Black Students Alliance Records, 1970-[ongoing]
General International Standard for Archival Description
Smith College Archives Northampton, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Jeanne Lowrey. 2013-04-01
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Black Students Alliance Records
Black Students Alliance
Biographical History for: Black Students Alliance Records
Historical Note The earliest records of the Black Students Alliance (BSA) date from 1970, when black students and faculty across the Five Colleges formed a committee to demand the inclusion of Afro-American Studies in Five College curriculums. Smith's BSA became active soon afterward, first with protests concerning the state of Afro-American Studies at Smith and then with student newsletters and events. In 1974 the BSA ran a children's fair at the Mwangi Cultural Center, then located in Lily Hall. The goal of the fair was to educate local children about black cultural heritage. The BSA's annual events have included a Black Arts Festival, Black History Observance events, cultural events such as Kwanza and musical performers, social events including parties and movie nights for both BSA members and the larger campus community. The BSA has also participated regularly in local black students' conferences. Additionally, the BSA has been partially in charge of Unity House and the Mwangi Cultural Center with the cultural center staff since its creation in the 1970s, and an active participant in planning and running Bridge, an annual pre-orientation program for students of color.
The records of the Black Students Alliance were donated over a period of time to the Smith College Archives from a variety of sources.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The records of the Black Students Alliance include general and officers' notebooks which contain a variety of materials, including notes, minutes, correspondence, budget sheets, event fliers, reports, and more. The records also contain files of minutes and correspondence concerning the Mwangi Cultural Center, the Five College Executive Committee on Afro-American Studies, Smith College's Afro-American Studies Department, and the annual black student's conference. There are also a few files of BSA newsletters and other assorted correspondence. Most of the photographs are unidentified and undated. They are mainly of various BSA members and events.
The records are open for research according to the regulations of the Smith College Archives except where noted in the finding aid.
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the documents must be requested from the Smith College Archives. Smith College owns copyright to any published material relating to college events and activities. Provenance and copyright ownership of other materials is unknown and researchers are responsible for determining any question of copyright.
Yasmine Evans, Class of 2013; Amanda Lineweber, Class of 2011
series
Series I. History
Charter n.d.
Constitution 2001
"Our Firsts" - a history of students' racial diversity at Smith College n.d.
Series II. Notebooks
Executive Board Minutes 1981-82, n.d.
Executive Board Minutes 1997-98
Executive Board Minutes 2006
Executive Board Members 1985-86
Chair's Notebook (2 folders) 1996-97
Chair's Notebook 1998-99
Chair's Notebook (5 folders) 2002-03
Chair's Notebook (12 folders) 2003-04
Vice Chair's Notebook (6 folders) 1998-99
Vice Chair's Notebook (7 folders) 1999-2000
Vice Chair's Notebook (7 folders) 2004-05
Vice Chair's Notebook (1-2 of 7 folders) 2006-07
Vice Chair's Notebook (3-7 of 7 folders) 2006-07
Secretary's Notebook (2 folders) 1998-99
Treasurer's Notebook 1991-92
Treasurer's Notebook (8 folders) 1998-99
Treasurer's Notebook (1-6 of 10 folders) 1999-2000
Treasurer's Notebook (7-10 of 10 folders) 1999-2000
Treasurer's Notebook (9 folders) 2000-01
Treasurer's Notebook (1-5 of 10 folders) 2002-06
Treasurer's Notebook (6-10 of 10 folders) 2005-06
Treasurer's Notebook (2 folders) 2006-07
Social Chair's Notebook (6 folders) 2000-01
Social Chair's Notebook (1-5 of 10 folders) 2005-06
Social Chair's Notebook (6-10 of 10 folders) 2005-06
Club Notebook (3 folders) 1989-90
Club Notebook (11 folders) 1996-98
Club Notebook 1999-2000
Club Notebook 2005-06
Club Notebook 2007-08
Black History Observance Committee Notebook 1983-84
Ticket Seller's Notebook 1996-97
Series III. Mwangi Cultural Center
History n.d.
General information 1973, n.d.
Activities and events 1972-73, 1996-97, 2002-05
Closing/Rededication Ceremony 2002
Correspondence: Dr. Mwangi Ng'endo 1973
Correspondence: Students 1980-82
Reports 1975, 1979
Space use agreements 2002
Space use agreements 2004
Smith College Space Utilization Study 1990
Staff minutes and correspondence 1980-81
Unity Leader Training Notebook (4 folders) 1999-2000
Series IV. Afro-American Studies Department
Brochures and information packet 1970, 1982-83, n.d.
