Bill and Marvin at VES
Related Episode
In this week’s episode, “Essay B,” Mosi Secret tells the story of the Magnificent Seven, a group of black students who, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, integrated an all-white private boarding school in Virginia. (Read more about the Magnificent Seven in the New York Times Magazine's "The Way to Survive It Was to Make A's.")
Related Episodes

Bill Alexander, left, and Marvin Barnard.
Virginia Episcopal School
The first two students, Bill Alexander and Marvin Barnard — above, as freshman, and below, as seniors — started in the fall of 1967. They quickly became stars at the school and ended up finishing at numbers one and two overall for the 4 years.

Bill, left, and Marvin.
Virginia Episcopal School
Here’s a portion of Bill and Marvin’s applications.