Anita Florence Hemmings - The First Known African American Vassar Graduate

Vassar College is approaching its 150th year. They put out a cool website with cool photos from the good old days when it was just girls and everyone looked so glamourous.
150.vassar.edu

I was perusing through the timeline and was enchanted by this photo of Anita Florence Hemmings. In 1897, she was  the first known African American to graduate the school. Of course that got me researching stuff which brought me to the essay and article below. I say known because Anita was 'passing' as a white girl in order to gain entry. Passing has been a common practice for centuries in this country and in 1897 it was the only a way a black girl could go to the exclusive and aristocratic Vassar College. When her roommate revealed that Anita was black only days before her graduation Vassar did not officially know but eventually allowed her to graduate. Yet her existence begs the question of how many other black women 'passed' through the gates undetected at Vassar before her and after her (Vassar did not formally admit women of color until the 1940s). It's disappointing Anita was never mentioned in any of my classes at Vassar where we discussed race and even specifically the act of 'passing'. I am happy to have learned about her today.

Read about --> Jill Sims - the great granddaughter of Anita Hemmings who only found out her family's ancestry after her grandmother (who was also passing and went to Vassar graduating in '27)
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1999/1/1999_1_68.shtml

Then read --> the article in the Vassar Quarterly
http://vq.vassar.edu/issue/winter_2001/article/anita_hemmings