University of California, Irvine, Black Student Union records, 1971-2015, bulk 1997-2003

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Summary

Creators:

University of California, Irvine. African American Student Union and University of California, Irvine. Afrikan Student Union

Abstract:

This collection comprises records of the Black Student Union at UC Irvine from 1971 until 2015. 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.

Extent:

0.75 Linear Feet (1 document box and 1 half document box) and 13.25 unprocessed linear feet and 512 Megabytes Unprocessed born digital material

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

University of California, Irvine, Black Student Union records. AS-098. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection comprises records of the Black Student Union at UC Irvine from 1971 until 2015. Included are materials that represent the organization's reaction to a change 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.

Biographical / historical:

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. It is the mission of the Black Student Union to create and promote a supportive and inclusive community, while also intellectually challenging the Black students on the campus of UC Irvine. This organization, established specifically for political reasons, works for a more humane and culturally relevant college experience for UCI students. The Black Student Union strives to provide educational, cultural, and social programs that inspire the community to take action through activism as well as outreach on and off campus. This organization serves as the Umbrella for the other Black organizations on campus, with the ultimate goal of providing a welcoming and united space for the community while also stimulating an awareness of political, economic, and social forces affecting people of the African Diaspora.

Throughout the history of the organization, 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.

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. Transferred from the Black Student Union, June 2014. Transferred by Tionna Tank, 2019. Transferred from the UCI Cross Cultural Center, 2016-2017. Separated from the UCI Cross Cultural Center records (AS-052) and UCI Clubs and Organizations publications (PS-033), 2019-2020.

Processing information:

Processed by Audrey Pearson, 2008.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in 4 series:

Series 1. Administrative records, 1971-2006
Series 2. Publications, 1972-2002
Series 3. Reports, 1971
Series 4. Scrapbooks, 1996-2002

The collection also contains five unprocessed additions:

Accession 2014-034. Unprocessed addition 2014, 2010-2014. 9.3 linear feet
Accession 2015-034. Unprocessed addition 2015, 1987-2015. 1.1 linear feet
Accession 2019-023. Unprocessed addition 2019, 1994-2009. 1 linear feet and 512 MB
Accession 2019-027. Unprocessed addition 2019, 1981-2015. 1.6 linear feet
Accession 2020-024. Unprocessed addition 2017, 2014-2015. 0.1 linear feet

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Minority college students -- California -- Irvine -- 20th century
African American college students -- California -- Irvine -- 20th century.
Scrapbooks -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century
Names:: University of California, Irvine. African American Student Union -- Archives
University of California, Irvine. Afrikan Student Union -- Archives
University of California, Irvine. Black Student Union -- Archives
University of California, Irvine -- Students -- Archives

Access and use

Restrictions:

Processed components of the collection are open for research. Unprocessed additions may contain restricted materials. Please contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access.

Terms of access:

Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyrights are generally retained by the creators of the records and their heirs, unless transferred to the University of California. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

For information on use, copyright, and attribution, please visit: http://special.lib.uci.edu/using/publishing.html