Running head: LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING

Lift Every Voice and Sing:

The Development of Black Student Unions in Higher Education
Haniyyah Bashir
University at Buffalo
ELP 502: Historical Bases of Higher Education
December 2014

LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING

Lift Every Voice and Sing: The Development of Black Student Unions in Higher
Education
Dating back to the early 1900s, African Americans not only struggled with social
inequality but also with receiving educational opportunities. W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T.
Washington were influential in their debates about the role of black students in Higher
Education. While Booker T. argued the practical uses of agricultural education, W.E.B. Du Bois
claimed the importance of critical thinking for black men to reach their full potential leading for
uplifting the race. The racial uplift ideology is one that is still prevalent today in which African
Americans in leadership positions have the responsibility of improving the outlook of the black
identity by making it more positive. Examining the linkage of these ideals, first, I will discuss the
connection between their debates and the purpose of Black Student Unions in higher education.
When African American students were admitted to predominantly white college campus in the
North, there were problems that they faced as minority. These students had to figure out how to
survive in this new environment. There was a development of black student organizations for
political, cultural, and social purposes of survival.
Subsequently, I will argue that the Black Student Union (BSU) functions as a mechanism
to give voice to an under-represented population that was silenced because of oppression for so
long. Politically, black students wanted to speak out on societal issues that were being faced in
their communities. Culturally, black students wanted a department that educated students about
the history of their ancestors. They wanted to improve the institutional structure by including
more African American faculty and staff members, as well as increase black student enrollment.
Socially, they wanted a more inclusive environment that made them feel like an integral part of
their higher education institution.

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Finally, I will support my argument by pointing out some of the similarities and
differences in the purposes of black student organizations when they were first created to how
they are now. Even though San Francisco State was the first campus to have a Black Student, I
will utilize the University at Buffalos Black Student Union as an exemplary tool to track the
changes using the school newsletters, magazines, and events hosted. As the issues on campus
changed so did the membership of the black student organization from uniting members of the
college community who identified being black to more diverse members.
Racial Uplift Ideology: W.E.B Du Bois versus Booker T. Washington
Prior to the 1900s, African Americans struggled with social inequality, as well as,
receiving educational opportunities. W.E.B. Du Bois stressed for African Americans to see the
importance of looking beyond the track system of labor in industrial education and start to
critically think utilizing classical education to uplift the race. As a scholar educated by Fisk
University, Harvard University, University of Berlin, W.E.B. Du Boiss perspective on education
is reflective of his experiences through published literature and activism.
In the Talented Tenth, Du Bois argues that higher education is important for the
improvement of the black race. He supports his argument by pointing out historical figures that
exemplified his ideology such as Purvis and Remond, Sojourner Truth, Alexander Crummel, and
Frederick Douglass. They were the talented leaders of the Negro race that showed that by being
informed about societal happenings that African Americans can overcome their struggle and do
better. Higher education is needed to learn about those important leaders that brought black
people out of those troubled times. Majority of African Americans who attend college aspire to
become leaders of the education systems. Therefore, blacks being educated in the higher

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education pipeline are integral to racial uplift. Only the educated black man will go back to
inform the community of the needed knowledge and make societal changes. W.E.B. Du Bois
states:
How then shall the leaders of a struggling people be trained and the hands of the risen
few strengthened? There can be but one answer: The best and most capable of their youth
must be schooled in the colleges and universities of the land. We will not quarrel as to
just what the University of the Negro should teach or how it should teach it-I willingly
admit that each soul and each race-soul needs its own peculiar curriculum. But this is
true: A university is a human invention will suffice, not even trade and industrial schools.
All men cannot go to college but some men must (Du Bois, 1903)
W.E.B. DuBoiss notion of the Talented Tenth describes the chances of 1 in 10 black men
becoming leaders of the world by expanding their knowledge, writing literature, and being
involved in social change. If the smartest and brightest black men become educated individuals
through the higher education pipeline, they will have the ability to teach the rest of their people
and could create equalities in the nation.
Contrary to Du Boiss beliefs of classical education, Booker T. Washington focused on
industrial education as a way to uplift the black race, which is a representation of his life born
into slavery and educational experiences in Tuskegee. He believed in laying the foundation in the
little things in life and helping the Negro find himself by learning about the secrets of
civilization. In the south, there was racism in the education system and whites did not want
blacks to be educated because then they wouldnt work on the farms as laborers. He was
socialized to think that the place of blacks was in the agriculture industry keeping the structure of

