Articles

Filling in the Gaps: Using Outreach Efforts to Acquire Documentation on the Black Campus Movement, 1965–1972

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Abstract

From 1965 to 1972, the United States was in the grip of a new wave of black student activism through protests and demonstrations at college and university campuses from coast to coast. Academic institutions were deluged with demands for increasing black faculty hires, developing black studies programs/departments, and increasing the number of black student admissions. Kent State University was one of the thousands of colleges and universities challenged to address the demands of a demographic who felt their civil rights were under siege within the walls of academic establishments. This article describes the attempts by the Department of Special Collections and Archives to acquire and strengthen materials documenting the black campus movement at Kent State University. The author includes a brief historical background, an assessment of current holdings, an overview of the documentation plan, a review of the outreach strategy, and the acquisition of a collection highlighting the black campus movement and black student life. Ultimately, the article aims to provide an understanding of the value of archiving the full spectrum of history.

How to Cite:

Hughes-Watkins, L., (2014) “Filling in the Gaps: Using Outreach Efforts to Acquire Documentation on the Black Campus Movement, 1965–1972”, Archival Issues 36(1), 27–42. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/archivalissues.10999