Past, Present and Future

TCU’s Race & Reconciliation Initiative Shares and Celebrates Progress at Second Annual Reconciliation Day

By Texas Christian University

April 25^th, 2022

Reconciliation is a Journey

TCU’s second annual Reconciliation Day brought people from near and far to hear about the progress, research and impact of the Race & Reconciliation Initiative (RRI). Although the academically based, historically focused initiative has made strides in creating a more diverse and equitable campus environment since it launched in 2020, there is still more work to be done.

"Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something! It is incumbent upon all of us to come together to move forward on the path toward reconciliation." –Frederick W. Gooding, Jr., RRI Chair

To set the stage for the two-hour event in the Brown-Lupton University Union Auditorium and Campus Commons, the Bandan Koro African Drumming Band welcomed attendees with an energizing performance.

Progress Report

During the Reconciliation Day program, several leaders from across TCU's campus presented important updates on RRI’s 2021 recommendations. Among these developments are:

Additional financial aid to recruit a more socioeconomically diverse student body
A commitment to hire more faculty of color for tenure track positions
The recognition of underrepresented or marginalized groups on campus to tell a more complete story of TCU's development

Presenters also shared updates about the ongoing RRI Oral History Project, a research effort to capture Horned Frogs’ diverse stories, and the growing online digital depository, where the community can access these histories to better understand TCU’s legacy.

Honoring the Thorps

A presentation of historical findings noted the story of Charley and Kate Thorp, formerly enslaved people of color who were instrumental in TCU’s growth in its earliest days in Thorp Spring, Texas, who were not compensated for their work.

Sylviane Greensword, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow and director of the RRI Oral History Project, identified more than 30 living descendants of the Thorp family across Texas, Colorado and New Mexico — many of whom attended Reconciliation Day as special guests. Family historians Debra Duncan Holmes and Loriessa Randle were each presented with the inaugural Plume Award to remember, respect and reconcile their ancestors’ contributions.

Chancellor Boschini, Sylviane Greensword and Frederick Gooding, Jr. present Loriessa Randle (second from left) and Debra Duncan Holmes (second from right) with the Plume Award to remember, respect and reconcile the contributions of the Thorps.

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Chancellor Boschini moderated a panel of the outgoing inaugural RRI team. They reflected on progress and Chair Frederick W. Gooding, Jr., Ph. D., Dr. Ronald E. Moore Professor in Humanities, received a standing ovation from the audience for his leadership.

Gooding announced the incoming chair, Amiso George, Ph. D., professor of strategic communication, and welcomed her with a special gift: a copy of the RRI First Year Survey Report.

Read the RRI First-Year Survey Report

Celebration in the Commons

Following the presentation, attendees enjoyed food, fun and fellowship in the Campus Commons. Two local arts organizations, Ballet Folklorico and Artes de la Rosa, performed as part of the celebration to join people together from all walks of life on campus.

ABOUT RRI AT TCU

The Race & Reconciliation Initiative is an academically based, historically focused initiative designed to investigate and document TCU’s relationship with slavery, racism and the Confederacy. The endeavor will span multiple years. The focus for 2021-22 is an intersectional approach to TCU’s founding years, examining the experiences of Native American, Indigenous and Latinx peoples, as well as Black Americans.