Collection ID: 2021_0001

Collection context

Summary

Creator:
McKenzie Family
Abstract:
This collection is comprised of photographs and ephemera reflecting the life of Emerald McKenzie ’52. Emerald Rose McKenzie (1928-1989) was one of the first African American woman to attend Bard College. She was also blind, having lost her sight at the age of 16. The bulk of the collection was donated to Bard College by her family after Emerald’s death in 1989. Some items were donated by Cynthia Maris Dantzic ‘54. Cynthia was McKenzie’s reader and friend at Bard from 1950-1952.
Extent:
1 Half document box and .5 linear ft.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of 14 folders of photographs and ephemera reflecting Emerald MacKenzie’s life. The photographs span her lifetime, and include highlights such as her graduations from Bard and NYU. Photographs include unidentified family, faculty, and friends. There are several photographs of Emerald’s reader, Cynthia Dantzic, taken of her alone and with Emerald. Ephemera include paraphernalia from her Girl Scout troop, various diplomas and degrees from her elementary school, NYIEB, and NYU. Also in the collection is a program from the ceremony in which she was named the Woman of the Year by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Delta Alpha Zeta chapter. Souvenirs of Emerald’s guide dog Karen include several photographs, including one of Emerald and Karen at guide dog training school; a hand-written ‘diploma’ granting Karen an honorary degree from NYU faculty and students; and Karen’s obituary written by Cynthia Dantzic and published in the Bard - St. Stephen’s Alumni Magazine, March 1962.

Biographical / Historical:

Emerald Rose McKenzie ‘52 was one of the first African American women to graduate from Bard. Originally from the British West Indies, McKenzie grew up in Brooklyn. After losing her sight in 1943, she attended the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind (NYIEB) (now the New York Institute for Special Education). McKenzie came to Bard College as a transfer student, having spent her first undergraduate year at Brooklyn College. She attended Bard College on a full scholarship from the American Federation for the Blind, majoring in sociology and anthropology. She is remembered by her fellow students as being a ‘beacon of courage and ambition in the face of adversity and for her selfless concern for others’. McKenzie and her guide dog, Karen, were a familiar sight on campus during the early 1950s.

After graduating from Bard, McKenzie attended New York University as a member of the inaugural class of the School for Social Work (now the Silver School of Social Work). McKenzie became a senior caseworker at the Jewish Guild for the Blind. In 1967, she was named the Woman of the Year by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Delta Alpha Zeta chapter. Her legacy lives on at Bard in the eponymous Mckenzie House and in the annual Emerald Rose McKenzie ’52 Scholarship. Established by classmates as part of the 1998 celebration of “Fifty Years of Women at Bard College,” the scholarship is awarded to students who display a strong commitment to humanitarian ideals. (Sources: ttps://www.bard.edu/houses/mckenzie/ and https://www.bard.edu/news/womens-history-month-focus-emerald-rose-mckenzie-52-2021-03-17)

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is available for viewing in the Special Collections Reading Room of the Stevenson Library, Bard College. Some of the material, including photographs, have been digitized and can be viewed upon request.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Copyright status for this collection has not yet been determined. Please see Archivist, Bard College Archives, Stevenson Library, Bard College.

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
Stevenson Library
1 Library Road
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504, United States
CONTACT: