OUR HISTORY

An overview of the History of African-Americans at the University of Virginia
Compiled by Ervin L. Jordan, Jr. (1986) and Kazz Alexander Pinkard (1999)

THIS PAGE IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!!!!!




  • 1819-1825: Hired slaves (laborers and craftsmen) are used during the construction of University buildings.

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  • 1824: The Board of Visitors prohibits students from keeping slaves within the "precincts" of the University.

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  • 1825: William Spinner, a free Black, is hired as a janitor. He was repllaced in 1828 by William Brockman.

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  • 1829(est.): A member of the faculty, Robley Dunglison, purchases a slave for his household.

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  • 1832: A slave, Lewis Commodore, is purchased by the University for $580.00; he was employed as a bell-ringer and janitor. Due to excessive drinking habits he was ordered to be sold or hired out in 1840 but eventually was allowed to remain with a reduction in his duties.

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  • 1835: Blacks are employed as servants for University students.

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  • In 1969, a promising group of Black students, among them, George Taylor and John Charles Thomas, began a new student organization called the Black Students For Freedom. Black Students For Freedom was a symbol of the times, championing the rights of African-American students at the University of Virginia- searching for ways to alleviate the political and social ills faced by Black students on UVa's grounds.Two years later this organization changed its name to the Black Student Alliance.

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  • November 6, 1970: Black enrollment at the University is compiled and the statistics show a substantial increase in the number of students admitted over the previous year. The figures also serve as a reminder as to how painfully small the number of Black students is at the University.

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    "There are at least enough Black students on grounds, so that a white student cannot go weeks without seeing one." These Black students begin to find one another through organizations like the Black Students For Freedom, and begin a trend of separatism.
     
     

  • January 7, 1971: A report is filed by Black students charging incidents of harassment by members of the University community and by Charlottesville police.

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  • September 30, 1971: BSA and Student Council organize a rally where 250 students gather on the lawn to protest unfair admissions policies and the racist tendencies in the Office of Financial Aid.

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  • October 17, 1974: Then Georgia-legislator Julian Bond speaks at Old Cabell Hall, calling for increased Black involvement and national and local elections.Since then, Julian Bond has become a member of the Univeristy faculty and also the head of the NAACP.

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  • January 1975: Charlottesville's mayor proclaims Martin Luther King Day in the city of Charlottesville.

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  • February 5, 1975: A much publicized debate takes place between Nobel Prize winning physicist William Shockley, who promotes a theory of Black genetic inferiority, and University of Maryland professor Richard A. Goldsby. Members of the student body and the Black Student Alliance protest the event.

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  • February 1978: Black Culture Week, co-sponsored by BSA and University Union presents a variety of programs including speeches, films, art exhibits, dance recitals, parties, a talent extravaganza called "Black Students Doin' It" and "The Black Ball", a semi-formal affair.

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  • February 1979: Black Culture Month features a concert by Roy Ayers and the Aquarian Dream, excerpts from Broadway musical Porgy and Bess, a stepshow, a gospel concert, "The Twilight Affair", "The Black Ball" and an art exhibit from the Muntu Fine Arts Guild.

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  • March 1979: Black students wear armbands to protest UVa's unfair treatment of Black students. The number of Black faculty members on grounds is 15.

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  • September 1979: The "Soul Review" premieres on WUVA, and is Charlottesville radio's first segment dedicated to soul/R & B music.

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  • 1984: Black Stucent Alliance members organize a rally supporting associate professor Vivian Gordon, in her allegations of discrimination by the University.

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  • 1984: The then one day affair, Spring Fling, is replaced by Days on the Lawn, a month-long recruiting process open to all students.

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  • 1984: Jazz player Wynton Marsalis does a concert in Old Cabell Hall sponsored by PK German. Afterwards he is mistaken by state police for a robber and is arrested, but later released.

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  • November 1998: The creation of the BSA Webpage and the re-birth of the BSA !!!
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