University of Minnesota. Dept. of Afro-American and African Studies
Description
This folder 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. 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.
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