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society the same for the privileged group: white man. He looked at the hard work, discipline, and
racial uplift in doing the handiwork would cause fewer problems against whites. Booker T.
Washington states:
Such work will mean not only an education in agriculture, but an education through
agriculture and education, through natural symbols and practical forms, which will
educate as deeply, as broadly and as truly as any other system which the world has
known. Such changes will bring far larger results than the mere improvement of out
Negroes. They will give us an agricultural class, a class of tenants or small land owners,
trained not away from the soil, but in relation to the soil and in intelligent dependence
upon its resources.
Booker T. Washington believed that industrial education will give blacks the necessities
to become independent with land and businesses. In regards to the racial uplift ideology, he
argued that black people should be excluded and segregated from whites as there was
opportunity for educational advancement in economics and agriculture for blacks. He wanted to
focus more on the fact that there was a place for blacks in education, which granted more
opportunities than in the past, hence, we should settle and be grateful.
Sharing the same end goal of racial uplift, W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington
wanted the societal outlook of blacks to change. However, W.E.B. Du Bois method of uplifting
the race was more influential in the creation of social movements in black supremacy and black
student unions in higher education. He promoted intelligence, broad sympathy, knowledge of
the world that was and is and of the relation of men to it (Du Bois, p.1, 1903). Du Bois wanted
black people to speak up to the masses to refute their place in society and aspire to be better

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than societal expectations by gaining a valuable higher education, which is reflected in the
purpose of black student unions.
Black Campus Movement
During the civil rights era, higher education played a major role in politics. All over the
nation, college students were protesting, participating in sit-ins, demonstrations, and freedom
marches to fight for the rights of blacks. For African American college students, the most
impactful student organization, Black Student Union (BSU), was formed by civil rights activist
James Jimmy P. Garrett and Jerry Varnado in the spring semester of 1966 at San Francisco
State. Students at other colleges and universities were inspired to be involved in helping improve
the treatment of blacks in higher education; hence, they were formed globally. This BSU
focused on gaining power and university resources to advance the Black campus community, and
the nearby Black communities. (Rogers, p. 31, 2009) Black Student Union (BSU) functions as a
mechanism to give voice to an underrepresented population that was silenced because of
oppression for so long.
BSUs were making demands in higher education to make the campus climate more
welcoming and relevant to black student ideals. With the creation of this student organization,
there is the conception of the Black Campus Movement to diversify college and universities.
(Rogers, 2009) The notion of having a black student movement on a majority white campus
began as a bet that was made through Garretts interactions with members of the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Thus, when choosing to attend San Francisco
State, he examined the black student demographics and their campus involvement. There was the
Negro Student Association (NSA), which was a socio-cultural club for all black students. Then,

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there were the fraternities and sororities. Finally, the radical Black Nationalists. Through the
assessment of those groups, Garrett did not identify himself with any of those black student
organizations. With the accompaniment of Varnado and seven other members, Garrett created the
black student union, which was essentially the NSA revamped, but purposefully renamed the
student organization to be more direct. Garrett states:
So there was a national consciousness that was developing and consolidating and the use
of that consciousness distilled into the notion of Black or Blackness or the validity of
Blackness. And the idea was to politicize this growing consciousness into a formation of
a union and the union was because of the connection we thought of the union movement.
That it is not simply an alliance or an association, but a union. It is a coming together of a
broad base of people. So Black and student and union all had meaning that were
connected. Blackness was the new consciousness or the consolidation of a consciousness
that came from Malcolm X and from Martin King in his latter days as personifications.
SNCC people had moved from defining themselves as Negroes to Black. All of these
things were coming into being at that time. (Garrett, 2006)
Redefined by the new name, BSU was created for the purposes of helping and assisting
underrepresented black students on college campuses through unity, positivity, and motivation
during hostile times. In an interview about SFCs BSU, Garrett stated, Everybody on the
campus who identified themselves as a black person, whether they were a student, faculty,
worked in the yards, you were a member of the Black Student Union by definition." (Whiting,
2010) There was no fee for membership; hence, it was open to anyone who identified themselves
as a black member of the community. The goal was to consolidate everyone to work towards
common goals of improved treatment of blacks on campus.

