General information by and about the Organization for Black Unity
Published: 1969
Language: eng
Subjects: Students; Societies; Student strike, 1969; Political activity; African American college students; Harvard University
Description: Contains newsclippings, flyers, press releases, and statements.
Notes: These records are open for research.

See also Student strike, 1969: general file (Harvard University Archives call number: HUA 969.100)

Representatives of black groups at Harvard formed the Organization for Black Unity, frequently referred to as OBU, in November 1969. The organization included black students from the College and the Graduate Schools, as well as some black workers in the University. The goal of the organization was to consolidate political efforts and to coordinate speakers and social events for black groups on campus, as well as to coordinate interdisciplinary skills toward the building of a black nation. The group appears to have disbanded in mid-1970.

In December 1969, the group became the official bargaining unit for AFRO in protesting the University’s response to student demands regarding minority employment at Harvard. Among other demands, OBU called for twenty percent minority worker representation on all Harvard construction projects. After a rally held on the steps of Memorial Church on December 3, 1969, OBU took over the Dean’s office and University Hall two days later. An agreement made with Archibald Cox, professor of law and University spokesman, resulted in the students peacefully exiting the building hours later. However, negotiations on the twenty percent figure broke down over the next several days, and on December 11, OBU seized University Hall for the second time. Students left peacefully after the University obtained a temporary restraining order against them. In February 1970, the University signed two building contracts which contained clauses for hiring between 19 and 23 percent of workers from minority groups.