
Students in the Association of Black Collegians and other supporters protest at Brookings Hall in 1968. (Photo courtesy of WUSTL Archives)
History
50+ Years of Black Activism & Study
In 1969, Washington University began offering courses under the rubric of Black Studies. It was a momentous occurrence. A Black Studies Program was meant to reassure students about the core mission of their education: to change the world’s values to bring about the liberation of African-descended peoples from the thralldom of Eurocentric hegemony. Fifty years later, that tradition lives on in today's Department of African and African-American Studies (AFAS).
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