African student unions have played a pivotal role in advocating for the rights and needs of students of African descent, both in Africa and abroad. These organizations have served as platforms for political action, cultural expression, and community building. This article explores the history of these unions, focusing on the West African Student Union (WASU) and the Black Student Unions (BSU) in the United States.
Student involvement can be important and rewarding. It can contribute to a college student’s sense of belonging on campus and their academic persistence. Many students report that involvement in student clubs and organizations gives them a sense of purpose. They also get to meet new people and build essential leadership skills.
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The West African Student Union (WASU)
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The West African Student Union (WASU) was a community-based organization formed on August 7, 1925, in London, England, by West African students living in the United Kingdom. Led by Lapido Solanke, a Nigerian law student, and Herbert Bankole Bright, a doctor from Sierra Leone, WASU aimed to provide support and information for Africans and to promote anticolonial activism in their quest for an independent homeland.
Key Figures:
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- Lapido Solanke (1884-1958): Creator of the Nigerian Progress Union and co-founder of WASU.
- Marcus Garvey (1887-1940): Jamaican activist who supported WASU.
- Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972): Early proponent of pan-Africanism and prime minister of Ghana.
- Joseph Emmanuel Appiah (1918-1990): Early proponent of pan-Africanism.
WASU sought to raise awareness about the plight of African people, to educate and mobilize Africans on civil rights issues, and to work against the colonial regime when necessary. To accomplish these tasks, WASU members traveled in Africa and Europe to garner support for their efforts. They also formed youth organizations all over Africa, and these groups held regular meetings that provided opportunities for community discussions and consultations with British political officials.
WASU members also utilized various media to inform people about their activities, and they created a regularly published magazine called WASU in 1926. The periodical was essentially a public relations tool used to establish the movement’s voice and to spread the gospel of liberation. Despite the communication barrier created by the diversity of African languages, WASU members organized and inspired followers, rallying them around their shared goals: a vision of an independent Africa and a feeling of urgency about addressing colonial Africa’s problems.
Lapido Solanke, a founder of WASU
WASU's Activities and Impact
WASU opened its first hostel in March 1933 on Camden Road to provide accommodation to students and visitors of African descent. At a time when white-owned establishments could legally refuse Black tenants, the hostel was designed to be a “home away from home” for Africans in the diaspora. Solanke’s wife, Chief Opeolu Solanke-Ogunbiyi, became the matriarch of the hostel and was known as Mama WASU.
WASU campaigned against racism in Britain and against colonialism and for independence in West Africa. Its activities included producing a journal, Wasu, and founding four hostels in London to provide lodgings and a ‘home from home’ for West African students and other African visitors at a time when as a result of racism and the ‘colour bar’ it was difficult or impossible for them to secure accommodation.
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By the 1950s WASU’s influence began to decline as the fight for West African nationalism moved to the colonial territories. But It was one of the most important political organisations in Britain from the 1920s until the 1960s. It acted as a training ground for future West African politicians and from the late 1930s established branches and distributed its journal throughout West Africa and internationally. Through its branches and individual links, it was a major influence on the anti-colonial movements in Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. Its members included Kwame Nkrumah, who became the first head of state of independent Ghana in 1957, Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first president, and Hastings Banda, Malawi’s first president.
Black Student Unions (BSU) in the United States
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s brought about significant changes in America, particularly in higher education. While Black admissions and enrollment at predominantly White institutions had been possible since the 1800s, racist practices created unsafe and unwelcoming environments for Black students and staff. In conjunction with the rise of Black Power Movements, Black students began to advocate for reforms within academia, launching the Black Campus Movement.
Among some of the most popular demands made by members or groups affiliated with the Black Campus Movement were the establishment of Black cultural centers, increased Black student enrollment, an increase in Black representation among faculty and staff, and Black studies programs. Another one of the effects of the Black Campus movement was the creation of Black Student Unions, which allowed Black students to address more specific issues related to their institutions.
