It’s been 175 years of Northwestern University. The school has established a strong legacy, but not all of its past has been glamorous. The first Black student was admitted in the 1880s, and since then there’s been a turbulent relationship between the university and its Black students.
This history is compiled in the Black Experience at Northwestern, an archive of writings, oral histories and photographs. Archivist of the Black Experience Charla Wilson has curated the collection since the founding of her role in 2017.
“ Basically, the work that I do — build upon the mission of the university archives, which is to make sure we have materials that speak to Northwestern’s Black history,” said Wilson. “So Black student life. So that means reaching out to student org leaders about the records of their organizations, reaching out to alums about their papers, as well as faculty and some staff organizations that are on campus.”
Her role was created in response to student protests in 2015.
“ The universities were not responsive to their needs and addressing some of the discrimination that they were experiencing or microaggressions,” said Wilson. “And they were saying, we need, you all need to do something about this. But we also want safe spaces. We want to feel safe on these campuses, particularly on predominantly white campuses.”
Following the protests, alumni felt called to preserve the history of why Black spaces on campus were important.
“ They partnered with the library Office of the Provost and brainstormed this idea to create, a position that ultimately became Archivist for the Black Experience,” said Wilson.
Now nine years later, Wilson is developing the archives to tell as many stories as possible. When asked what her favorite collection was, the answer didn’t come easy.
“ I should come up with one ’cause I just, I don’t wanna choose,” said Wilson. “It’s like, you know, choosing a favorite child.”
Amongst her many favorites is the recently acquired Ronald Craig collection. Craig was a student in the 1970s.
“ He was essentially the unofficial photographer of Black student life from 1970 to 76,” said Wilson. “And I got connected to him through an alum, and he saw some of the work that we were doing here, and he was like, you know what, I have these photographs that I’ve been holding onto for the past 50 years. Would you like to have them?”
Craig ended up donating a hundred prints with detailed descriptions and over 600 photographs.
“ He also gave us a timeline of significant moments during his time as a student. And he was a student at a really transformative time at Northwestern. So it was right after the bursar’s office takeover,” said Wilson.
The Bursar’s office takeover in 1968 was one of the most impactful moments in Northwestern’s Black student history. Students occupied the bursar’s office for 38 hours in order for the university to meet their demands. These demands worked to challenge the discrimination they faced, including reviewing financial aid and establishing the Black House.
“ These students, they were able to secure this agreement with the university, but the students after them had to make sure that the university implemented that,” said Wilson.
This was what Craig’s photographs captured. His variety of photographs can be seen in the archives as well as in his digital collection on the archives website.
Another collection Wilson frequently highlights is one about the housing struggle Black students faced for years.
“ There was a student by the name of Isabella Ellis who lived on campus,” said Wilson. “She was black. When she arrived, the housing administration didn’t know she was black. And at that time, you know, they didn’t want black students to live on campus. And so she had to live in a single by herself for a year. And she was told the following year that there was no more housing available, so she had to find housing somewhere else.”
Ellis was originally from Texas, and with no other resources available, she withdrew from the school.
“ So there was an outcry. But unfortunately for decades after this, we see that many Black students did not live on campus,” said Wilson.
The first progress came from the advocacy of a student org called the Quibblers. They were able to gain access to living in the international student house, but it was still many years before they were allowed in dorms.
“ They continued that fight until I think it was the early 1950s at that point, any of the campus dormitories were open to black students. But that was a struggle. That was a huge struggle,” said Wilson.
Wilson’s work to document these struggles has filled Deering Library, and a few offsite locations, with boxes and boxes of history.
“ I think it’s important for, within University archives, for us to have record of the presence, the actions, just the history of the Black student life and Black people in general here on campus so that we know it, we don’t forget it, we can learn from it,” said Wilson. “But then also access, which I think is incredibly important, so that anyone who’s interested in learning about it can come in and utilize it.”
So if you’re curious about the history that makes Northwestern Northwestern, don’t forget the archives have plenty of stories to tell. For WNUR News, I’m Olivia Payne.