Reflections from the Zeta Tau Alpha incident

March 17, 2025

It seemed like a no-brainer. A sophomore who had graduated from high school in New Baltimore, Michigan, Cecelia Williams played clarinet in the Albion College Band as well as playing on the women’s volleyball, basketball, and softball teams. She was a member of the Women’s Athletic Association and Student Senate. Why wouldn’t any sorority want her?

That question was complicated because Williams is African American, and it was 1967 in America–three years after the passage of the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination in the U.S. based on race, color, sex, or national origin. 

The Zeta Tau Alpha chapter on Albion’s campus did want her. Williams, in fact, became president of its pledge class that year. However, outlawing discrimination is one thing; keeping it from repeatedly rearing its ugly head is another. 

Citing pledging irregularities related to Williams, the national office of Zeta Tau Alpha placed the local chapter on probation after learning it had extended membership to an African American.

The nine months following Williams’ pledging became a trailblazing period in Albion College’s history. Williams’ sorority sisters, the college administration and faculty, as well as its alumni board, rallied behind her. Albion College chose to disassociate itself from the national Zeta organization, bought its property, and the former Zeta Tau Alpha chapter eventually reorganized at Albion under another name.

The incident attracted national media attention, including from the New York Times, particularly because Lynda Bird Johnson (the oldest daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson) was a Zeta. Nearly 60 years after the incident, Williams (now Williams-Roberson) 77, recently reflected on the episode and her time at Albion College.

Io Triumphe!: Why did you choose Albion College?

Williams-Roberson: I grew up as a military (Air Force) brat so I changed schools a lot by the time I graduated from high school. Almost always the schools I attended were predominantly white. At my high school in New Baltimore, Michigan, I got advice from a guidance counselor about choosing a college.  She said, “We are not going to consider any of the black schools, because the worst white school is better than the best black school.” So, we were not considering Howard or Hampton or any of the HBCUs. We looked at Albion and Kalamazoo. I knew I didn’t want to go to a huge school. So, that’s how I ended up at Albion. And I felt welcomed at Albion and felt very comfortable there.

Io Triumphe!: How were you connected with the students who invited you to pledge?

Williams-Roberson: I was a student that had a major in health, physical education, and recreation. I played in the band; I played bridge with the white students in the Eat Shop, bid whist with the black students in the union, and played whatever sport was in season. I made friends in all those areas. I also worked as a waitress in ‘Susie’ so I was known throughout the dorm.

Io Triumphe!: So, you would’ve just been someone who was pretty well known on campus because you were involved in so many things?

Williams-Roberson: I was friends with a lot of people. And what happened was, when I went through rush, I found a lot of my friends in the Zeta House. I really didn’t understand sororities, and I thought it was too expensive for me at that time.  My family had no experience with sororities, so I didn’t understand what I was getting into.  In fact, during my freshman year, my dad was transferred to Turkey, and my parents actually wanted me to transfer to North Carolina Central to be near my aunt and uncle. And so I did a big thing and said, “No, I’m not changing.”  I said to them, “You don’t have to worry about giving me money.”  I was working part-time jobs, and I figured, “I’ve got this covered.” But I didn’t have it covered to pay for all these extra activities.

Io Triumphe!: Did you have any other reservations about pledging?

Williams-Roberson: Not until I found out that they were being asked about Black people by the national group. “Were there Black people going through rush? Are any of them invited back to the next party?” Then I knew that there was going to be trouble during the invitations to the next round of parties.

Io Triumphe!: Once you got this inkling that there may be a problem coming from the national, where did your mind go?

Williams-Roberson: I realized that one of President Lyndon Johnson’s daughters was a member of the sorority, and I figured that they wouldn’t want to cause a big stink about admitting me. I don’t think any of us realized how insistent the opposition from the national organization would be. I certainly didn’t know. If I had known my history, I probably would’ve said, “No, it’s not going to work” because of where the national headquarters was located and the reputation of that area of the country. Zeta’s national headquarters is located in Farmville, Virginia, and Farmville is the county seat of Prince Edward County, Virginia. Do you know about the history of Prince Edward County?  Moton High School of Farmville, Virginia, was one of five cases that had been bundled with four other schools in Brown vs. Board of Education, the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case that ordered states to integrate their public schools.  Rather than integrate, Prince Edward County chose to close its schools. They remained closed for five years. They opened private schools for white kids, but there were no schools for Black kids in Prince Edward County for five years. Part of the problem is that none of us were taught black history, so I was not aware of what had gone on in Prince Edward County, or even of my father’s history as a Tuskegee Airman. 

Io Triumphe!: You didn’t know your father was a Tuskegee Airman?

Williams-Roberson: While we were growing up, he didn’t talk about his experience in World War II. I didn’t connect that he was a Tuskegee Airman until the Lawrence Fishburne movie came out in 1995.  And when I saw the movie and heard him talking about it, I went, “What?” And I asked him, “Were you a Tuskegee Airman? He said, “Yeah.” He really didn’t talk about his military experience until after his tour in Vietnam.

Io Triumphe!: Were you encouraged by the support of the Albion community, the sorority, the president and the alumni?

Williams-Roberson: It felt like support, but it also felt like, just keep things very quiet. Don’t make waves; we’ll support you, but we’re not really pushing racial integration, was the feeling that we got from the college. It felt like we were out there as a group fighting the battle by ourselves. And I’ve always gotten the feeling that the college had a mission, but it was a very quiet mission leading up to what the mission is today about having the college population reflect the country’s makeup.

Io Triumphe!: You felt like the episode was hush-hush?

Williams-Roberson: I came back for my 30th reunion. And I came back with a friend who was a member of the Zetas. And we noticed that the Zeta House was the meeting house for the Black Student Alliance. And so my friend and I went in and just talked to the people. The Black students didn’t realize that they were in the Zeta House. They didn’t know anything about me or about the situation. When we went back for the 50th reunion, we noticed the name had changed again to Welton House.

Io Triumphe!: What happened during the 50th reunion?

Williams-Roberson: There was a group of alumni who’d come back for the 50th reunion and people were doing walks downtown and on different excursions. But there was a group that just stayed in a room and talked with Marsha Green Whitehouse about the things that were going on at the college and changes. So, the question was brought up about what had happened to the Zetas. And I said that they were gone because of me. And another person that was in that group, there were maybe 20 people in the room, said, “Why don’t you just be quiet?” And I said, “Whoa.” I explained that Dr. [Louis] Norris had declared that  Zeta Tau Alpha would not be allowed to exist on campus unless the entire pledge class was allowed to go active. The national told the chapter that I could not go active, so the sorority went local.

Io Triumphe!: What was the biggest lesson you learned from this incident?

Williams-Roberson: The biggest lesson for me was that I should have known my history. And because all of my experience was in situations where I was the only or one of a very few Black folks, I realized that we all have been lied to about black history and how Black people should be regarded. And that means that everybody needs to learn that Black folks’ history didn’t start with slavery. That we’ve got to go back further and realize that Africa was the beginning. That’s what I’ve come away with, but it took me over 70 years to figure that out.

After graduating from Albion College, Williams-Roberson earned a master’s degree from the City University of New York as a member of The Urban Teacher Corps. She also studied at New York University. Williams-Roberson taught more than 30 years in the New York City Public Schools before retiring. She also started the Softball Division of the Harlem Little League and also served on its board of directors. She lives in New York City.