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Running head: NO SUPPORT

No Support for Black Students in the 1960s and 1970s: Co-Curricular Involvements
Derek Smith
University at Buffalo

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Buildings on fire, administration buildings being held hostage, and

protest all around campus mark an undoubtedly eventful time during the
campus unrest periods of the 1960s and 1970s. With the fairly new
integration of black students at some colleges and universities it can be
argued that black students were provided with adequate and fair treatment
amongst the resources offered and the way they were treated in co-curricular
involvements. On the contrary, I argue that colleges and universities did not
create an environment for Black students to get involved and feel connected
to the campus community through co-curricular activities in a time of
student unrest. Providing the holistic student experience is crucial on every
campus environment in order to develop the student into a scholar and one
of good character. By doing so, many experiences, resources, and programs
are created to foster student development and growth within a university.
Taking a look at the various colleges and universities during the 60s and 70s,
I will explore and analyze how Black students were treated in a time of
student unrest in a period of great inequality for minorities at colleges and
universities during the late 1960s and 1970s. I will first analyze the
background of campus unrest, look into what organizations were created,
how administration and the nation responded to this populations needs, and
how non-black students and black student made the integration into a
collegiate society through co-curricular involvements and campus activities.
Subsequently, I will conclude by taking a deeper look into how the American

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people reacted toward the development and assimilation of black students

integrating into campus activities.

Background
Campus unrest has been a prevalent issue since the early nineteenth
century with students who protested against wartime activity and invasion.
Also present during this time period was the student activism regarding civil
rights and the black student movement across campuses and universities.
With African Americans coming to America as early as 1619 to be slaves,
oppression was nothing new. Race, color, and culture have been an
important part of the background of African Americans to date (Presidents
Commission, 1970). As the years have progressed, many black students
have started to recognize the importance of social justice amongst the black
community and fighting for equity and parity. Many demands started being
asked upon by students at universities, such as the University at Buffalo,
where students demanded that the black population be equipped with a
black studies program, tenure information regarding faculty be revamped,
housing situations for blacks be taken care of, and issues regarding
affirmative action be addressed. In a letter to President Ketter, University at
Buffalos President, students demanded that black studies be incorporated
into the campus community(Letter to President Ketter, 1972). In terms of the
faculty at the University at Buffalo, black students on the campus wanted to
see more minorities represented. The letter exposed a lack of trust on the

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faculty to create a fair process for the hiring of minority faculty that led black
students to demand a sub committee if the main committee itself could not
consider giving tenure to black professors. Amongst other demands to
President Ketter, were regular dialogue meetings with minority students and
faculty that cover issues pertaining to equal opportunities on the campus.
Issues in the dormitories at the University at Buffalo were another problem
for black students, where they did not feel comfortable or safe given the
racial tension between white and black students. Black students have asked
the university to form a committee around this problem so that blacks and
other minorities are able to live in conditions suitable to their academic
learning. In concluding with the letter to the President, black students asked
that a five dollar fee be charged to all students for campus related activities
(Letter to President Ketter, 1972). Many black students felt that being
involved on campus was an essential part of gaining leadership and giving
them a sense of hope in terms of being looked upon and in charge. Campus
involvement and activities was an important aspect because it is a strong
socializing and integrating opportunity that allows black students to
integrate with other white students in a different capacity other than
academically or class related (Little, 2002). Demands to university
administration were common practice during the unrest period on many
campuses and some felt the obligation to meet these demands to negate the
negative tension and backlash of riots and protest that would occur if such
demands were not met. The polarized feeling that many black students felt

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that they were being used as just a number is seen through many
conversations with black students. As one black student expresses I am not
here to be some white persons black experience. I am here to obtain a skill
the black community needs. Many black students felt as they were being
the token black admitted to colleges and universities ( Montgomery,
1969 ).
Due to the lack of social justice and the inequality-taking place
amongst the nation against black civilians, campus unrest can be seen
through a different lens, campus unrest affecting whites and campus unrest
affecting blacks (Presidents Commission, 1970). To many, black student
campus unrest was more focused on social mobility and race uplift. Racial
uplift was a profound attempt to help the black race in terms of getting out
of poverty, having members of the black community be successful, and
supporting members of the black community succeed overall. Black citizens
were oppressed and denied opportunities in the labor, housing, and
economic realm (Belk, 2013). In order to combat these oppressive situations,
blacks needed to help blacks in gaining opportunity in society.
Many black students on predominately white institutions also known as
PWIs, sought after a reformation of creating leaders within the minority
population to overcome such injustices while the white revolutionaries
sought out radical destruction (Presidents Commission, 1970). White
students were amongst the many privileged individuals and were not as
cognizant of their actions in terms of affecting their race and the actions that

