Joshua Mitchell and Vernesha Williams made history Friday night when they became the first-ever black couple to be named Homecoming king and queen at Northwestern.
But they said they don’t want their impact to end there.
“We’d like to do firesides on diversity, or go into the community for recruiting, or make a cameo appearance at The Spot,” said Mitchell, a Speech senior.
“I just want to let people know that NU is taking steps to be more diverse,” he said.
“It’s a milestone,” added Williams, a Speech senior. “NU is definitely moving in a positive direction.”
The monarchs’ desire to give back to the community has excited the homecoming committee, said Carla Holtze, the royalty co-chair for the Homecoming committee.
“There’s no precedent for community involvement and activity,” said Holtze, a Speech junior. “But they are such outstanding, well- rounded people that it would be a wonderful, amazing thing for them to begin.”
Mitchell said the support he received from the entire NU community — not just blacks — was a pleasant surprise.
“We both had doubts that not everyone was going to vote for us,” he said. “But it wasn’t even about color. If you’ve been a role model, if you’ve encouraged your friends, then people are going to look beyond race.”
Medill senior Emma Sterrett, Williams’ Delta Sigma Theta sister, said it was important that NU’s student body voted for minority candidates, but that people shouldn’t forget about the individuals.
“They weren’t elected by just the black community — it was a joint effort,” she said. “But this is a celebration of Josh and Vernesha as people.”
Peggy Yu, royalty co-chair of the Homecoming committee, said Mitchell and Williams exemplified the characteristics that the committee was looking for in a king and queen.
“We were looking for people who were unique, showed school spirit and contributed to the campus,” said Yu, a Speech junior.
Both Mitchell and Williams are heavily involved in the community. Mitchell is the social chair and chaplain of Alpha Phi Alpha.
He also is the president of the African American Theatre Ensemble and is a member of the Northwestern Community Ensemble.
Williams, who also is a member of AATE and NCE, is a health aide in the Foster-Walker Complex, a member of One Step Back, a pre-med club, and Nayo, a dance ensemble. She also volunteers as a tutor for young children at McCormick Boys and Girls Club, and works with teenagers in the College-Bound Program.
Being involved in so many different organizations helped the two get elected, Williams said.
“I have friends of every nationality,” she said. “We got a lot of support from my friends and from people who just saw us for who we were.”
But some students said Mitchell and Williams still will have to overcome a part of the NU community that is less open to diversity.
Delta Sigma Theta President Domonique McCord, who has been friends with Mitchell and Williams since before their freshman year, said she was disappointed with the response given to the king and queen when they were announced during halftime of Saturday’s football game.
“I looked around at the crowd, and there weren’t many people standing,” said McCord, a Speech senior. “I’ve never been to a Homecoming game before, but I expected more out of the crowd.”
But Mitchell and Williams said they believe they can overcome such feelings by introducing people on campus to different cultures.
“I never felt Northwestern was lacking diversity, but I definitely felt that the different ethnic groups were separated on campus,” Mitchell said. “We are clearly diverse, but we don’t come together a lot for activities and social events.
“An African-American King and Queen could bring organizations and activities together.”
