The Black Student Movement (BSM) is an organization at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is the second largest student-run organization and one of the largest cultural organizations on the school's campus. The organization was created on November 7, 1967 to combat problems of black recruit, admissions, and integration on UNC-CH campus.
History
The Black Student Movement was established on November 7, 1967 as a result Black student dissatisfaction with the NAACP chapter on the campus and because of the slow enrollment of the black population on campus. In 1961 the NAACP chapter had been formed and had actively protested against segregation and discrimination, but by 1967 more militant students led by Preston Dobbins and Reggie Hawkins felt that the NAACP was overly conservative. They voted to disband the chapter and instead form the Black Student Movement. The NAACP's magazine, The Crisis, reported that the chapter president, Kelly Alexander Jr., opposed demands for separate facilities for black students, arguing against "any attempt to re-establish institutionalized segregation". The state NAACP leadership intervened and the two organizations then co-existed. Although the organization had white sympathizers, it was all-black. The Black Student Movement was officially recognized by the UNC administration in December 1967. In the fall of 1967, UNC reported 113 African American Students enrolled out of 13,352.
The Black Student Movement began taking form as the dominant organization who voiced the views and opinions of black students at the university. The ensuing year was momentous black students on the campus because it was within this time frame that the Dixon Resolution and the Phipps Committee were established. The Dixon Resolution, written by Professor John Dixon on May 3, 1968, requested that the Chancellor appoint a five-person committee to generate recommendations for the faculty to help improve the academic climate among Black students. It was the Phillips Committee, led by Professor Dickson Phillips, that recommended an eight-step plan to improve the intellectual climate and remove educational disabilities on the basis of the race of Black students on campus and those to come.
On December 11, 1968, the Black Student Movement presented a list of 23 demands to J. Carlyle Sitterson (chancellor at the time) for improvements that they needed to see implemented, including better treatment of the campus workforce and more opportunity and representation at the University for African American students and members of the Chapel Hill community. The demands included the founding of an African-American Studies department at the University, an office titled, "Dean of Black Students" that would be responsive to black students' needs, and the University’s partnership with the local black community. On January 24, 1969, six weeks after being presented with the demands and during final exam periods, Sitterson issued a nineteen-page written reply, demonstrating his intent "to be responsive to the educational needs of...all races, colors and creeds" while also asserting that the University cannot, in policy or practice, provide unique treatment for any single race, color or creed", but promised open discussion and the establishment of a faculty-student committee based on minorities and the disadvantaged. Within the following weeks, BSM gained support from students and faculty through the Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC), the UNC Graduate Student Association, the Daily Tar Heel, and the New University Conference. Students and faculty alike felt as though the Chancellor's response was dismissive and organized sit-ins. UNC faculty members organized a petition supporting the BSM. The SSOC organized a protest through the university, the town, and South Building in support of the BSM’s demands on February 7, 1969. The Chapel Hill community became nervous, given the student takeover of Allen administrative building at Duke University on February 13, 1969, which led to conflicts with students and the police who fired tear gas to control the crowd. The BSM held a rally on February 8 to discuss Chancellor Sitterson’s responses to their demands. Athletes Charlie Scott, the first black basketball player at the university, and Bill Chamberlain attended this rally and publicly supported the BSM.