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their behavior had on a larger scale because there was no need to. Black
students felt that their campus unrest was on a more national level given
that segregation and discrimination were always a prevalent theme. At a
national level, a few Presidents at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
came together to discuss the sentiments and needs of black students who
attended their colleges with the President of the United States. This form of
assistance by these leaders, brought to the limelight, many of the issues that
students faced and the frustration that blacks had endured. Students from
the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University demonstrated
for equal opportunities at a local lunch counter that would serve whites and
negros separately. A decade after the campus unrest in the 60s, black
activism continued to be a major factor sweeping the nation (Cohen,1996).
Among other facets taking place at universities, at one, there was a socalled music war where black students fought with the white students on the
type of music to be played during noontime activities. White students would
blast rock and country music while the black students would blast soul music
in comparison. Each group of students would compete to drown out the
music of their counterpart. University workers had the task of trying to
appeal to both parties by meeting at a common ground that would allow
both segregated groups to be happy (Johnson, 1972). University
Administrators did not take action to correct the larger issue at hand but
rather mediated the situation. Due to the fact that new black students were
being integrated in the campus environment and the lack of federal funds

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that would be given to colleges and universities if they did not integrate,
campus officials had no other option than to try and please both white and
black students.

In other co-curricular involvements, such as cheerleading

at Kent State University in Ohio, black students were excluded from

participating in the cheer squad, which then forced them to create their own
squad. With so much racial tension and controversy, many Board of Regents
did not know what was going on. Although there was a shift in the make up
of college campuses with the integration of black students, campuses did not
take the initiative to provide existing white students with adequate
knowledge about racial identity given that they had not been previously
exposed to black students (Johnson, 1972).
Research suggest that living on campus is suppose to help with the
holistic student experience on campus. Thus living on campus provided
blacks with various opportunities to feel more connected to the college
campus in theory. Because of the foreign atmosphere and mistreatment that
black students faced at college campuses, they did not feel as though the
environment and space provided for them was adequate and thus tried to
create their own living quarters and afro-centric dormitories that would give
them a sense of belonging. The director of housing at the University at
Michigan was in full support mentioning that this would serve as another live
and learning opportunity for students such as those that are already
provided.

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Providing co curricular opportunities for students of all color was a

challenge during this time period where racial segregation oppressed many
and thus provided an advantage to those who were privileged. Many black
students wanted the opportunity to get involved but were very strategic in
doing so. Although allowed to participate in student government, many black
students were considered to have their own motive behind their reason for
running in leadership positions. One black student president decided to take
the money that was suppose to support campus events and activities and
decided to help minority communities. The money was used in a way to uplift
the minority community by providing the basic social necessities that did not
directly affect the majority of students. Once again, the majority of white
students saw this as a threat and not part of their agenda and voted to put a
stop to all the funds.
Administrators at Purdue University were quoted saying that they
knowingly are unaware of the what the blacks need and how they should be
better providers of those types of things. To lessen this gap, many
campuses have decided to increase the student enrollment rate of black
students by even more to be as equal in terms of numbers to those of white
students (Johnson, 1972). It is presented as though, administrators at some
campuses are in support of more black students but the real intention was to
lessen the gap and not provided equality amongst all types of students.

Administration Efforts

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There was a lot of campus unrest taking place during the late 1960s
and 70s and the administrations response to these violent acts, protest,
segregation and discriminatory acts are something to consider.
Administrators and top officials are caught in the middle trying to defend
what I term their races viewpoint but then they must also need to seem
sympathetic to black students. The response that was frequent amongst
many administrators was on the lines of how the university does not
condone any of the actions and mistreatment endured by blacks and will
further investigate (special to the NY times, 1972). In 1968 at the University
of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 94 students participated in a social justice movement
for equality. The black students demanded that an African American program
be created with the introduction of new cultural courses on black history as
well as provide funding for a black speaker series. The university
administration outright ignored these request and thus students created a
black student union to meet these needs on this campus. When students
stormed into the University Presidents office to discuss this matter, he did
not acknowledge the students and asked them to leave because they did not
have an appointment to see him (Kersten, 2009).

National Dismay
With the publication of the presidents commission report on campus
unrest, many blacks thought President Nixon failed to address the real
concern that faced the nation which was not just campus unrest and radical

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protesting but the issue of black students and racial hatred toward them
(campus unrest, 1970).
On a larger scale, the events that took place at Cornell University was
intended to bring to light to a much larger issue of how students were being
mistreated, and the demands of black students to create an Afro Ethnic
program seemed like the university was meeting student demands out of
good will and because it was right decision. It can be argued that the
university created this program to save face after national attention to the
demonstration in their student union (Montgomery, 1969). Many campuses
did not want the national media to grab ahold of the injustice taking place on
their campuses so they tried to cover as much of the problem without
addressing the issue at hand.

