, UCLA, and a few other schools along the East Coast. When deciding ultimately between the University of Virginia and UCLA, Jacob Roundtree was enthralled with the idea of going across the country to California. To him, that experience felt “exotic” and exciting. However, his parents did not share this sentiment and implored him to strongly consider the University of Virginia.
The 60s were a tumultuous time in the U.S. Conversations on civil rights had come to a head. Integration was no longer a suggestion but a demand. When Jacob Roundtree arrived at the University, there were five or six black graduate students, but Jacob and one other were the first black undergraduate students. Roundtree took pride in being a pioneer for African Americans at UVA. However, he wasn’t naïve to the implications his presence had on the University status quo. While he was a student, he remembered hearing about an incident involving one of the black graduate students who had found racial slurs written across his door.
“I would have laughed at anyone who would have tried to appear better than me. It’s a curious dilemma if someone would have asserted such a claim”
Despite the experience of the other student, Roundtree describes feeling surprisingly welcome compared to his expectations and never experienced any outright racism from his peers.
His peers and professors alike were very supportive. On occasion however, the relative calm was breached by the social realities of the 60s. Though activism wasn’t widespread at UVA, Roundtree recalls a student demonstration protesting a local movie theater that forced black visitors to sit up in the mezzanine. He enjoyed the camaraderie with other first year students. Often spent time exploring grounds to learn his way around such a large place. When he was feeling lonely, Roundtree would go to the student center record room to listen to musicals. He describes the student center cafeteria as having some of the best food he had ever eaten, and never worried about going hungry. Making friends with people from Charlottesville, gave Roundtree an opportunity to periodically escape from grounds, another element Roundtree enjoyed from his time as a student.
With fond memories that Jacob Roundtree returned to the grounds of the University of Virginia and relished in being able to witness the numerous changes amongst the many things that have stayed the same.
“I felt in a sense, that I belonged”