Clarification of Demands for the Department 1971
Correspondence with President Mendenhall 1973
Correspondence re: survey from Afro-American Studies Advisory Committee ca 1982
Memo: Goals for the Department 1973
Proposed Interdepartmental Major report 1969
Series V. 5-College and Intercollegiate
Correspondence: Wellesley College Black Students Union 1993
Correspondence: 5-College Presidents 1970
Interim 5-College Executive Committee on Afro-American Studies Meeting Minutes (2 folders) 1970-74
Smith-Amherst Tutorial Proposal 1970
"A Proposal for the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies (UMASS)" 1970
Series VI. Conference Materials
Correspondence 1995
Schedule 1997
Suggestions 1997
Board Information 2005
Correspondence (1-4 of 6 folders) 2005-06
Correspondence (5-6 of 6 folders) 2005-06
Checklists 2005-06
Financial Records 2005-06
Fundraising 2005-06
Minutes 2005-06
Notebook (3 folders) 2006
Panelist Information n.d.
Panel Questions 2005-06
Publicity 2005-06
Reference: "Getting Real: Black Women Taking Charge in the Fight Against AIDS" n.d.
Registration forms (3 folders) 2006
Schedule 2006
Notebook (2 folders) 2008-09
Series VII. Newsletters
Newsletter 1972
Newsletters 1983-84
Newsletters 1991-92
Newsletters 1998-99
Series VIII. Events
Black Arts Festival: general n.d.
Black Arts Festival 1978 1978
Black Arts Festival 1980 1979-80
Black Arts Festival 1981 1980-81
Black Arts Festival 1982 1981-82
Black Arts Festival 1983 1982-83
Black Arts Festival 1984 1984
Black Arts Festival 1985 1984-85
Black Arts Festival 1986 1985-86
Black Arts Festival 1987 1986-87
Black Arts Festival 1999 1999
Bridge: Pre-orientation program for students of color. See also DVD088-DVD091. 1992, 2002, 2004, 2007
Children's Fair 1984-85
Children's Workshop 1974
Cultural Expansions 1976
Family Weekend - Ada Comstock Women of Color 2009
Howard University Concert Choir [See V442] Spring 2002
Karma Weekend 1970
Ndguda Fashion Show 1971
Otelia Cromwell Day 1981-89, 1996-97, 2005
Spring Black Festival 1974
General 1979-80
General 1982-83
General 1984-85
General 1985-86
General 1994-95
General 1995-96
General 1997-98
General 1998-99
General 1999-2000
General 2000-01
General 2001-02
General 2004-05
General 2005-06
General 2006-07
General 2007-08
General 2008-09
General 2009-10
General n.d.
Series IX. General Files, A-Z
Black Alumnae Newsletter 1983, 2006
Black Alumnae Weekend 1984
Black Face 2007-08
Black United Front n.d.
Budget Allocation 1980
Budget Allocation 1986-87
Budget Allocation 1990-91
Car Use Forms and Guidelines 1985
Correspondence - general 1978-86
Correspondence - general 1992
Correspondence - general 2005-09
Correspondence - BSA members 2005
Correspondence - President Dunn 1990
Correspondence - The Engravery n.d.
Correspondence - Smith College student body 1981, 1990
Correspondence - Speak Out! Internship Opportunities 1994
Dennis Brutus Defense 1981
Diplomas from engraved holders n.d.
Election Speech Notes
Entertainment Brochures (2 folders) 1974-2000, n.d.
First years letters 1973
Funding request to SGA 1996
Guest book 1993-5, n.d.
Hampshire College Course Guide Supplement 1980
History of Black Protest at Smith: A study in inevitable conflict… 1972
"I have a dream…" Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial 1986
Information booklet on BSA 2005-06
Jewish Women's Studies: An Introductory Bibliography n.d.
Letterhead n.d.
"Mathematics Performance Amongst Black Students at the University of California, Berkeley" 1985
Multicultural Development Report 1988
Nguzo Saba Testimonials and Mshumaa Lighting n.d.
An Open Letter to My Sister - anonymous n.d.
R.A.C.E. charter 1970-71
Racist notes report 1993
Speech to BSA by Monique Spyke 2001-02
St. John's Congregational Church Bulletin 1983
Survey responses ca. 2005
Series X. Clippings
Black arts clippings 1992-98
Smith College clippings 1987, 1999-2007, n.d.
Smith and the Media booklet 1984
Series XI. Poetry and Lyrics
Audre Lorde - "Coal" n.d.
Queen Latifah - "U.N.I.T.Y." n.d.
Anonymous - "Ebonics Tectonics" n.d.
Series XII. Photographs
General (7 envelopes) 1969-96
Miscellaneous (97 envelopes) n.d.
Celebration (4 envelopes) n.d.
Series XIII. Artifacts
3 engraved diploma holders 1993
8 graduation sashes 2002, 2005-06, 2009
Award medal decorated with diploma and cap n.d.
Oversized Material
Posterboard with photos of Rosa Parks n.d.
Posterboard for Kaleidoscope of Color: Portraits of Smith Students of Color, with introduction by BSA Black Culture Chair 1995-96 1996