Black Greek System

Despite the racial tension-taking place at colleges and universities
during this time, blacks developed their own form of Greek life. Without
dismay, there again was tension between black students and white
fraternities. At Colgate University, the Sigma Nu Fraternity Inc. chapter
allegedly fired blank gunshots at two black students walking by their house.
The universities response to this action seemed to support those black
students in the time of the event but the white student who was arrested and
taken into custody got off mildly because there was not enough evidence to
prove the case and take it to a grand jury as the black students would have

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liked (Special to the times, 1968). In an attempt to provide safety for blacks
nearby, a group of black students stormed into the Sigma Nu Fraternity
house to demonstrate and retrieve all the weapons that they had. In addition
to pressing charges against the white student, the way in which black
students were shown a sense of compassion and loyalty was by the
university removing the Sigma Nu Charter until further investigation, not
allowing the chapter to participate in national events (Special to the times,
1968). The viewpoint of white and blacks in fraternities is something to note,
given that it was seen both populations formed or joined organizations for a
commonality. Research suggest that black fraternity men were more
conscious regarding societal issues, more satisfied with campus faculty, and
more involved on campus than other white fraternity men and white nonfraternity men (Fox, 1987). Dating back to the early 1900s there was
discrimination amongst blacks themselves when it came to membership of
fraternity organizations. Some fraternities such as the Deltas and the Alphas
would only allow other blacks into their fraternal organization if they were
wealthy and very light skinned. This goes to show how much of an impact
the idealized white race had amongst black students themselves, when they
were denying their own race an opportunity because of the negative stigma
that was associated with being darker skinned (Little, 2002).

Blacks in Sports

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In 1973 when black students at Harvard University first arrived among

a predominately white institution, they had to choose between the solidarity
of sticking together with other black students or abandoning their race and
integrating into campus life (Kilson, 1973). Some students faced struggles
amongst academic achievement because of the tension that was present
and the cognitive dissonance that was taking place. However, although there
were social and racial barriers for blacks it has been the case that at times
blacks have also discriminated against white students. At Harvard in the
1960s, similar to some of the black Greek organizations, some black students
were reported denying white students entrance to the black cheering section
at basketball games and would then call them names and that would often
times lead to violent brawls amongst races. Another avenue for black
students to get involved was through sports. It can be argued that sports
created an opportunity for racial uplift by providing an escape out of poverty
to many blacks. On the contrary, it can be argued that sports have exploited
black students at the university level (Palmer, 1994). At young ages, many
blacks would prioritize sports over the academic curriculum because it was
felt that sports would lead to money, fame, and the glamorous lifestyle that
has been idealized (Monroe, 1977). This connection to the reason why so
many black athletes participated in sports within universities is connected
through the idealization of moving up the social class ladder. The failure of
many college counselors throughout the decade has detrimentally hurt the
success of many black students to succeed academically. Although many

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black students were talented, they did not necessarily have the social
preparation to excel inside the classroom leading them into a dead end.
Counselors had no prior training and information on recognizing the needs of
black athlete students and thus in 1989 created guidelines to help in
recognizing that the athletic dream would be a factor when working with
students. This mindset of thinking shows the disparities between how many
white counselors thought in comparison to black students. Many white
individuals during the late 1960s and 1970s did not need to search of ways
to overcome situations where they needed to lift themselves or their families
and the different mentality (Parmer , 1994).
In Tucson Arizona, college athletes were agitated about the policies
regarding the Mormon Church and they wanted the ability to protest against
playing Brigham Young University, which is a Mormon University. Black
student athletes demanded that their voice be heard and their proposals to
be able to opt out of any game against teams that they did not feel were
inclusive of their race be acknowledged (Black Athletes, 1970). At the
University at Buffalo, there was racial tension that involved an excess
amount of ordinary financial aid for students of color. The campus was fined
and set on probation by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA)
because they broke national regulations. Black students on campus thought
the action to not allow underrepresented student athletes was unjust (Black
Student Present Demands, 1970). Given that oppression, racial segregation,
and institutionalized racism where prevalent, it was difficult for many blacks

