HISTORY OF THE BLACK STUDENT UNION

With the increasing number of African American students at the college in the 1960's, a need for cooperative self-representation emerged. The founding of the Black Students for Mutual Understanding in 1967 marked the establishment of such representation. Many ideas and concerns of African-American students came to be voiced and exercised through this student organization. In 1974, the BSMU changed its name to the Black Student Union and began gaining momentum as a meaningful social force on campus. The BSU thrived in the late seventies and early eighties -- a time when members consintently sponsored speakers and hosted social and political events at Middlebury. Through fundraisers such as the Atlanta Project -- a movement to end a string of racially violent incidents in Atlanta -- the BSU displayed its power and commiment to racial justice. The Black Student Union remained a strong force into the late eighties and changed names once again in 1989, becoming the African American Alliance (AAA). The AAA still exists today and continues to work to achieve a "sound and diverse" Middlebury community.