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As the Black Student Union, it was their mission to do community outreach in
impoverished areas and encourage students to enroll in college. High school recruitment to enroll
in college leads to increase in the membership of BSU, but mainly leads to a rise in educated
black individuals, which is to the notion of W.E.B. Du Boiss racial uplift ideology. In the
University of California higher education system, the BSUs coordinated a student-initiated yield
program intended to increase Black representation in higher education. (Johnson, 2008)
Members of BSU would tutor high school students and help with college preparations. Campus
administrators were pressured by BSU to have a more accepting admissions policy to increase
black student enrollment. A federal system of financial aid and a network of local and state
colleges and universities (subsidized by the states) widened economic access for those without
the means to afford college. (Weis & Fine, p.65, 2005) Successfully, the population of black
students on college campuses expanded from 150 students to 900 students by fall of 1968.
(Whiting, 2010; Rogers 2009)
By 1967, there was a BSU at every state college in California. At San Francisco States
BSU, they established a black arts and culture series to be implemented into the framework of
the college in the institution. There were the establishment of BSU apparel and community social
events, but an integral part of their existence was the development of Black Studies programs to
educate the black students that were integrated into the higher education pipeline. They
demanded an establishment of Black Studies program within the regular colleges. There were
appointed faculty members to the program and stressed that black students should be given
academic credit for field work in the black community. (Astin, A. W., Astin, H. S., Bayer, A. E.,
& Bisconti, A. S., 1997) BSU originated at San Francisco State was only the beginning to the
black student empowerment and highlighting the importance of black students ideals.

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A Glance at the University at Buffalos Black Student Union
The University at Buffalos Black Student Union was founded in 1967 and shortly
recognized by the Student Association in 1968. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find information
about the delay and/or controversy in SA recognition. The Black Student Union is recognized as
the first club of color on campus created to help with the struggles that black students faced on
college campus across the nation and the globe. (BSU Website) In the BSUs constitution, the
layout of the structure of the Black Student Union at UB is disclosed showing the purpose,
membership requirements, and meeting formats. (BSU Constitution, 2006) It was UBs BSUs
mission to:

Attack problems of black culture stemming from American society.

Increase admission of blacks into the University at Buffalo.
Preserve and perpetuate black culture, dignity, and self-awareness.
Emphasize the existence and role of blacks at the University at Buffalo
Keep members informed on issues that affect blacks.
Help increase self-knowledge and understanding.
Educate members and non-members on issues that have previously and presently affected the
black community. (Unity, 1987)
SUNY University at Buffalos Black Student Union exemplifies the struggles and

achievements of black students across the United States. UBs BSUs were extremely vocal in
documenting their demands and criticisms in literary magazines such as Unity and The Peoples
Voice to deal with their most pertinent issue of institutionalized racism. Each newsletter,
magazine, or literature published by the Black Student Union was a discussion of racial uplift,
support, motivation, campus, community, and societal issues, as well as, achievement among
black individuals. There was also poetry or songs that were written as an outlet that may inspire

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and empower the readers. Although the problems that were discussed on campus were
controversial, it was no secret and wholeheartedly supported by the Student Association.
Through explicit expression, black students discussed the issues in the article about a 10
Point Program and Platform of the Black Student demanding equality. Similar to the way trials
and tribulations of blacks were at San Francisco State, there was no establishment of black
studies programs that taught students about their history. Black faculty and staff members were
getting fired due to economic hardships of the institution, however, were replaced by white
faculty and staff members. Parallels to the society of the times, professors were extremely racist.
In additions, there were problems with campus police brutality toward black members of the
college community. (Umoja, 1969)
University at Buffalos Black Student Union allowed the black students in the community
to be heard through the articles that were published in the newsletters. This issue of the Unity
Magazine discusses BSUs struggle to survive as a literary magazine and soliciting support of the
readers to keep their voice heard. Looking back into the Umoja newspaper, there is a letter to the
Pig Department that directly expressed the students frustrations focusing on the inequalities in
regards to Joyce Costner and holding the department responsible for their racism. There were
violent threats posed as the students felt they had to go to those extremes. Black students had the
ability to blatantly discuss prevalent racial issues on their college campus that I would argue is
not as openly expressed today.

