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Black Student Union records

 Collection 0550-UA

The Black Student Union(BSU) records includes materials such as scrapbooks, a yearbook DVD, photographs of BSU events, awards and plaques, and 4 posters used to promote BSU events. Material dates from 1986-2012.

Dates

  • Creation: 1986-2012 and undated
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1998-2008

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to the public and must be used in the Special Collections reading room. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Photocopies or digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives duplication policy.

Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.

Archival materials may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws or other regulations. While we make a good faith effort to identify and remove such materials, some may be missed during our processing. If a researcher finds sensitive personal information in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.

Extent

3.00 Linear Feet

4 Items

1 Videodiscs

Language of Materials

English

Biographical / Historical

The Black Student Union (BSU) was formed in the fall of 1968 after the dissolution of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a two year-old student organization that did not belong to the national organization. Bob McLeod, the first BSU president, helped launch the longest-running Black student-centered organization at the University of Maryland College Park campus. The BSU was established at the height of the national Black Power Movement, which manifested within academia as a push for an increase in Black faculty, staff, and students and the creation of Black Studies programs and departments. The University of Maryland’s BSU has traditionally focused on education, political reforms and Black solidarity. Since the organization’s inception, they have been advocating for the University of Maryland administration to commit to dealing with issues around racial injustice, to look at cultural competency and curriculum development, and establish spaces on campus that reinforce the Black student community's humanization.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series. Material is organized chronologically within each series.

Series 1
Images
Series 2
Awards and Certificates
Series 3
Posters

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Black Student Union transferred the collection to the University of Maryland Libraries in May 2013.

Related Materials

The University of Maryland Libraires hold several other collections of interest including student newspapers such as the The Black Explosion,and The Eclipse. These papers are avaible online through the student newspaper database: https://www.lib.umd.edu/univarchives/student-newspapers.

The Office of the Chancellor records holds materials related to the BSU in Series 3: Box 5 Folder 5 and Box 5, Folder 6.

Processing Information

The processing archivists organized the collection into three series based on format. Material was arranged chronological and rehoused in acid free folders and boxes.

Title
Guide to the Black Student Union records
Status
Completed
Author
Joanne Archer and Lae'l Hughes-Watkins
Date
2020-07-31
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Library Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
Hornbake Library
4130 Campus Drive
College Park Maryland 20742
301-405-9212