On May 20, 1968, University of Washington's Black Student Union (BSU) occupied the office of UW President Charles Odegaard for nearly 4 hours. The BSU's immediate goals were expanded black recruitment, counseling and tutoring, and funding to create a black studies program. BSU President E.J. Brisker emphasized that the organization wished to be taken seriously, and to meet with, and keep pressure on, university officials. This photo shows, left to right, UW BSU President E.J. Brisker and members Larry Gossett, Chester Northington and Carl Miller speaking to the press after the sit-in.
UW's Black Student Union was founded in early 1968 at a time when very few black students attended the University of Washington. Over the next several years the BSU led campaigns that transformed the University and helped reshape educational opportunities for young people of color in Seattle and throughout Washington state.
Caption information source: Seattle Times, May 21, 1968, p. 7. Caption information source: "The Black Student Union at UW," part of University of Washington's Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History project at http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/BSU_intro.htm Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
