“This is the room that all the African American students would have their parties (in),” began Sheryll D. Cashin, second annual Walter R. Murray Jr. Commemorative lecture series speaker.

In the lecture held in Wyatt Center, Cashin shared her experience as a black undergraduate during the ‘80s and her most recent works “The Agitator’s Daughter: A Memoir of Four Generations of One Extraordinary Family” and “The Failures of Integration: How Race and Class are Undermining the American Dream.”

Cashin, a graduate of the School of Engineering and member of the Board of Trust, noted the impact that The Commons has had on the Vanderbilt campus in creating a multiracial community.

“While I was here, the black student community was still small,” Cashin said. “The beauty of the Walter Murray Jr. lecture series and The Commons (is its ability to foster) a mosaic of cultural experience, kind of like an Obama coalition.”

“We didn’t have a Commons but we had people of good will,” she said. “It’s my hope that the next generation will choose to build alliances to not only learn from each other but to tackle the major obstacles (their) time.”

Present in the audience was Donna Murray, wife of the late Murray Jr. While in Nashville, she had the chance to stay at Murray House and was received by students and faculty with a “welcome home” banner.

“To stay in the dorm, I just can’t express how great that feels,” Murray said. “These young people have a no-pressure opportunity to interact with Sharon Fields (Head of House) or their RAs.”

The residents of Murray House presented Murray with quilts with squares made by individual students and parts of the Community Creed.

“I feel like (I’ll) be back,” said Murray.