Guide to the University of California, Irvine, Black Student Union Records
AS.098
Processed by Audrey Pearson and Joanna Lamb; machine-readable finding aid created by Joanna Lamb
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California, 92623-9557
949-824-3947
spcoll@uci.edu
© 2010
Descriptive Summary
Title: University of California, Irvine, Black Student Union records
Collection Number: AS-098
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Irvine, California 92623-9557
Languages: The collection is in English.
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear feet
(2 boxes)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1997-2003
Date (inclusive): 1971-2006
Abstract: This collection comprises records of the Black Student Union at UC Irvine from 1971 until 2006. Included are materials that
represent the organization's reaction to changes in the Equal Opportunities Program (EOP) and address general problems of
race relations on campus in the early 1970s. Other materials document student participation in the organization, activities,
and events in subsequent decades.
Creator:
University of California, Irvine. African American Student Union.
Creator:
University of California, Irvine. Afrikan Student Union.
Creator:
University of California, Irvine. Black Student Union.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights and copyright reside with the University of California. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please
contact the University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
Black Student Union Records, University of California, Irvine. AS-098. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries,
Irvine, California.
Acquisition Information
Materials relating to the Black Student Union's reaction to the Equal Opportunities Program were a gift of Bolerium Books,
2005. Other materials were acquired periodically from campus sources.
Processing History
Processed by Audrey Pearson, 2008. Additions and finding aid updates made by Joanna Lamb, 2009.
Historical Background
The Black Student Union (BSU) was established in 1971 at UC Irvine in response to the reorganization of the Equal Opportunities
Program and to address affirmative action and race relation issues. The 2009-2010 mission of BSU is to create and promote
a supportive and inclusive community that provides educational, cultural, and social programming that inspires the black student
community through activism and outreach. The organization serves as the umbrella for all black organizations on campus with
the ultimate goal to provide a welcoming and united space for the community while also stimulating an awareness of political,
economic, and social forces affecting the people of the African Diaspora.
Since the group's inception, the BSU has chosen to change names as the values and goals of the organization evolved. The organization
was known as the African American Student Union from 1990 to 1993. In 1993 it changed its name to the Afrikan Student Union.
In 2009 the group voted to change the name back to the Black Student Union in an effort to reconnect with the history of political
activism during the Black Campus movement in the mid 1960s and the mid 1970s.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises records of the Black Student Union at UC Irvine from 1971 until 2006. Included are materials that
represent the organization's reaction to a changes in the Equal Opportunities Program (EOP) and address general problems of
race relations on campus in the early 1970s. Other materials document student participation in the organization, activities,
and events in subsequent decades. In particular, this collection highlights the Black Baccalaureate program, the Martin Luther
King symposium, and numerous student performances and gatherings in campus-wide events, including the Rainbow Festival.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is arranged in 4 series: 1. Administrative records, 1971-2006; 2. Publications, 1972-2002; 3. Reports, 1971;
4. Scrapbooks, 1996-2002
Related Collections
Related materials about the Black Student Union can be found in the following collection:
- Cross Cultural Center Records, University of California, Irvine. AS-052. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries,
Irvine, California.
Separation Note
The following publications were removed from this collection and cataloged separately in Special Collections and Archives:
Umoja. Irvine, Calif: Afrikan Student Union, University of California, Irvine, 1990-2003.
Series 1
Administrative records,
Bulk, 1997-2006
1971 and 1997-2006
Summary
The majority of this series contains administrative records that document the activities and membership of the Afrikan Student
Union between 2001 and 2006. This series also includes program files from the annual Black Baccalaureate event and the 1971
minutes of the Interim Black Council recommending for the establishment of a permanent Black Council to address affirmative
action issues on the UC Irvine campus.
Arrangement
This series is arranged in chronological order.
Box 1, Folder 1
Interim Black Council minutes,
1971 June-July
Box 1, Folder 2-4
Black Bacalaureate program files,
1997-2002
Summary
Includes correspondence, participation lists, menus, budgets, invoices, and planning records.
Box 1, Folder 5
Afrikan Student Union agendas, calendars, and other materials,
2001-2002
Box 1, Folder 6-8
Afrikan Student Union board minutes, membership lists, and other materials,
2005-2006
Series 2
Publications,
1972-2002
Summary
This series comprises printed materials produced by the Black Student Union that document events, activities and accomplishments
of the student group including the 1982 and 1984 Black Awards Banquet, Black History Month events, the Caribbean Spectacular,
and the Martin Luther King Symposium.
Collection Arrangement
This series is arranged in alphabetical order.
Box 1, Folder 9
Fliers, invitations, and event programs,
1972-1991
Series 3
Reports,
1971
Summary
This series includes reports created and disseminated to the UC Irvine black family, educators, and administrators in 1971.
The documents were created to describe the black students assessment of newly imposed Equal Opportunity Program (EOP) changes
and to express their suggestions to improve the EOP to benefit minority students on campus.
Arrangement
This series is arranged in alphabetical order.
Box 1, Folder 11
An Open Letter to the Black Family of UC Irvine,
1971 July 19
Box 1, Folder 12
Recommendations by Black Students as the Follow-up to the Chancellor's Conference,
1971 June 10
Box 1, Folder 13
A Visit to the University of California at Irvine: a Report,
1971
Series 4
Photographs,
1996-2002
Physical Description note: Includes approximately 515 color photographic prints.
Summary
This series contains approximately 515 color photographs that document student participation in Black Student Union activities
and events including dinners, sleepovers, Rainbow Festival performances, and the Martin Luther King Symposium.
Arrangement
This series is arranged in chronological order.
Processing note
All photographs have been removed from their original scrapbooks and have been re-housed for preservation purposes.
Box 1, Folder 14-18
Scrapbook photographs,
1996-1997
Box 1, Folder 19-20
Scrapbook photographs,
1997-1998
Box-folder 1 : 21, Box-Folder 2 : 1-4
Student life and engagement scrapbook photographs,
1999-2000
Box 2, Folder 5
Scrapbook photographs,
2002
