What was the "Taking of the Mic"?

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), 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 (later the Program in African and African American Studies) at a private institution in the United States, headed by St. Clair Drake. This guide includes a link to the 10 Demands, a Stanford news release describing the event, the University's response of April 11, related photographs and Stanford Daily coverage, as well as interviews and panel discussions (2002, 2019) with many of the persons involved. The Black Student Union provides additional context on their website.

More broadly, these events laid the groundwork for the founding of the other Centers for Equity, Community, and Leadership at Stanford: The Gay People’s Union (precursor of the LGBT Community Resources Center, later Queer Student Resources) and Women’s Collective (precursor of the Women’s Community Center) were founded in 1971, the Asian American Resources Center (precursor of the Asian American Activities Center) opened in 1972, the Native American Cultural Center was established in 1974, and El Centro Chicano was founded in 1977. The most recent Stanford community center, the Markaz, opened in 2013.

Who was the first African-American student to attend Stanford?

The first African-American student to attend Stanford was Ernest Houston Johnson (B.A. Economics, 1894). The image above shows Johnson (seated bottom left) with other members of the 1894 senior interclass football team. He was a member of the Pioneer Class, the first class to graduate after spending all four years at Stanford. Read more about Johnson's life in Stanford Magazine.

Who was the first tenured African-American professor at Stanford?


 

Dr. James L. Gibbs, Jr. was the first tenured African-American professor at Stanford. He served as a member of the faculty committee that designed the Undergraduate Program in African and Afro-American Studies and in 1968-69, served as its Acting Director until the Founding Director, Professor St. Clair Drake, was appointed. Dr. Gibbs, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, came to Stanford in 1966. He served as Stanford's first Dean of Undergraduate Studies (1970-1976), as Co-Director of Stanford/Berkeley Center for African Studies (1985-1987), and Chair of the Department of Anthropology (1987-1990). Gibbs was inducted into the Black Community Services Center Multicultural Hall of Fame in 1996. He was interviewed by the Stanford Historical Society in 2011.