Untold Stories
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The Untold Stories feature series was initiated in 2018 at the suggestion of Acting Co-President Mike Edmonds, who noted that institutions can only grow in inclusion and diversity if they acknowledge the hard truths of racism and discrimination in their past and present.
Dr. Pamela Shipp ’69 grew up around activists. Her large family, with her politically engaged mother and more radical father, shaped her early years in East St. Louis, Illinois, and Denver, where she sought explorations of her own identity and place in the world from an early age. These explorations and Shipp’s relentless curiosity have led her to a career as a renowned psychologist, educator, and leadership consultant. Her time at Colorado College began reluctantly and cautiously — she did not wish to expose herself to the potential dangers and racism found in Colorado Springs in the early 1960s, when it had a “horrible reputation” for people of color.
The project was originally referred to as the “People’s History at CC,” in reference to Howard Zinn’s book “A People’s History of the United States,” which revealed untold stories of U.S. history and struggle from the perspective of common people of all backgrounds The CC project was renamed “Untold Stories” to more simply communicate its intentions to broad audiences.
Gradually, not without struggle and great pain, Shipp found her space and herself at Colorado College, graduating in 1969 with her B.A. in Political Science. Her experience of being one of three Black women at the college during her four years at CC was profoundly difficult and rewarding — allowing her to engage with the Civil Rights Movement and struggle for equity on her own terms. Following graduation and some time spent teaching in Colorado Springs School District 11, Shipp moved to Washington, D.C. for her master’s degree from George Washington University before returning to Colorado for her Ph.D. in counseling psychology at the University of Denver. Returning to Colorado Springs was an unexpected, but ultimately incredibly rewarding, endeavor.
PHOTO BY JENNIFER COOMBES
Explore more Untold Stories at: coloradocollege.edu/untoldstories
Community engagement and building bridges has always been part of Shipp’s life, and returning to Colorado Springs allowed her to set up her own psychology practice, serve on numerous nonprofit boards and local leadership organizations, and work at the Colorado College Counseling Center. Listen to an interview with Pam Shipp at: https://2cc.co/pamshipp
“So, even though I had systems telling me I was not OK, I knew I was, and I really understood because of the struggle for emancipation of Black folks, I understood the duality in the two halves, I understood.” — PAM SHIPP ’69
52 | COLORADO COLLEGE BULLETIN | SUMMER 2020
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By telling the stories of marginalized persons who have studied, taught, and worked at Colorado College, we learn that yes, we’ve made gains, but we also have much more work to do. Quite often, we learn of remarkable resilience.
By hearing these voices and reading these words, we honor these lived experiences, and better understand who we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going in our journey toward antiracism, inclusion, and equity.
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Pamela Shipp
“We need to know the stories of people who came, suffered, and grew,” Edmonds said.
In Summer 2018, two interns, recent graduate Eviva Kahne ’18 and student Chaline Lobti ’19, were supported in archive research methods by Assistant Professor Amy Kohout, Professor Carol Neel, and Associate Professor Jane Murphy of the CC History Department. The interns researched and pursued the first four stories, and explored potential elements that could be included in web pages devoted to the project as it unfolds. The interns worked with staff in the Office of Communications and the Butler Center. A committee of alumni, faculty, and staff select the next CC people to feature, and readers can share stories for consideration using the link below on the main Untold Stories page.
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