Presentation on Black history at Penn State | University Park Campus News

Students gathered inside Flex Theater on Wednesday for a lesson on Black history at Penn State presented by class of 1983 alumnus Darryl Daisey.

Curator of the Penn State Black History, African American Chronicles, Daisey highlighted Black students and their accomplishments since the founding of the university.

Dinaye Smith attended the presentation, which was titled “A History of Black Excellence at Penn State,” to learn more about the Black students that came before her.

“I would like to learn where it started and how it’s progressed over time and how we can turn the damage into something positive,” Smith, a second-year studying African American studies, said.

Daisey discussed prominent alumni, like comedian and actor Keegan-Micheal Key and Guion Bluford, the first African American astronaut to go to space.

“He seemed very dedicated to the topic that he was presenting,” Smith said. “He had a passion by the way he was speaking about these figures.”

Smith said even with her brother as an alumnus, she didn’t know the history and the impact of previous Black students.

“Even though we can be so involved, there’s still a lack of knowledge that a lot of students have,” Smith said. “As African American students, I also do think it’s important to be given the knowledge on where these resources are.”

Daisey also presented some firsts at Penn State, including Julie Cromitie, the first African American Miss Penn State finalist; Dave and Harry Alston, the first Black football players; and H. Jesse Arnelle, the first Black student government leader.

The speech also highlighted Lincoln Hall, the first unofficial dorm for Black students before Penn State officially integrated its campus. At the time, it housed 6-8 students, which was half of the Black population at Penn State.

“The importance is for our culture, our history and our achievements because not only is it that we don’t understand (Black history), but people of other races don’t understand it,” Smith said.

There were no Black faculty members until 1956, and the information prior to that was lost as students graduated, he said.

Daisey said he has always been a history buff and was a tour guide during his undergrad at Penn State.

“You don’t want to keep reinventing the wheel,” Daisey said. “Students come up here and keep doing the same things that didn’t work before.”

Students can try something new, but at least they know what came before and the things that weren’t successful in the past and can change it in some way to make it work, Daisey added.

“History tells you why you’re here,” he said. “It makes me feel blessed and appreciative of what people did before me, but also motivates me to want to continue to move things forward.”

People of color and women have shaped history, and Penn State’s reputation wouldn’t be what it is without their contributions, Daisey said.

“You can’t take the talents of a select group by itself and think that you’re going to compete with people to take the talents of all the groups,” Daisey said. “History shows you’re not gonna be able to compete.”

Bryce Daisey, Daisey’s nephew, said he grew up going to Penn State football games.

When he first arrived at Penn State, Bryce, a second-year studying finance, said he was shocked at the large support network of both alumni and faculty his uncle was able to connect him with.

“There are people who paved the way for you before you got here,” Bryce said. “And now you’re here to set your legacy upon theirs.”

Bryce said he got an early look at his uncle’s project and seeing its impact on readers resonated with his own experiences as a student today.

“Let your name be known for doing the best that you possibly could do in your field, in your craft,” Bryce said.

Bryce said his father and uncle once tried to run for student president, but being students of color, they doubted the possibility of being accepted, not realizing that it had already been achieved a few years earlier.

“If you have a dream and if you have an ambition, act on it,” Bryce said. “There’s a ton of Black excellence and Black achievements coming from this PWI that a lot of people don’t know about and are too scared to try and pursue on their own.”

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