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The BSU focused on the development of the education of blacks on campus. In 1968, the
Black studies department was lacking participation from black students due to the meetings
being unorganized. Since it is for the black students, many felt it is their responsibility to make
changes and speak on the problems of the program to increase enroll of those courses, instead, of
choosing not to take advantage of the educational opportunity. (Unity, 1973) In the article, Fact
or Fiction? Black Studies, the representative for the Black Studies committee and secretary
stated:
Right now we have two alternatives. One, we can accept the present program, take the
better of the courses which will be offered, and beginning September 69, start to reshape
the Program to suit our wants and needs so that by September 70, we can have a together
Black Studies Department. Or we can scrap this Program and build a whole new one.
That is the question. REFLECT. (Jackson, B. & Harley, M., 1969)
Most closely with related to the racial uplift ideology, Black Student made it their
responsibility to education themselves and members of the community. The leaders of BSU can
be considered the Talented Tenth of society that is striving for the uplift of their people. They
make a statement in regards to education and their responsibility:
We, of the Black Student Union, are about dealing with education. We are about
educating ourselves, as people in order to form a firm basis for a better organized and
more progressive community. We are about educating ourselves in our own history to
main and develop our minds in the course of self-awareness and self-confidence.
(Collective Spirit, 1973)

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Black Students were not just talking about their issues, responsibilities, and not doing
anything about it. They made initiatives in creating change for the better of blacks on campus
through the Two Edged Sword program. The Two Edged Sword is a program which outlines the
responsibilities of the Black Student Union to the campus and community and the program for
the immediate implementation of the Two Edged Sword. The list includes:
1.
2.

Orientation program for all incoming black students

Development of a continuing program-films, speakers, etc. relevant to black

3.
4.

people.
Establishments of political education seminars, possibly for credit.
Development of effective BSU newsletter and the establishment of closer ties

5.

with BSUs in the region, state, and country.

A) Investigation of conditions of non-white university employees, particularly

6.

cafeteria and maintenance workers.

B) Investigation of university admissions policy
In cooperation with an existing community institution, develop a tutorial program

or some meaningful program which will enable members of the BSU to work with Black
youth on a regular basis. (Umoja, 1969)
It is unclear how effective, if executed, the programs were at the time. The focal point is
that they experienced hardships, facilitated dialogue, and attempted to implement change,
primarily through their BSU magazines and newsletter. In 2005, BSU implemented a magazine
called N.O.I.R.E. (New Outlet in Revolutionary Expressions). The purpose of the magazine was
to allow students of color to express themselves politically and socially and to encourage
students to become more involved in the Buffalo Community. In the magazine, there was an
article that talked about social activist Assata Shakurs perspective on educating blacks to be
heard:

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Like most poor oppressed people in the US, I do not have a voice. Black people, poor
people in the US have no real freedom of speech, no real freedom of expression and very
little freedom of the press. The black press and the progressive media has historically
played an essential role in the struggle for social justiceWe need to create media outlets
that help to educate our people and our children, and not annihilate their minds. People
need to be educated as to what is going on and to understand the connection between the
news media and the instruments of repression in Amerika. All I have is my voice, my
spirit, and the will to tell the truththose of you in black media, those of you in the
progressive media, those of you who believe in truth freedomto let people know what
is happening. We have no voice, so you must be the voice or the voiceless (Assata
Shakur)
The Black Student Union has been the voice for the voiceless for centuries from
inception to now. (NOIRE, 2005) They are focusing on political, cultural, academic, and social
issues that affect the black community of Buffalo. However, they are more inclusive in
membership which is reflected in the edited mission of the student organization. Their new
mission is to increase understanding between different cultures within the black community.
(BSU Constitution) The N.O.I.R.E. magazine was a way to unite students with a common
interest regardless of their ethnical, cultural, and/or racial background. Now, instead of using
magazines, the Black Student is using social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr to
keep the community updated on issues and events.
BSU invited members of the UB community was invited to participate in Black
Solidarity Day. Black Solidarity Day is held on the first Monday in November and this year it
landed on the 3rd. This holiday supports black economic power and unity among the black

