(NEWARK, NJ) -- A group of African-American students occupied Conklin Hall at Rutgers University–Newark (RU-N) on February 24, 1969, to protest RU-N’s scarcity of students and faculty of color and diverse academic programs. Fifty years later, RU-N has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report, for 22 consecutive years since 1997, as the most racially and ethnically diverse national university. During the entire month of February, RU-N will celebrate the men and women of the Black Organization of Students who changed the course of history by demanding RU-N reform its programs and policies to reflect the diversity of its surrounding communities.
Hear directly from the liberators of Conklin Hall when, on Thursday, February 21, the Black Organization of Students Alumni Association (BOSAA) gives insight into the background of events leading up to the takeover. Specifically, panelists will share what happened from the vantage point of those who occupied the building, helped to craft the “demands,” helped negotiate with university administration and others, and tended to the welfare of those inside the building. The panel will examine the past and connect to the future in honor of those who helped pave the way for Rutgers-Newark’s renowned diversity and programs aimed at shifting Newark’s college-going culture. The evening also will feature an exhibition of artifacts and images from the takeover.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Wendell Holbrook, Associate Professor of African American and African Studies in the School of Arts & Sciences-Newark at Rutgers-Newark. BOSAA Member panelists include:
Vickie Donaldson, retired Social Services Director/Homeless Programs for the City of Newark Department of Health and Community Wellness; George Hampton, retired Vice President for the Department of Urban and Community Development at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; Peter Jackson, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Benedict College; Thomas Roberts, General Counsel to Neighborhood Housing Services of Camden Inc.; and Claude Singleton, retired Chief of the Bureau of Quality Control of the New Jersey Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services.
The event takes place at Rutgers University–Newark's Great Hall, 15 Washington Street in Newark, New Jersey. It runs from 5:00pm to 8:30pm. It will begin with a reception from 5:00pm to 6:00pm, an exhibit of primary sources related to the LoCH and era-appropriate music. The main event for the evening, a panel discussion, will begin at 6:00pm, followed by Q and A and network sessions to conclude the evening by 9:30pm. Parking for the event will be at Newark Museum, 49 Washington Street, Newark, NJ. To register for the event, click here.
