The Davidson Journal Profile of Brenda Tapia; a one-time event acknowledging the reparative work of a Davidson College employee

Item

Legacies Classification
Memorial Publication
Memorial Type
Commemorative Events
Memorial Context
Memorialized Subject
Title
The Davidson Journal Profile of Brenda Tapia; a one-time event acknowledging the reparative work of a Davidson College employee
Background and Context
The Davidson Journal is the flagship publication of Davidson College. It is currently published twice a year and sent out to over 26,000 alumni and the trustee network. In 1990, The Black Experience at Davidson profiled Rev. Brenda Tapia, college chaplain and director of the Love of Learning Program.

Jerry S. Stockdale, editor and Director of College Relations, discussed how recent events prompted the journal theme to focus on the Black experience at Davidson in his editor column titled “Do the Right Thing.” He first noted that Black and other minority students and their place on campus were an active topic of considerable discussion in the Davidson community. Second, he acknowledged the recent success of Rev. Brenda Tapia’s Love of Learning Program in addressing the enrollment of Black students in higher education. Since the college’s founding in 1837, Stockdale concludes that Black employees played a major role in all of campus life: building maintenance, cleaning staff, laundry, and dining employment.

Stockdale’s editor column served as a nice preview of the two dedicated articles on Tapia. The first provided a brief biography on Rev. Tapia, including her educational history and creation of the Love of Learning program. Written by Stockdale, the biography included a photograph of her alongside her parents, both former Davidson College employees during the Jim Crow era. The second piece focused on the Love of Learning program.

The journal’s cover art was done by Alfreda Floyd, a young Black artist based in Charlotte.
Physical Description
Print journal publication with cover art by Alfreda Floyd
Creator/Participating Person(s)
Date created, installed or dedicated
1990
Campus Location
Office of College Relations
Location: Institution, City, State
Learn More About this Subject
Stockdale, Jerry S. “Brenda Tapia.” The Davidson Journal 19, no. 3 (Fall 1990).

Tifft, Susan. 1990. “Education: Diamonds in the Rough: An Unusual Program Propels Young Blacks toward College.” Time, August 6, 1990. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,970812,00.html.

Kemp, Karen, and Duke Today Staff. 2010. “Popular Professor, Journalist Susan Tifft Passes Away Thursday | Duke Today.” Today.duke.edu. April 1, 2010. https://today.duke.edu/2010/04/tifft.html.
Date
Fall 1990

Position: 1441 (52 views)