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community. BSU asked students to wear all black in solidarity. The Black Student Unions day of
activities in the Student Union flag room included a guest speaker from the African American
studies department, unity rally, bracelet and pillow making, and sharing of food. Students
marched around campus shouting empowering phrases such as, Im Black and Im Proud,
Black is beautiful, and Black power. It was a form of black empowerment and instilled the
ideals of racial uplift.
The creation of BSU during the Black Campus Movement was influential in the series of
events today. Students are educated to know that change can happen by fighting for social
equality. In most recent news, there was a peaceful protest near the police station in Buffalo with
members of BSU and community members in regards to no indictment of the white Officer
Darren Wilson who shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson. Students feel there
is still racism in todays society and wanted their voices to be heard. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
president Tony Brown stated at the protest, Were not doing this as a trendwe are the next
leaders of the world, we need to show we can come together. (Schwaab, 2014) Even though this
specific case of police brutality happened in Ferguson, students understand the impact that one
group of students can make by taking a stand, with the hopes that it will inspire others to take a
stand to end the killings of innocent African Americans. The fact that Mike Brown was a high
school student that could have potentially been a part of the higher education pipeline is
problematic that it is decreasing the enrollment of blacks in college, which is counterproductive
of the mission of BSUs.
Conclusion

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In higher education, black people werent given access until around the 1900s. W.E.B Du
Bois and Booker T. Washington are known for encourage black people to be educated. They may
have argued different approaches, industrial education vs classical education, but the ideology of
racial uplift was the key. Du Bois and Washington are the precursor to social movements in black
supremacy and black campus movements. W.E.B. discusses speaking to the masses of the
community with a selected few individuals to lead the way. The creation of Black Student
Unions reflected the push for leadership in the black community. BSU focuses on speaking to the
masses by creating newsletters and protesting on their campus. They gave black students a voice
that they did not have before.
Originated on San Francisco State Colleges campus in the spring semester of 1966,
BSUs on a college campus confronted racial injustices and inequalities. They were the black
organization that addressed political and civil rights issues such as racial discrimination,
economic exploitation, political disfranchisement, and lack of access to educational and health
resources on campus and in the community. (McClelland, 2001) Historically, the purpose of
BSUs has changed from solely being a place of black solidarity to an inclusive space for all
students to be educated, stand up for their rights, and celebrate black culture and in some
instances, BSU is just a social organization. The evolution of BSU has led to the election of a
white president and vice president for BSU at Fitchburg State University. The mission is to
encourage diversity, understand what black culture is, African American culture, and how it is
that we can be together now. (Reis, 2013) Having white people as allies were impactful during
the civil right movements, but they werent leading the marches. It defeats the early purposes of
BSU because it taught the ideals of uniting and uplifting self.

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Given the current levels of inequality in higher education and the contributions of BSUs
to Black student recruitment and retention, academic institutions have a vested interest in the
development and maintenance of the Black Student Union on their campus. Ultimately, BSU
contributes to academic success, provides a safe space on campus for black students to express
themselves and their cultural/ethnic identity, provide opportunities to interact socially with other
students on campus, and an opportunity to display leadership skills. (Johnson, 2011) As the
political issues are not as pertinent on college campuses, times have changed and the union is a
reflection of the changes. The Black Student Union has begun to include non-minority races. In
doing so, the goal of this union has changed, from solidarity to inclusion and expressing Black
culture and values to everyone, not just those who share in the heritage. BSU play a significant
role in the recruitment and retention of Black students giving them an opportunity to make a
difference in the higher education pipeline.

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