Black BC: A History of the Black Experience at Boston College

Black BC Walking Tour is an interactive tour that allows online and mobile users to discover and explore black BC’s complex history on campus, in Boston, and in the nation. It mines anecdotal and informal resources as well as BC archives to commemorate the presence and contributions of black BC, and to document how this community participates in Boston’s black communities. The site is also a resource for BC students, faculty, staff, alums, and scholars who conduct research on race.

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Random Stories

16 October 2017 - Two students found their “Black Lives Matters” signs vandalized in Roncalli. The same weekend, a screenshot of a Snapchat comparing Black slaves to a burnt sandwich circulated through the student body. Students gathered in O'Neill…

7 April 1967 – BC students may yet become conditioned to having concerts cancelled after being assured that all the contracts had been duly signed. This familiar sequence was reenacted last week when the much publicized James Brown concert fell…

19 March 1965 - James Farmer, National Director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), spoke at BC’s Law School Forum about the struggle for equality. He stated that it could be achieved through two goals: to “tear down the walls of racism”…

2005 - FACES is founded for the purpose of providing students with a better environment to discuss race and racism on campus. (Meaghan Callahan, "FACES discuss race on campus," The Heights/ Logo by FACESCouncil)

20 September 1971 – A white security guard, who previously “permitted cars onto the upper campus to unload students’ possessions refused entry to a car driven by [black students attempting to deliver food for a Black Talent Program picnic].”…

April 9, 1968 – One day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., BC holds a memorial service on Bapst Lawn and cancels classes to encourage students to attend a demonstration from Boston Common to Post Office Square. This event gathers…