Black Power Movement

By the spring of 1971, black students became active proponents of racial equality and the black liberation movement reached its peak. The Black Student Union, a group of the most outspoken and passionate students, had appeared on campus in 1968 but the censorship controversy and subsequent radical activism greatly overshadowed the group’s presence. As this radical activity declined with the late-1969 disintegration of SDS, black students and other minority interest groups made their presence known throughout the university.

Since the early sixties, black students and their supporters had been championing change within the university. In 1969, FSU administration approved a Black Studies Course, revolutionary development in the school’s history. That same year, SDS printed the “Liberation #12” to proclaim their support of black struggles on campus and in Tallahassee. In a similar vein, the two SDS factions Progressive Labor Party and Revolutionary Youth Movement organized a rally and discussion of black liberation.

In April of 1971, the BSU expressed their growing frustration with the administration. A year earlier, the organization had submitted a list of thirty-one demands to the Faculty Senate but noticed little success. While a group of student protested in Washington against the Vietnam War, two hundred black students occupied President Marshall’s office to discuss the issues they had with the university. After only an hour, the students dispersed.

In the days that followed, BSU activity significantly increased. They held rallies, boycotts, and demonstrations to demand administrative action regarding the students’ list of proposals. However, the group refrained from resorting to the violent and disruptive tactics of the earlier, more radical organizations. University administration gradually accepted many of the BSU’s initial demands, and the group has since then remained a positive force at Florida State.

Black Power: 1971
Black Power Movement