African American Institute records

In February 1969, Northeastern University's African American students submitted a proposal to establish the Afro-American Institute and a Black Studies Department. Students envisioned that the Afro-American Institute would provide an academic, cultural, and political base for black students on campus. Northeastern University's Board of Trustees approved setting up the Afro-American Institute in the Forsyth Annex and appointed Charles Turner director. At the Norfolk House in John Eliot Square, Roxbury, a library was established and the first Black Studies courses were held. In 1971, the Afro-American Institute and its library moved to 40 Leon Street. Once Dean Gregory T. Ricks became director in 1972, the Afro-American Institute expanded its mission, offering counseling and tutoring services, sponsoring activities such as the Black Cultural Festival, and working closely with the African American Studies Department. Beginning in 1972 with Project Ujima, the Afro-American Institute also worked to recruit African American freshmen with academic potential, but inadequate preparation for college, to Northeastern University. In 1975, the Amilcar Cabral Memorial Student Center was established to provide cultural and social programs relating to Africans and African Americans. In 1981, the Afro-American Institute became a division of Student Affairs. The Afro-American Institute was renamed the John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute on October 5, 1992 to honor the late John D. O'Bryant, Vice President for Student Affairs. In 2004, the Board of Trustees approved plans for the Afro-American Institute's new home in building F, the final structure in West Campus. It opened in the fall of 2006.