Activist Student Groups

Black Students’ Union

On March 26, 1968, a group of Northeastern’s African American students founded the Black Students’ Union (BSU) to unify the campus’s African American students and to address their educational and financial needs. The BSU wanted to persuade students to get involved with both the university and the local communities.

"Black Students' Union Forms"
"Black Students Request Meeting Administration"


During Freshmen Orientation week, the BSU set up a booth to inform African American students about other orientation events. It also sponsored a memorial service for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and participated in the second annual National Student Coalition against Racism held at Northeastern. The BSU’s most notable actions were presenting along with the Afro-American Association a list of 13 demands to President Asa S. Knowles on May 3, 1968, and developing the first university-wide Black Culture Week from May 13-17, 1968.