Paw'd Defiance

The Black Student Union at UW Tacoma

February 18, 2021 Linda Ishem, Lisa Rankin Faircloth, Jamie McGee and Chana Lawson. Season 1 Episode 67

Black Student Unions took root on college campuses across the country in the mid to late 1960s. These student organizations provided connection but they were also a potent force in the push to reform higher education. Students in Black Student Unions held sit-ins and protests to demand greater representation both in the classroom and in the curriculum. In this episode, we hear about the founding of UW Tacoma's Black Student Union through a collection of oral histories. These stories were collected by the UW Tacoma library as part of its UW Tacoma Oral History: Founding Stories project. Founding Stories is a growing collection that captures the first-hand accounts and perspectives of individuals who played significant roles in the shaping of the campus community and identity.