The first African-American student to attend Stanford was Ernest Houston Johnson. His description includes his picture with other members of the 1894 senior football team..

Black at Stanford: An Anthology of Black Activism and Community at Stanford is a new collaborative archive launched by the Black Community Services Center and the Stanford Archives. The Anthology will feature archival documentation and information showcasing the history of Black activism and community at Stanford: from Ernest Houston Johnson -- the first Black student to graduate Stanford in 1895 -- to present day.

Although the website will remain a work-in-progress as contributors share content and information, the current site already provides access to a treasure trove of photographs, posters, publications, performance recordings, syllabi, and oral histories across 50 subjects. To learn how you can help build this collaborative archive by sharing content and information, please contact the Anthology team at basanthology@gmail.com.

This exhibit includes photographs, audio and video recordings, publications, transcripts, and other materials documenting activism at Stanford. New materials are being added on an ongoing basis. Some items in this exhibit are full text searchable. You can search the full text of these items by selecting the "full text" drop-down option adjacent to the search box. There is also a useful "browse" menu option.

Activism@Stanford has a "Curated Features" section with an interactive map and a useful timeline. In 1987, the Asian American Student Association, Black Student Union, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), and the Stanford American Indian Association united to form the Rainbow Coalition and drafted a “Rainbow Agenda,” a set of demands that highlighting the shared needs of these communities, including increased recruitment of students and faculty of color, improved curriculum and ethnic studies, a permanent ban on grapes, and a renewed commitment to discourage Indian mascot fanatics. Rainbow Coalition actions included protests against the ethnocentric Western Culture requirement in 1988, and the takeover of the President’s Office in 1989.

The Black @ Stanford Anthology, a collaboration of the Black Community Services Center and the Stanford Archives, has the goal of gathering archival documentation and information to showcase the history of Black activism and community at Stanford. With an aim to include representation across topics as varied as Black Diversity, Student Life, Advocacy and Activism, and Community Building, we want this exhibit to reflect the diverse Black university community. Share your content and information. To get involved or share content such as photographs, video recordings, or historical information, please contact us at basanthology@gmail.com.

This is one example of a SearchWork catalog record that is also part of Black@Stanford online exhibit. See the Finding Aid (below) also. In this oral history, Andrea Jones (AB Human Biology, 1987) describes her experiences as a Stanford undergraduate, including the “comfortable sense of community” at Ujamaa and her participation in Black organizations such as Black Pre-med, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. Jones also recalls her experience as a recruiting hostess for the football team, during which she formed friendships with several athletes, including Cory Booker.

Intagram pages from Stanford University’s Black Graduate Student Association aka "Stanford BGSA" are part of Stanford University's Instagram Collection. The materials consist of Stanford University-affiliated Instagram accounts captured by University Archives staff.

The University Archives celebrates Stanford’s 125th anniversary with Stanford Stories from the Archives, focusing on the rich history of student life. Student life represents one of the most difficult aspects of the Stanford experience to document. Students do not often consider their legacies or their contributions to the university they attend, and rarely save, preserve, or transfer materials documenting their stories to archives for long-term storage. As stewards of Stanford’s institutional memory, we proactively collect these stories and materials. This is especially necessary as content becomes increasingly digital and subject to the risks of hardware degradation and software and file obsolescence.

This is an online exhibit of the Stanford National Black Alumni Association (SNBAA) that cultivates a legacy of Black Excellence by strengthening bonds within the community, fostering engagement with the university, and delivering programs that unite, educate, inspire, and transform.

This site provides information on the Stanford National Black Alumni Association (SNBAA), which cultivates a legacy of Black Excellence by strengthening bonds within the community, fostering engagement with the university, and delivering programs that unite, educate, inspire, and transform. Please note that the podcast links do not work.

After using this guide, Stanford Libraries users will be able to identify and access primary and secondary sources about the history of Black students at Stanford University. Despite being a historically white institution, Stanford has a rich history of Black student life. However, prior to the mid-1960’s, Stanford admitted few Black students, and offered limited support to those who were admitted. Users will find few records of Black students in the Archives dating before the mid-1960's. The change in admissions and support came about through direct action of Black students and other students of color.

Stanford Athletics exhibit contains Black Firsts such as first siblings selected first in professional draft: Nneka Ogwumike, 2012; Chiney Ogwumike, 2014.

At a University convocation held in Memorial Auditorium on April 8, 1968, four days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., 70 members of the Black Student Union (BSU) took the stage and the microphone from then-Provost Richard Lyman and an all-white male panel, and read off a list of 10 demands for better support for Black students and faculty at Stanford, and the broader community, including East Palo Alto, a predominately Black community near the university.

