It was Parent Weekend in February 2008 when a number of flyers were posted around campus.

These flyers contained a copy of the text on the backside of a 1954 Pomona College glee club album. The text described the history of school songs, with one section casually noting that the song that became the alma mater was written for a blackface minstrel show.      

Subsequently, the administration created a committee composed of students, faculty, staff, trustees and alumni tasked with researching the topic, as well to make a recommendation to the college president about what would be done.

This website provides the results of the research.

All documents were found at the Special Collections room at Honnold Library, or at the Alumni House.

Referenced documents :
(Click to visit, then click on the picture to enlarge; pictures open in a new window.)

The Anonymous Flyer:



The Letter from Dean Feldblum:

The letter from President Oxtoby: