The collection is open for research. However, access to unredacted BOC and BGSO administrative records is restricted.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
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Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council, RG 8/2/6e, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council were transferred to Special Collections and University Archives in 2017.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council commenced in April 2018 and was completed in December 2019.
From the Black Organizations Council:
Founded on the Virginia Tech campus in 1985, the Black Organizations Council (BOC) is the umbrella and resource body for the Black student organizations. BOC serves to ensure the betterment of the Black community through providing a unified voice for the Black community in a university population where the Black community lacks adequate representation. BOC also serves as a liaison between the administration, university organizations, and the Black community, provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of information, promotes the Black organizations individually and collectively, coordinates events which require the participation of all entities of the Black community and supports the development of campus camaraderie within the university community. BOC has a mission of being the governing, representing, and coordinating body for the primarily African American student organizations. We will also provide activism and advocacy, while meeting the challenge of the social and political forces affecting the Black community. We encourage each representative organization to empower themselves to create a paradigm in the area of leadership and service in the community.
Source: Black Organizations Council, GobblerConnect webpage, https://gobblerconnect.vt.edu/organization/BOC.
This collection contains video cassette tapes of events and programs relating to the Black community at Virginia Tech and programs of other minority groups. It also contains 3 boxes of pictures of events and programs relating to minority groups at Virginia Tech. The events documented include Black History Month programs, the Donning of the Kente ceremony, Multicultural Center events, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian American Student Union cultural heritage programs, book signings, and guest speakers. There are also pictures of various faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, the collection contains flyers and calendars from the Black Organizations Council and related organizations, a binder of slides of paintings, drawings, and portraits, accounting documents, a history of events booklet, and folders of records, minutes, and other documents.
The collections has been divided into six series.
Series 1: Operational Records includes documents related to the running of the Black Organizations Council. This series is divided into four subseries: administrative files, meeting agendas and minutes, photographs, and financial records.
Subseries 1: Administrative Files includes the organiation's constitution, information about its constitutent member organizations, policies and guidelines, officer elections paperwork, meeting sign-in sheets, and other administrative information.
Subseries 2: Meeting Agendas and Minutes includes the minutes of general body and executive board meetings, the campus programming committee, and meetings with president Steger.
Subseries 3: Photographs includes an organizational scrapbook and a digital record of photographs of organization members and events.
Subseries 4: Financial Records includes budget requests and other financial records.
Series 2: Member Organizations includes photographs and other records related to student organizations that were members of the Black Organizations Council. This series has one subseries: Black Graduate Student Organization.
Subseries 1: Black Graduate Student Organization includes photographs, administrative papers, event flyers, and other materials about the Black Graduate Student Organization.
Series 3: Other Campus Organizations includes constitutions from the Jewish Student Union, University Council, and Student Budget Board as well as materials about the Interfraternity Council, the Asian American Student Union, and the Cultural Centers Advisory Committee.
Series 4: Events includes information about event planning by the Black Organizations Council, videos and photographs of events hosted in whole or in part by the Black Organizations Council, and videos and photographs of events hosted by other campus organizations. This series has nine subseries: Afrikan Awareness Weekend, Asian American Student Union, Black History Month, Black Student Leadership, Celebration of Diversity, Donning of the Kente, Filipino-American Student Association Culture Night, State of the Black Union, and Other Events.
Subseries 1: Afrikan Awareness Weekend includes videos of the 1990 and 1991 Afrikan Awareness Weekend events.
Subseries 2: Asian American Student Union includes videos and photographs of events hosted by the Asian American Student Union.
Subseries 3: Black History Month includes videos and photographs of Black History Month events.
Subseries 4: Black Student Leadership includes photographs of the 1999 Student Leadership Institute and the 2002 Carroll F. S. Hardy National Black Student Leadership Development Conference.
Subseries 5: Celebration of Diversity includes videos and photographs of the Celebration of Diversity event, primarily those held on September 12, 2001 and September 11, 2002.
Subseries 6: Donning of the Kente includes a video, photographs, programs, registrations forms, and other planning records related to the Donning of the Kente graduation event.
Subseries 7: Filipino-American Student Association Culture Night includes videos of the Filipino-American Student Association's Culture Nights from 1997 and 1998.
Subseries 8: State of the Black Union includes documentation and student feedback posters related to the State of the Black Union event.
Subseries 9: Other Events includes videos, photographs, and documents related to other events including An African American Food Taste, Black Organizations Showcase, Black Student Preview, Ebony Affair, Hispanic Heritage Month, Kwanzaa, Million Man March, Relay for Life, Safe Zone Reception, Virginia Nations Pow Wow, White Ribbon Campaign, and others.
Series 5: Presentations and Resources includes research from presentations given by members of the Black Organizations Council and materials maintained by the Black Organizations Council as resources for its membership.
Series 6: Black Cultural Center and Multicultural Center includes photographs of these two centers. This series has three subseries: Displays, Internal and External Views, and Faculty, Staff, and Students.
Subseries 1: Displays includes mounted photographs from center displays and photographs of displays set up by the centers.
Subseries 2: Internal and External Views includes internal and external photographs of the two centers.
Subseries 3: Faculty, Staff, and Students includes photographs of people who are associated with the centers.
The guide to the Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your- work/public-domain/cc0/).
Includes constitutions from the Jewish Student Union (JSU), University Council, and Student Budget Board.
In fall of 2015, the Black Organizations Council held an event titled State of the Black Union: Do Black Lives Matter at Virginia Tech?. These posters were part of an associated community feedback event where students were asked to write their responses to the prompt "Why do Black Lives Matter at Virginia Tech?" The event took place a few months after racially charged protests at the University of Missouri and students here at Virginia Tech were eager to have their voices heard.
A concert poster signed by Charles Mingus and John D'earth. The event description from Facebook read: "Join the Virginia Tech Jazz Ensemble and special guest John D'earth in celebrating the music of Charles Mingus. This concert is presented in conjunction with the Office of Multicultural Programs' celebration of Black History Month. This performance will also feature the award winning jazz ensemble from Albemarle HS $5 Students/$8 Adults"