Black Arts at Oxy

1971-1972

Occidental's campus climate has been at times one that is open to political and social discussions in relation to national and local politics, events, and news. However, open discussion through The Occidental, a school newspaper, during the 1971-1972 school year took the form of highly polarized accusations facilitated by a column called “From the Right,” high numbers of letters to the editor, and later a response column called “From the Left,” all in reaction to what those students considered an inflammatory column “Black Talk.” The column “Black Talk” represented one platform for the pursuit of a greater Black consciousness and visibility on campus. Other outlets included musical performances; some examples are, a blues band and a jazz vigil for Malcolm X’s birthday. In the arts, the Black Arts show highlighted local Black artists presented by the Art Department of Occidental College in collaboration with Brockman Gallery. Maya Angelou also was a guest speaker on campus to discuss her recently published book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The convocation speaker who was a judge and Black, spoke on the differences between campus activism versus activism in the community.




During the 1971-1972 school year, discussion around race, racism, and the treatment of minority groups became a heated topic on campus and public animosity towards those groups was normalized. The unrest was in part due to the reaction of the college to President Nixon’s freeze on wages and prices on August 15th, 1971. Nixon’s freeze raised concern as to how the college would react, where financial cuts would be made, and whether students were at risk of higher tuition costs going into the school year.

In response to the freeze, only a handful of clubs and organizations were placed on the cutting block. One account in an article written by student Jurutha Brown, on October 4, 1971, in the college newspaper, The Occidental, “On Sept. 28 the BOG [Board of Governors, a group of elected students] adopted a financial policy that in Section Eight stated that the ASOC would not fund ‘special interest groups’ which resulted in the defunding of BSC [Black Student Caucus], MeCHA [a Chicano organization], and the Asian Alliance”; all of which are multicultural organizations. The organizations were eventually given their full funding back, yet the conflict opened further conversation around the oppression of minority students on campus even with increased enrollment going into the fall of 1971. The increased presence of minority students as well as open dialogue is suggested to have led to increase conversation about minority representation on campus and furthermore the hiring of Occidental’s first Black trustee.

In the spring of 1972 discussions about what constituted community ramped up among students of color as well as white students. The result was students of color organizing around the cause of making Wylie a multi-cultural living community. The living community was not realized that year, and organizers accepted this while turning the cause into a catalyst for regular discussions on multiculturalism in Wylie through the end of the year. The living community proposition was criticised by many white students as being divisive and speeding the perceived downward trajectory of the institution as it lost “tradition.”

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