Nothing without a Demand: Black Student Activism on North Carolina College Campuses, 1967-1973 (2014)

Undergraduate: Michael Welker

Faculty Advisor: James Leloudis
Department: History

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At the end of the 1960s, as the "classical" civil rights movement was fading out, college campuses across the nation saw an explosion of activism from a new generation of black students. From San Francisco State to Howard in Washington, D.C., students called for higher education that was open, inclusive, relevant, and culturally aware. Historians refer to this period as the black campus movement. This project looks at the black campus movement at three North Carolina campuses: Duke University, an elite private institution; UNC Chapel Hill, the state's flagship public university; and North Carolina A&T, the leading black college in the state. Using public demands and demonstrations that included building takeovers, labor strikes, marches, and more, small minority groups reshaped how each of these universities operated. At its heart, this project is the narrative of how that process occurred. Beyond that, it raises questions about how and why institutions change and what obligations those institutions has to its students.