This fall marks 125 years since Calvin Waller 1905 Agr first sat for classes at the Pennsylvania State College, becoming the first African American student enrolled at Penn State. At some point, it occurred to Darryl Daisey that this anniversary coincided with the upcoming Black Alumni Reunion; if he wasn’t the only person to make the connection, he was almost certainly the first.

Simply put, no one knows more about the history of Black students, faculty, and staff than Daisey ’83 Bus, the university’s unofficial chronicler of the subject. It’s not his profession—Daisey works in the Philadelphia area as a sourcing manager for Constellation Energy—but it’s very much his passion. “It’s in my sweet spot,” he says. “I’ve always been a history buff, I love Black history, and I love Penn State.”

The tangible product of those interests can be found at blackhistory.psu.edu, where since 2008 Daisey has published and maintained the African American Chronicles: Black History at Penn State. Working with the university’s Office of Educational Equity, WPSU, and the Alumni Association, and pulling from dozens of sources including University Archives, the Daily Collegian archives, and the pages of the Penn Stater, Daisey has compiled a robust history of Black life at the university. The site’s chronology begins with the founding of the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania in 1855—a decade before the 13th Amendment abolished slavery—and continues with hundreds of detailed entries about the people, organizations, and events that have defined the journey of Black students, faculty, staff, and alumni in the decades since.

With the anniversary of Waller’s 1899 enrollment in mind, Daisey updated Chronicles through 2024 and, with help from Educational Equity, recently published a revised third edition; attendees at the Black Alumni Reunion in October will receive a printed copy. (Anyone can download it from the website.) Since the beginning, his primary goal with the project has been to tell the stories of Black Penn Staters; the passing in recent years of some of those who helped him launch the effort, particularly Terrell Jones ’74 MEd, ’85 DEd Edu and Charles Blockson ’56 H&HD, has reinforced his drive to share those stories as widely as possible, particularly with students and young alumni. “That’s my main thing, to share some of the challenges they went through, and also the accomplishments.” He’s open to passing the torch, but until that time comes, he says, “I’ll continue to do it until I can’t.”

Ryan Jones ’95 Com  | Editor
ryanjones@psu.edu  | @RJPennStater