The Fight for Employment at the College of William and Mary

This is an application by Lawrence C. Bryant applying to teach education at the College of William and Mary in 1956. This application shows that Dr. Bryant was very accomplished, with ten years of teaching experience, six references, and several degrees including a B.S., an M.A., a B.D. (Bachelor of Divinity), and was completing a doctorate. Additionally, he had undergraduate and graduate relevant coursework and had published seven articles and was working on two more. The only indication of his race was that he had a degree from Howard University and a publication in the Negro Education Review. However, the word “Negro” appeared at the top of his application, with a handwritten note next to it saying “Please note,” presumably written by a staff member of the College. Despite all of the great accomplishments contained in his application, this notation on his race was the only part that warranted a note besides the date that the application was received. That the application was addressed directly to the president, Alvin Duke Chandler, may have been an act of defiance by Lawrence Bryant. While we do not have a record of the response to his application, lists of past faculty do not show his name. While the name of the university where he was a doctoral candidate is unreadable on the document, according to Dr. Bryant’s obituary from 2010, he was the “first African-American to earn a doctorate degree in guidance and counseling, administration and secondary education at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.”

Noella Handley and Cathy Xiong, description