Black Student Union
The Black Student Union is an organization that gives African Americans a voice on a campus that is sometimes unaware of what it is like to be a black on a predominately white campus. It is an organizations that supports blacks and affirms our culture. It's a family. -Ulysses Hammond K73
During the late 1960s, Kenyon as well as the entire nation, was in a state of change. America was in turmoil as the non-violent Civil Rights movement was quickly being replaced by the more aggressive Black Power Movement. Sparked by the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Colleges began to more aggressively pursue black students and faculty. Towards the end of the decade student activism on college campus increased dramatically as well. 1969, the same year that saw women enter the college, was also a year of unparalleled activity by Kenyon's blacks student population. A group of Kenyon's black students drafted a "Statement of Policy by the Black Students of Kenyon College" which called for increased financial aid for black students, more black faculty, and increased courses that focused on black culture within the existing curriculum. As the year progressed, the students decided to codify their efforts into an official college organization, the Black Student Union. Started by several students, among them seniors Eugene Peterson, Ruben Pope; juniors Roland Parson, Gary Hayes and Keith O'Donnell; there are two starting dates for the BSU. The initial but unofficial founding in 1969, and the official, college sanctioned founding in 1970 with freshmen Ulysses Hammond, Johnnie Johnson and Barbara Lee. Karen Sheffield, though not a Kenyon student, served as the unofficial secretary of the BSU during the 1969 school year. These students felt a need to band together in order to support one another, preserve their culture and survive at Kenyon. The preamble of the BSU's constitution reads: The Black Student Union of Kenyon College has been established to further the understanding of the ever changing perspective of the Black Student at Kenyon. This understanding can only be realized through the adamant efforts of an organized group of members dedicated to this purpose. The B.S.U. will strive with unending tenacity to uphold the dignity of Black people everywhere.
Black Student Union 1972: Bottom Row - Geraldine Coleman'74, Leantin Bracks'74, Patreca Murrell'74 & Barbara Lee '73; Back row - Johnnie Johnson '73, Larry Parker '73, unidentifiable
Founding Members of the Black Student Union
Eugene Peterson Kenyon Class of 1970 Ruben Pope Kenyon Class of 1970 Gary Hayes Kenyon Class of 1970 Keith O'Donnell Kenyon Class of 1972 Roland Parson Kenyon Class of 1972 Ulysses Hammond Kenyon Class of 1973 Johnnie Johnson Kenyon Class of 1973 Barbara Lee Kenyon Class of 1973
In 1970, the Kenyon College Black Student Union receive official recognition from the College, with Roland D. Parson '72 serving as its first Chairman. College administrators like Dean of Students, Tom Edwards, was instrumental in helping the students obtain a lounge and form as a group. In its first year of existence, there were 17 members of the BSU and they sponsored a combination of speakers like Dick Gregory, workshops, lectures and films. But more than just raising campus awareness regarding black issues, The BSU was about providing a support system for Kenyon's Black students. They saw it as a way to maintain their black identities.			Roland Parson 1972, First Chairmen of the Black Student Union
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