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educational inequality, our changing world. In January opening doors and blazed
sisters volunteered. The of our senior year, many of the trail for others.
election of Richard Hatcher us headed out to the Atlanta At the Forefront, Ushering
and Carl Stokes in 1968 and schools for our student in the Computer Ageby
Maynard Jackson in 1973 as teaching experiences. Cynthia A. Lemon
the first black mayors of Spelman students were
major cities sparked a assigned to newly integrated Obtaining my initial job at
greater interest in electoral schools where there were Bell Labs upon graduation
campaigns on the local, few, if any black teachers. was key to my personal,
state and national levels. The summer of 1968, technical and academic
Shirley Chisolm was elected classmates in math and development. Jettye Hasben
the first black woman to the science students were Dash, Pamela Vaughn and I
U.S. Congress in 1968 and selected to work as interns became the first black
ran for President in 1972. in corporate settings such as women to participate in the
Not only were we front and IBM, Bell Laboratories. Lab’s graduate study
center in Voter Registration Implementation of the Civil program (GSP) and attain
Drives, and social action Rights laws and anti- the Member of Technical
campaigns, but a few of us discrimination laws during Staff title .AT&T Bell
actually were appointed or our college years meant that Laboratories and Bell
elected to office. new career opportunities Telephone Laboratories was
were available to us. an industrial research and
As we witnessed the scientific development
changes taking place within Graduate and professional company, the predecessor
Spelman’s gates, little did schools were eagerly of Nokia Labs. The 1970s
we know that we were being recruiting. The Class of and 1980s saw more and
prepared to enter a rapidly 1969 took advantage of the