Tyrone Byrd oral history interview

This Scope and Content note was originally generated using GPT-4 (gpt-4o-2024-08-06) and Dartmouth Chat (gpt-4o) on 2024-10-14. It was then reviewed/edited by a human.

Oral history interview with Tyrone Byrd, Class of 1973, reflecting on his time at Dartmouth College during a period of significant change for both the institution and the nation. Byrd recounts growing up in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, where he played on his high school football team. He recalls being recruited by a Black Dartmouth alumnus, arriving on campus in 1969 as part of a class that saw a notable increase in African American students due to activism and recruitment efforts. He details his experience at Dartmouth, where he played on the football team and studied abroad in Sierra Leone. He discusses interacting with peers from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, including former gang members admitted through Dartmouth’s Foundation Years Program. Byrd also notes the impact of national events like the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement on campus life, and the limited integration between Black and white students outside specific settings like sports teams. He discusses his involvement in the Afro-American Society and the sense of community it provided. He also describes his participation in campus activism, including protesting a lecture by William Shockley, and his support for coeducation.