On Feb. 24, 1969, a group of African-American students occupied Conklin Hall at Rutgers University–Newark (RU-N) 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.
Attendees will hear directly from the liberators of Conklin Hall when, on Thursday, Feb. 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.
