Andrew Kerley, Executive Editor
While many VCU students enjoy being African-American studies majors in 2026, it took decades of protest and advocacy by some of the most outspoken voices on campus to achieve such a status.
Early days
VCU became VCU when Richmond Professional Institute merged with the Medical College of Virginia in 1968 — now making up the Monroe Park and MCV campuses respectively.
VCU’s first full semester was the fall of 1968. The new school launched with two AFAM courses: “AAS100-Africanism,” taught in Williams House, and “AAS201-Intro to Afro-American Studies,” taught in Hibbs Hall.
The courses were organized by a committee at the request of students, as there was no full AFAM department at the time.
AAS100-Africanism — an “exploration of the works of the Black man” — was in such great demand that the newly-launched school had to open up another course section, according to CT archives. Three new 200 and 300-level courses were added the following Spring.
One group, Students for an African Philosophy, was very prominent on campus in the early years of VCU, according to CT archives. One record shows they received a sizable portion of funds raised by the student activity fee.
SAAP was VCU’s first Black student organization. It was founded by notable alumni, including VCU’s first Black basketball player Charles McLeod — who appeared frequently in The CT and even wrote an opinion-editorial decrying the draft and American war efforts.
VCU’s progress on creating an AFAM major was slow and gradual across decades, CT archives show. A minor in the discipline was not offered until 1977.
But student groups like SAAP satiated students’ desire for a robust AFAM education. They put on regular political and education forums and events around campus. At one point, they sponsored a visit by Les Ballets Africains, one of the first African national dance companies.
VCU first asked the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, or SCHEV, for an AFAM degree in 1971, which was promptly rejected. The board said VCU’s faculty was not strong enough.
Continuing the fight decades later
VCU made headlines after a proposal by the VCU Board of Visitors to create a full bachelor’s of science in African-American studies, passed in 1993, was rejected again by SCHEV in 1997.
Critics said the liberal arts degree would divide the student body on racial lines, while supporters said it was an important academic field in a multicultural society and one that had existed at other schools for years, The CT wrote at the time. The University of Virginia was the first school in the state to have one.
Provost Grace E. Harris — the first Black woman to serve in her role at a four-year public university in Virginia and the namesake of today’s Harris Hall — was among the staunch supporters of the proposal.
One graduate student interviewed at the time by The CT, Eric Williams, said he thought the major’s presence would “increase the dialogue between students and faculty members and possibly find solutions to the problems that are going on.”
A number of students spoke of their dissatisfaction with the SCHEV’s decision, as well as their personal needs for the major. Many chose to study alternative programs only because they could not major in AFAM. A protest was held at Shafer Court Plaza.
By 2001, the effort to create an AFAM major was still in the works. The conversation had shifted to funding and enrollment, and whether VCU had enough of either to justify the degree — though critics still said it would separate students.
Without aggressive funding from the state budget, VCU would have had to seek other sources to power the program.
L.Victor Collins, the multicultural student affairs director at the time, told The CT VCU needed the major as it was one of the most diverse public universities in the state.
“African-American studies is already offered as a major by other public Virginia universities so why were we being singled out that we cannot offer it? This whole thing about ‘Balkanizing’ … that offering African-American studies as a major somehow would cause our students to become disunited and break into small warring factions is completely ridiculous,” Collins said in reference to a comment by a member of SCHEV.
Yasmine Madden, a sociology major and African-American studies minor, challenged the idea that the major would somehow cause segregation.
“I think it’s time we had this major. We want it because it will allow us [African-Americans] a sense of belonging when it comes to history,” Madden said.
Victory after decades of advocacy
“It has been almost six years since VCU’s administrators learned they could not offer students a major in African-American studies,” The CT wrote in 2003. “That is no longer the case. Beginning fall semester, African American studies officially becomes a major.”
Provost Roderick McDavis believed VCU had a strong core of students who were already interested in the major — and promoting it would attract out-of-state students.
“Major universities in the 21st century ought to have a multifaceted curriculum,” McDavis said. “African-American studies is one of these opponents that makes your curriculum multifaceted.”
Mark Wood, an associate professor of African-American studies and religious studies, was among the excited faculty quoted in The CT. He still teaches and advocates for progressive issues on campus today.
“It finally succeeded,” Wood said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: You really ought to check out “Seeds of Fire: The Untold Story of Black Student Activism at RPI/VCU,” a documentary by AFAM chair Shawn Utsey! It explores some of the earliest student movements that occurred as RPI transitioned to VCU.
This story is part of a series examining VCU history through The Commonwealth Times archives. If you have a suggestion for a topic you would like us to explore, please email it to editor@commonwealthtimes.org