Spelman College President Mary Schmidt Campbell welcomed students and staff alike to the new academic year with a news-breaking short letter. Tucked among paragraphs about strategic planning and enrollment figures, was an announcement about a new task force—one that would recommend whether the storied historically black college for women should admit transgender students.
If Spelman changes its admissions policy, it would join the so-called “Seven Sisters” colleges in opening its doors to trans women.
But even more importantly, breaking down this barrier would strike at the heart of racial and gender hierarchies limiting African Americans.