Fifty years ago, Northwestern was forever changed. In an effort to diversify Northwestern’s historically white campus, admissions had begun to recruit more Black students. Instead of the less than 50 Black students enrolled in 1966, Black student enrollment was up to 160 in 1968. Despite this small victory, Black students on campus were still treated unfairly. They faced racial violence and discrimination, and they knew they weren’t receiving the resources and support from the University that they could be.
After months of one-on-one meetings with administrators, Black students saw very little change in their conditions on campus. They knew it was time to do something bigger.