The Black Caucus at Penn State's University Park Campus is a student organization founded in 1971. The Black Caucus serves as an umbrella organization to minority students and student organizations. They aim to promote the social and political development of students at Penn State. In addition, they provide students of color with a safe space to voice the struggles experienced in a predominantly white institution. During the Fall and Spring semesters, the Black Caucus holds weekly meetings titled Sankofa. Every year since 2009, the organization hosts the Ashe Awards - an award ceremony dedicated to honoring students, faculty, and student groups who have excelled in promoting diversity at Penn State.
History
While the Black Caucus was founded in 1971, the organization has roots in two other Black student organizations. The Frederick E. Douglass Association, founded in October 1967, transitioned into the Black Student Union in 1969, which would be replaced by the Black Caucus in 1971.
The Frederick E. Douglass Association
The Frederick E. Douglass Association named their group after Frederick Douglass –– Black abolitionist, suffragist, diplomat, and more.
1967 Petition
In November 1967, the Douglass Association petitioned Penn State's administration to instate an Afro American History course no later than the winter session of 1968. Members of the Frederick E. Douglass Association presented this petition on November 21, 1967, to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Kenneth Roose. A year later on May 13, 1968, the group submitted a list of demands to Penn State's Administration. The list included the following: Increase Black undergraduate enrollment by 10 percent after 1970; increase Black graduate enrollment; establish a section in the Pattee Library for Black authors; establish a Martin Luther King scholarship; reevaluate the athletic recruitment process for Black students; increase the recruitment of Black Athletes and coaches; dedicate one of the campus's buildings to the late Rev. Martin Luther King; permanently establish a course on Negro History; incorporate more Black authors into English courses; establish an African culture study program.