“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In the spirit of MLK
D’Army Bailey ’65: A Radical Life
Clark University was changed forever with the arrival of D’Army Bailey ’65. He brought Malcolm X to campus and organized student protests of Worcester companies that did not hire or promote Black Americans. He forged a career as an esteemed judge and continued to work toward a just and equitable world — and he spearheaded the creation of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Clark’s D’Army Bailey ’65 Diversity Fund supports initiatives and academic endeavors that advance and help sustain an inclusive, engaged campus.
I need to share this story
Through her guided tours, Carolyn Michael-Banks ’79 has devoted her career to unveiling the hidden histories of Black America, including the 1968 strike of Black sanitation workers, memorialized by the “I Am a Man” sculpture in Memphis.
In 1912, Louis Tyree Broke the Color Barrier at Clark
In 1912, Louis Clarkson Tyree became the first Black American to graduate from Clark College.
Rediscovering an American Community of Color
Undergraduates in Professor Janette Greenwood’s “Public History: Race, Photography and Community” course researched turn-of-the-century photographs of African Americans and Native Americans in Worcester. Their work informed and was featured in “Rediscovering an American Community of Color: The Photographs of William Bullard,” an exhibition at the Worcester Art Museum.
Making History: A Civil Rights Leader Visits Clark
The world lost civil rights leader Robert Parris Moses in July 2021. Back in 2015, Clark University’s community welcomed Moses to campus as the honored speaker for the President’s Lecture.