Department of African and African American studies records
Scope and Content
The collection contains administrative materials regarding the founding and activities of the Department of African and African American Studies at the University of Minnesota. Materials include faculty files, meeting minutes and agendas, newsletters, handbooks, correspondence, and memos.
Dates
- Creation: 1950s-2001
Creator
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
Use of Materials
Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Copyright
Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). Requests to publish should be arranged with the University of Minnesota Archives.
Historical Note
On January 14, 1969, members of the Afro-American Action Committee (A.A.A.C.) occupied Morrill Hall, the main administration building on campus, with the following demands:
- That a department of Afro-American Studies be established
- That the University guarantee generous support for a Black students' conference to be held on campus in February
- That a Black community agency be given control over the Martin Luther King scholarship fund
Resulting from the agreement reached between University administration and the A.A.A.C. that ended the 24 hour sit-in was the establishment of the Department of Afro-American Studies in the fall of 1969. Dr. George King was appointed as the first chairman of the department. Over the years, the department name was changed to Afro-American and African Studies and then to African and African American Studies.
Early course offerings included black history, musicology, law and society from a minority point of view, and Swahili. Within the first year, the department had 10 faculty members and enrolled over 250 students. The department expanded its focus to include courses in African history, Arabic, social policy, philosophy, psychology, art, and African American literature and culture, as well as a graduate minor in Africa and the African Diaspora at the Master's and Ph.D. levels.
Extent
5.0 Cubic Feet (5)
Abstract
The collection contains administrative materials regarding the founding and activities of the Department of African and African American Studies at the University of Minnesota.
Source of acquisition
Collection transferred to University Archives by the Department of African and African American Studies in July 2008.
Subject
- Wright, John S. (John Samuel), 1946- (Person)
- Title
- Department of African and African American Studies Records, 1950s-2001
- Author
- Karen Spilman
- Date
- August 2008
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Collecting Area Details
Contact The University Archives Collecting Area
