“an Artificial Harmony:” The Pennsylvania State University's Constructed Racial Narrative, 1955-1969
Open Access
- Author:
- Roser-jones, Sara Susan
- Graduate Program:
- Kinesiology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- July 09, 2012
- Committee Members:
- Jessica Lynn Schultz, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
- Keywords:
- Athletics Integration
Intercollegiate Sports
African American History
Artificial Harmony - Abstract:
- Although an agricultural land grant school such as The Pennsylvania State University, located in a rural valley in central Pennsylvania, is not commonly thought of as a bastion of race relations, Penn State University possesses a storied and interesting racial integration history. An important component of this unique history centers on the university’s celebration of successful African American athletes during the mid-twentieth century. This thesis argues that through the public admiration of these individuals, the university cultivated a reputation as a racially progressive and tolerant institution. This reputation allowed the university to ignore and diminish issues of racial discrimination on campus. Ignorance of the inequalities faced by students of color functioned to create an “artificial harmony” in the community. However, this paper will show that as time went on, astute student activists recognized the power afforded Nittany Lion athletics and employed that visibility in an attempt to garner increased support for African American acceptance at the university. Focusing on the years 1955-1969, and expanding a previous work undertaken by Mark Dyreson, this examination uses a wealth of archival resources, oral histories, local and national newspaper articles, and local and national magazine stories to explore the university’s reliance on athletics to secure a national reputation. Additionally, this work scrutinizes the attempted exploitation of the visibility and public sentiment towards Penn State football to gain support for student political action. Lastly, this paper endeavors to illustrate a more complex history of Penn State athletics and university integration.