Happy Black History Month! St. John’s College is inextricably intertwined with the history of the United States, being involved in such events as the Revolutionary War, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the writing of the national anthem, and the history of Black American community and culture.

St. John’s has a notable history with one great Black author in particular: W.E.B. Du Bois (author of The Souls of Black Folk and Black Reconstruction in America and the first Black person to earn a PhD from Harvard University). Du Bois’ work features on the St. John’s Program, with all our seniors reading The Souls of Black Folk.

In 1925, our first Black student: Martin Dyer – who was one of the first Black students to be admitted to any historically white private college South of the Mason-Dixon line – reached out to Du Bois to invite him to speak on our campus. In his letter to Du Bois, Dyer described St. John’s students as “unlike students in the average American college [… they] recognize the vast discrepancies existing between American ideals and American practices and would like to offer intelligent opposition to the growing breach between what is and what should be”. (We hope that this description still holds true for modern Johnnies.) Following this invitation, Du Bois became the first (and to this day the only) author featured on the Program to give a lecture at St. John’s.

In 2022, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Du Bois’s historic lecture, an all-college seminar on his lecture was held on both our campuses. Members of the community met to discuss the text of his speech, and to share their thoughts on the life, works, philosophy and societal impact of Du Bois. Alumni groups also held similar, smaller seminars of their own.

Of course, Du Bois is far from the only great Black author included on our program. Others include (but are not limited to): James Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, Gwendolyn Brooks, Toni Morrison, and Zora Neale Hurston. One of the most remarkable things about St. John’s and our all-required Great Books curriculum: Every student reads the US Constitution, the Federalist Papers, Supreme Court cases on equality in America, speeches by Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, and writings of important civil right leaders like Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Martin Luther King Jr.

This year, for Black History Month, several events will be taking place at St. John’s. The Black Student Union will be holding several “casual seminars” (informal gatherings of students and tutors for discussion) on various related topics. On our Santa Fe campus, students will also be participating in the NAACP Read-a-thon, where volunteers read books by Black American authors or authors of African heritage to students in Santa Fe public schools. The BSU is also organizing an art gallery and showcase for the month.

Early this year, for Martin Luther King Day, members of the Johnnie community gathered together to read and reflect on his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. (In past years, we have done the same with “Letters from a Birmingham Jail”.) We also held an all-college seminar on Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing, and our students went out into the community to lead two seminars for high-school students on “Letters from a Birmingham Jail” and Ella Baker’s “Address at the Hattiesburg Freedom Day Rally”.

At St. John’s College, we believe that the diversity of our campus community is one of our great strengths. We are committed to providing an “education for all”. Our student body is diverse – and we aim every year to see them become more diverse – in terms of race, culture, religion, background, socio-economic status, and both state and national origin. This Black History Month, we want to draw particular attention to the history the Black community has with St. John’s, and the impact they have had on our college.