How two generations of the Davis family helped pave the way for Williams’ ongoing work on equity, inclusion, social justice and community building.
The first time Gordon J. Davis saw Williams College was in 1957. His father, the renowned social anthropologist and psychologist W. Allison Davis, was driving the family home to Chicago after conducting research on I.Q. testing in Cambridge, Mass. Williamstown was already in the rearview mirror when Allison remarked, off-handedly, “Oh, that’s where I went to college.”
It was hardly a ringing endorsement. And when Gordon began his own college search, his father—one of three Black students in the Class of 1924—told him, “Anyplace but Williams.”
“Being rebellious, I immediately applied,” says Gordon, who graduated in 1963 and, like his father, was one of three Black students in his class.
Gordon related the anecdote and many others to me during an interview for the Society of Alumni Bicentennial celebration, which begins in January 2021. As part of the planning group, I had volunteered to collect stories about fellow alumni. I knew the Davis family had a long, complicated history with Williams, and I was eager for Gordon to share it with me. (Throughout this article, I use first names for clarity. No disrespect is intended.)