Browse Items (194 total)

This short story mocks African Americans through racist exaggerated vernacular and creating a character, named "A'nt Lucy" that is described as obese, lazy, dirty and "the blackest n*****." The plot of this story is that the there was a leaf found…

This eulogy written in the "In Memorandum" section of the Fall 1957 Messengernotes the death and service of Esau Brooks, a black athletic trainer and staff member at the University. The piece demonstrates a great deal of admiration for its subject…

This satirical April Fool's Day article describes the promotion of Esau Brooks from athletics trainer and grounds keeper to "the new and enthusiastic" Director of Athletics. The article also has Brooks placing "'Not-so-Dark' Jamees as line coach and…

Published in the 1943 April Fool's edition of The Collegian, this photo and caption portray athletic trainer Esau Brooks receiving an honorary degree in Osteopathy (physical training), from Oglethorpe University. The degree was conferred at the Greek…

This satirical April Fool's Day article describesa service held in honor of Esau Brooks, a caretaker and athletic trainer, at the Cannon Memorial Chapel in 1936. The article describes the ceremony, during which Brooks was honored with a rake and…

This drawing appearing in the "Jokes" section of the 1925 yearbook that includes images of blacks as students that depict would-be black student similar to the way white students would be described (namely calling freshman "rats" and depicting a…

This article features a report on John Wicker, Jr., a student at Richmond Law School in 1916. The article discusses his first jury address as a new attorney in which he represented a young Black man named Leslie Drew in a murder trial. An excerpt…

This short story, published in the spring of 1914, provides a description of student life at Richmond College. The college student, John, and his father, explain academics and activities at the university to Uncle Cy, a black farm worker. The author…

The page features a photo montage of women participating in leisure activities, a skeleton, a baby, and two black women on the bottom far right and left who served a domestic role at the University. Under the photo of the woman on the far left the…

This page is a combination of image and text that is a page-long dedication to the service of John Johnson, a black janitor for the University of Richmond. Dr. F.W. Boatwright, president of the University of Richmond, is quoted saying that Johnson…