The first Black Student Union (BSU) on any campus was founded in 1966 at San Francisco State University. In an interview, James Garrett and Jerry Varnado, founders of the first BSU at San Francisco State, explained that they no longer wanted to be known as a Negro Student Association, but rather a Black Student Union in order to “reflect the growing consciousness of Black identity.” They also hoped to reclaim authority and empower members by claiming the term Black rather than continuing to use terms society had placed upon them in the past, such as negroes or colored.
Agyei Tyehimba, a former president for the BSU at Syracuse University and the founder and director of Harlem Liberation School, argues that the difference between modern BSUs and preceding Black student organizations is that BSUs’ goal and purpose is taking political positions and action when necessary. As opposed to the Black fraternities and sororities or Negro Student Associations whose goal was to foster community and relationship, an effective BSU must create community as well as take action and fight for Black students.
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BSU's Mission and Goals
The Black Student Unions mission is to first, unify Black people on campuses through cultural, political, social, and informational events. Second is to nationalize our organization and create a solidified communicative database with other Black Student Unions across the country. Third, to build leaders and empower them with knowledge and a methodology, so they can further progress our struggle for liberation through organizing, returning to their community and productively create historical centers that will teach our children their REAL history and by any other means necessary to produce and ensure the ends of justice health peace and freedom.
Tyehimba defines the role of BSUs as needing to “maintain the tradition of consciousness-raising, resistance, and Black empowerment… advocate for Black liberation, solidarity, and increased opportunities for Blacks on campus.” Tyehimba argues that BSUs are able to achieve these goals through fighting for Black Studies departments, creating employment and political opportunities for Black professors, and granting proactive, politically minded Black students and intellectuals a platform.
BSUs have also served as practical sites of decolonization, resistance, and liberation in other ways around the country. A 1978 study conducted by the Martin Institute of Human Behavior asked Black student leaders from 13 campuses in the Midwest, West Coast, East Coast, and South to evaluate how successful their BSUs had been at having their demands met on PWCs. Out of the total 72 documented demands made by the 13 BSUs, 53 were met with some form of response and action from the university. Only a mere decade after their establishment, BSUs had already become an important advocate for Black students and had proved successful in reaching the goals they were created to achieve.
Black Student Union at UNF
The Evolution of Black Student Unions
Black student unions played an important role in combating racial discrimination in the 1960s and 1970s and addressing political disenfranchisement on and off campus. These organizations were an important resource for student activism at predominately white institutions. Staff, faculty, and students would utilize these spaces for organizing, developing activist agendas, and combating racial discrimination.
Currently, on many college campuses, Black student unions have moved from being an activist or political organization to more of a social organization. While activism may still be an important aspect of these organizations, their emphasis on creating and supporting peer culture and/or peer socialization has become more of a central focus.
Activism Within Black Student Unions
With increased national publicity on the killings of Black and brown people over the last several years, racial injustice has become increasingly important to college students. Black student unions across the nation are taking a more active role in speaking out against police brutality. They have also brought students together to protest for reforms on college campuses. This includes increasing campus diversity and hiring more Black faculty and staff.
Black student unions have also taken key roles off campus. They’ve organized food and clothing drives and other services within their local communities. For many Black and brown students, 2020 was an especially difficult year with the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Many Black student unions strategized on how to raise awareness about police brutality. They also demanded more safety and protections for Black students on campus.
Many colleges released statements of solidarity in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and condemned acts of police violence on Black and brown communities.
The Future of Black Student Unions
The success of Black student unions is dependent on continued campus support. University leadership needs to actively involve and engage Black students in important decisions that have an impact on campus life. College leaders must also remain committed to supporting diversity cluster hires, diverse curriculum, and ethnic studies programs. Also, increased funding to these organizations and scholarship opportunities for Black students are needed.
The impact of Black student unions on our college campuses is undeniable, and they will continue to play an enormous role in improving the college experience for students of color.
| Organization | Founded | Location | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| West African Student Union (WASU) | 1925 | London, England | Support for African students, anticolonial activism, independence for West Africa |
| Black Student Union (BSU) | 1966 | San Francisco State University, USA | Unify Black students, advocate for Black studies programs, increase Black faculty and staff, combat racial discrimination |