The Administration agreed to nine out of ten demands, including the founding of the Black Student Volunteer Center (precursor of the Black Community Services Center, affectionately known as "Black House"), with a focus on community service and outreach programs to East Palo Alto; and the founding of the first program in African and Afro-American Studies at a private institution in the United States, headed by St. Clair Drake.

Sample racist quote that was "said at Stanford's Law School (SLS)" regarding the murder of Trayvon Martin.

The Racism Lives Here Too Movement arose in February 2018, and was led by first-year women of color at Stanford Law School, in alliance with some 2L and 3L students, and several faculty members. The goal has been to draw attention to pervasive systemic racism at the school and the university. Organizers maintain that "forces of racism, bigotry, and white supremacy are not merely external,” but also “pervasive within the Stanford Law community.” he banner was hoisted on the backside of Crown Quadrangle, and the posters, which include quotations spoken by Stanford Law School faculty and students, were hung within the school.

The Comeup Collective Podcast was created by Stanford University seniors Mamadou Diallo ’20, Sheck Mulbah ’20, Mekhi Jones '20, and Garry Archbold ’20. The podcast follows their journeys through the academic and professional world as first-generation Black students. Episode 5 discusses a show called #blackAF​

A newspaper published by the Black Student Union. The publication continued under the title "The Real news/Motherfucker" and later became, "The colonist." Users can browse through the items in this digital collection as part of Black@Stanford.

This student newspaper is part of a collection that contains publications, printed matter, and ephemera documenting Stanford University. This newspaper is included as part of the Black@Stanford exhibit as well as Stanford Publication. A newspaper published by the Black Student Union. The publication continued under the title "The Real news/Motherfucker" and later became, "The colonist." Users can browse through the items in this digital collection for example, the Spring 1985 issue has a familiar headline, "In The Spring, We Marched."

Homepage for online exhibits that allows users to explore notable digital collections showcased by our librarians and curators. These exhibits include a section for "Social Justice" that is listed at the top. The "Social Justice" section includes Black@Stanford which users can "browse" using the menu in the header.

While there have been a number of extraordinary Black Americans who have helped transform Silicon Valley into a global hub of high-tech industry and innovation, their lives, stories and accomplishments have been largely absent from public record. A new archive at Stanford Libraries hopes to change that. Set to launch later this year, the “Histories of African Americans in Silicon Valley” will ensure that the experiences of Black Americans who lived and worked in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay area are represented in the annals of history.

The 252 page report from the University Committee on Minority Issues (UCMI). This final report (March 1989) documented the need for more minority faculty and staff, and support for minority students.

In this archival video, Brown who was Chairman of the Party, spoke to Clay Carson's class, at Stanford University, about the LEGACY of the Black Panther Party, in 2007. Elaine discussed Black Panthers struggle was not for Civil Rights because after the Civil Rights Laws passed Martin Luther King Jr. was still fighting for economic justice. She stressed that the Panthers were revolutionaries in their fight for freedom, and not just for Black people but for all people. She describes their coalition with Natives Indian Movement people (AIM); Chicano and Mexicans (Brown Berets); Puerto Ricans and the Young Lords, as well as the Young Patriots Party. They also called for Women’s Liberation and were the only organization talking about Gay Liberation as a part of their Struggle. They formed a coalition with disabled people and helped pioneer the way for buildings to be wheelchair accessible. They also worked with an elderly group called the Grey Panthers. Elaine pointed out that they worked with people around the world, including Africa and Vietnam

Elaine shared that in East Palo in the 1970s Stanford students took over the Black Panther's Free Breakfast Program and the students also contributed a lot of money as well as helped with their school in East Oakland.

Stanford Libraries' second annual Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Fair, in 2022, featured the book launch of “Comrade Sisters,” by photojournalist Stephen Shames and Black Panther Intercommunal News Service editor and writer Ericka Huggins. “Sisters” Ericka Huggins, M. Gayle Asali Dickson and Rosita Thomas, three Black Panther Party leaders and subjects of many photographs in the book, described their aspirations for the book and for women in the 21st century.

This archival video documents a speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. at Stanford University on April 14, 1967 about racism and civil rights in American society. Dr. King contends that there are "two Americas": one "beautiful" and the "other America, " which is an "arena of blasted hopes and dreams." He goes on to explain that "we are seeking to make America one nation." This archival film is part of Stanford Stories from the Archives YouTube channel.

This audio recording was from Rosa Park's Press Conference held in Arroyo’s dorm that day that contained many interesting details that were not generally known at the time including her acquaintance with Claudette Colvin, the 15-year-old member of the NAACP Youth Council, who was arrested on March 2,1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a bus.

This is the Online Archive of California Finding Aid for Stanford's Black Alumni Stories and Oral Histories. There is a link for "Online Items Available." This link takes you to Stanford's Digital Repository with an abstract about the record.

Archives of the Stanford Daily newspaper.