Terri Dickerson: Finding community at an evolving university

Terri Dickerson is a Class of 1979 graduate from the Curry School of Education at UVA. Although Dickerson is originally from Louisiana, she was a senior in high school living in Silver Spring, Maryland, when she first heard of the University of Virginia. She was focusing on schools near by where she was living, until she got called over by someone at a college fair. Little to Terri Dickerson’s knowledge, that seemingly random man calling her over to talk about UVA was Lloyd Ricks, Associate Dean of Admissions at the time. This life changing conversation began with Mr. Ricks asking Dickerson a simple question--did she think she could get all A’s in the coming semester? Before she knew it, Dickerson had a new goal in front of her, one that Mr. Ricks followed up on periodically. However, despite the continued conversation surrounding the possibility of UVA, when college decision time rolled around, Dickerson wrote a letter to Mr. Ricks to let him know she had decided to attend the University of Maryland. Much to her surprise, Mr. Ricks wrote back claiming that was, “the dumbest letter [he’s] ever read in [his] life.”

Despite Mr. Rick’s sincere care for Dickerson, she was still nervous about going to UVA; the University of Maryland had a more prominent black population, and she was worried about what her social life would be like at UVA. Spring Fling gave Dickerson the opportunity to get a glimpse of what community at UVA would be like. When looking back on the visit, she simply remembers spending quality time with people. She looks back fondly on going to a cookout, shadowing classes, and attending a party hosted in the dorm where she was staying. Her host from Spring Fling eventually became her sorority sister in Alpha Kappa Alpha, one of the Divine Nine sororities. It was because of the community Dickerson felt during Spring Fling, and the care of Mr. Ricks, that she ultimately decided to attend UVA.

Dickerson’s academic experience as a speech pathology major benefited from the community she found at UVA as well. She describes first-year as a time where you have a lot of settling in to do. Fortunately, Dickerson had an African American hallmate that went to a private high school that passed along her study habits to Dickerson. When looking back on her classes, Dickerson can’t identify just one that sticks out. Rather, for her, it was being passed the ability to think critically and grow from feedback in the classroom that stands out.

While positive aspects of the community Dickerson found at UVA stand out, she also faced challenges from the repercussions of UVA’s history as an all-white university. Dickerson can’t remember many other black students in the Curry School during her time, and notes that less than 100 African-American students were in her graduating class. Moreover, while Dickerson did enjoy her academic experience at UVA, not every classroom was so supportive. Dickerson remembers getting an English paper back first year that had been graded by a grad student. On it they had written that it was a great paper worth an A+, “if indeed [she] had wrote it.” Despite going on to get her PhD, being a part of her high school newspaper, knowing she was a strong writer, this one moment affected Dickerson for years to come.

“I held on to that paper a long time ...I graduated forty years ago and it was probably five years ago that I finally threw that away because I used to just look at it and just try to, you know, understand… that even though it was in the 70’s… you could still run very strongly… into a threat like that, even in your classroom.”

Fortunately, Dickerson had many spaces at UVA that gave her strong, welcoming community that helped make her experience at the University worthwhile. One such organization was BSA, or Black Student Alliance. Before Dickerson was actively plugged into the organization, she was already participating in its more widespread events. One of these events was an organized march on Carr’s Hill to President Hereford in protest of his membership at Farmington--an all-white country club. Despite not being very plugged in to BSA, Dickerson ended up at the front of the march and in the center of the Cavalier Daily, simply because she was having a conversation with the BSA president at the time. Many reforms came from the march on Carr’s Hill, including the creation of the Office of African American Affairs. Additionally, Dickerson’s world view shifted after the march. She saw the power of allies in the march, as the crowd consisted of black and white students protesting the same issue. That event shifted how she looks at social movements, and creating change and reform.

Outside of BSA, and attending Black Voices concerts to support her friends, Dickerson’s main involvement at UVA was her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Being a part of the AKAs created much of her community. It seemed as though every single week a different organization in the Divine Nine would host a party or event. Moreover, Dickerson found community during step shows at the Chemistry building auditorium, games at the basketball courts and Memorial Gymnasium, and watching soap operas and playing cards with friends across Grounds. The AKAs also gave Dickerson her connection to Charlottesville. She explains that, in her experience, students didn’t go into Charlottesville very often, but the AKAs often did service in town. Beyond the prominent social community the AKAs provided, greek life also provided an outlet for Dickerson and other black students to feel a sense of normalcy, to network, and to have a conversation with someone that may be facing similar challenges.

“People were smart before they got here and then… the challenges, though, they tended to face not just in the classroom but in Charlottesville itself, or on Grounds with professors--it just created a community of people.”

Dickerson explains that her experience, and the experiences of many other black students at UVA were reflective of the national climate at the time. While the Civil Rights Movement may have been officially over, it was not over in the experience of many black Americans. Many people were still fighting for their rights, including African Americans and women nationally and on Grounds. Dickerson explains that everyone imagined integration happening rapidly, but that just wasn’t reality. Instead, humiliation and harassment were continuous for many, and what Dickerson considered the backdrop of the 1970s. Dickerson notes that black Americans were fighting for roles on television that extended beyond the stereotypical. The lack of representation in the media in conjunction with previously segregated spaces meant that many white students never interacted with anyone of color before coming to UVA.

Coming back to UVA, Dickerson sees how far the place has come since her four years. Not only does she note an increase in the population of black and other minority students, but she is also inspired by just how pervasive black students’ involvement on Grounds is today. For Dickerson, watching people use their voice even when there may be consequences to using it is great. Similarly, Dickerson looks back on the other women in her sorority and notes just how much success came out of their difficult background. It is the greatness she sees in her sorority sisters that she sees amplified in graduates today. For Dickerson, it is an emotional experience returning to the University and reflecting on how she, “came through a place and [she] saw it evolve. It has a long way to go, but it’s evolved in a positive way.”