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to afford coming to college. Understanding the difficulty by fellow black

students who were athletes and non-athletes gave them a reason to demand
that more black representation be present on university athletic boards.
Student Activities and Clubs
As with recent day, where at the University at Georgia, continued
boycotts have taken place given the progress of racial segregation and
discrimination at the university surrounding campus activities. Recently,
minority students protested the homecoming court because all finalist were
all white females (Minority Students, 1994). Given that Georgia was the
largest confederate territory and controlled much of the slave population in
the 1860s, it is no surprise that racial segregation still existed a century later
(Brazzell, 2011). At the University of Wooster in 1971, there was a
homecoming boycott that took place on October 23rd. Homecoming activities
was an important tradition for the university, current students, and alumni.
Black students in solidarity gathered their African dress attire, beads, and
gowns and participated in a large demonstration at the halftime of the
football game. Students held hands from each end zone and held up signs to
bring attention to the racial disparity that was going on. Alumni at the event
were unhappy and would make comments and references that would point to
blacks always complaining about something. Although this was the first time
that many black students were allowed to attend a university, they
experienced mixed emotions. Some students were extremely excited to
participate in the demonstrations because it was the first time for them to

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stand up and defend their rights as black civilians. Others were terrified
because of the constant backlash of white students and officials. Black
students wanted to participate in these fearless acts but at the same time
were threatened by the idea of getting expelled and arrested. The idea of the
latter was frightful because these black students were representing the first
generation of black students, their families, and signified hope amongst
other blacks looking to rise out of poverty (Summers, 2014). Continued
arguments between newly established clubs and organizations were visible,
as seen with the black student union who experienced many challenges at
campuses throughout the nation.
In 1966 the first Black Student Union was created on the campus of
San Francisco State College in an attempt to bring about African culture,
music, arts, and awareness into the institution (Astin et al., 1971). The black
student union provided black students an opportunity to join in solidarity and
stand up to the oppression that was taking place around the nation. The
purpose of black student unions was to help uplift the black race by
providing blacks with resources that would also allow them to be high
achievers academically. Another purpose was to provide blacks with the tools
to become part of the campus community. During the early years, white
administrators and students criticized the black student unions and
affirmative action because they essentially did not see race as a major factor.
However, administrators made remarks regarding how lazy and unsuccessful
blacks were in getting out of poverty (McClelland, 2001). Again, the

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mentality of the white privilege on black prosperity shows how

administrators could not have been supportive of the black student and
other minority groups on campus. Another example of unfair treatment with
the Black Student Union dealt with removing the organizations charter and
amending their rules to allow all people into their organization, not just black
people (Boycott by Blacks, 1995).
During the 1960s and 70s black college student delineated the
pathway to social reform through their activism on campus (Rogers, 2008).
The Black Campus Movement along with the Black Power Movement gave
way for black students to have a voice on campus and essentially
empowered these students to fight adversity. Given that hundreds of
departments, programing efforts, courses, and studies have been devoted to
blacks, it has been important to keep the Black Student Union because of the
large effort that it has played in society. In conjunction with the Black
Student Union, it has been forgotten that another important role that this
organization had was the development of black studies programs (Rogers,
2008). All across the nation a major theme that students were upset about in
regards to campus life and activities was a lack of representation and
acknowledgement. The introduction of Black Studies at San Francisco State
University led the pathway for colleges and universities to develop such
programs to date. Also important to note regarding the Black Student Union
was that colleges and universities were the site where many of the infamous
activist and leaders were developed. In addition to racially empowering other

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black students, the Black Student Union serves as a beacon for black
students to feel more connected with their identity, to explore issues of
being black, and learn educational material regarding black ancestry to
better represent the larger society as a whole. Still on campuses there are
remnants of old past time racism. At Indiana University, a mural of the Ku
Klux Klan had been placed in a classroom to depict Indianas history. Black
Student Union members protested and asked that the painting be taken
down because of how racially insensitive and negative the images are and
what they represent. The Chancellor of the University did not act on the
request mentioning that it would take her about a month to decide what she
would want to do with the painting (Black Student Union, 2002).
Conclusion
Despite the many racial tensions and campus unrest regarding civil
rights, discrimination, segregation, and oppression, it can be seen that at no
time during the 1960s and 1970s have the administration of various
campuses stepped in largely to support the rights and parities of African
Americans. It has been discussed that some administrators have stepped in
to please both sides but it has not been prevalent that administrators took
action to encourage the underrepresented students as a whole and continue
the fight for equality with them, rather than against them. Seen through
campus sporting events and Greek life, many black students wanted an
avenue to get involved on campus to help with the socialization of being
integrated for the first time. It has been discussed that although there were

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opportunities for black students to get involved on campus like many of the
white students, the racial tension that was present forced black students to
progress and find other various avenues on their own such as the black
student unions. Through black-based organizations, many of the campus
demands such as a black studies curriculum, black tenured faculty, and
dormitories that supported black needs were finally met. It was not an easy
battle not only fighting for a place to fit in on a college campus but also
trying to fit-in in society.

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