1961-1970 1966 A group of students concerned with the underrepresentation of minorities at UCSB establishes the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). 90 Hispanic Americans and 12 Black Americans were recruited, making up 1.1% of the student population by its first year.
1967 The first Black organization separate from the Black student council is established. Harambee, a Swahili word meaning "let's pull together", was influenced by the Black Power Movement. Harambee and the Black Student Union embraced Black pri de and self-determination and worked to put out events expressing and promoting African American culture.
January 31, 1968 AS Legislative Council makes recommendation to UCSB Administration that companies with discriminatory employment policies be barred from using campus facilities in effort to combat racial prejudice.
February 15, 1968 HOP student Bill James organizes first talks about race relations at UCSB in his inaugural meeting of the Workshop for Racial and Ethnic Understanding. This meeting was taken over by the Black Action Group, who did not feel that the discussions would accomplish anything.
February 19-25, 1968 Harambee holds first Black History Week at UCSB, Harambee formally introduced itself to the UCSB community with this event. Guest speakers included James Forman, a veteran SNCC leader, Ron Karenga, a Los Angeles-based leader, and Harry Edwards, a leader of the Olympic boycott movement.
April 4, 1968 After the assassination of Martin Luther King, the Santa Barbara Division of the Senate endorsed a student made petition to the Board of Regents, which urged them to alter courses and curricula to be more race and to alter recruitment and admissions policies for student, staff, and faculty in order to reflect the state's demographics.
October 1, 1968 BSU and a small group of Black athletes presented Chancellor Vernon I. Cheadle a position paper charging the Athletic Department with gross negligence of and paternalistic attitudes toward Black athletes. Among other things, the newly formed coalition known as the Black Athletes Committee (BAC) called for the hiring of Black coaches and administrators. Although BAC sought immediate resolution to their demands, Chancellor Cheadle responded to the disgruntled group by referring the matter to the Intercollegiate Athletic Commission (IAC) on campus for further investigation.
1968 African American students in the UCSB athletics program, along with members of the Black Student Union, accuse Athletic Director Jack Curtice and his assistant Arthur Gallon of mistreating Black athletes. The frustration from Black students towards UCSB administration for not responding to their accusations led to the take over of North Hall on October 14, 1968.
October 7, 1968 In a move to gather support for their cause, BAC and BSU held a rally of about 400 students explaining how their attempt to work with the administration had been rebuffed by the IAC Board. Additionally, the UC Regents’ fight to block Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver from teaching a course at UC Berkeley all highlighted institutional racism in the University of California. In anticipation of the IAC’s dismissal of their charges, the BSU turned to direct action, believing it to be the only way to force the university to genuinely confront the issue of racism.
October 14, 1968 The north hall takeover initially began in response to UCSB athletic department's unwillingness to address or fix the segregation and institutional racism on campus, but soon spread to include other grievances faced on campus. Such as when over 4,000 signatures demanding substantial improvements in the investigation of racism on campus and the development of Black Studies were gathered, but UCSB failed to respond adequately.
These and similar incidents, led to 12 African American UCSB students, including BSU president, Maurice Rainey, taking over North Hall’s second floor computer lab and renamed the building Malcolm X Hall. While the protestors remained barricaded behind chairs, tables, and desks, representatives of BSU met with Chancellor Cheadle and Dean Reynolds to negotiate their list of eight demands that included a Black Studies College, the hiring of Black staff and faculty, an investigative commission to study racism on campus, university access, and cultural/educational relevancy.
Dr. Cheadle, the Chancellor at the time, decided against the advice of many and negotiated an agreement rather than use a display of force. He immediately appointed a Committee on Ethnic Studies to study the new situation.
In less than a day the administration and the BSU arrived at a settlement. With the exception of the demand that called for the dismissal of the director of Intercollegiate Athletics and the chairman of the Physical Activities Department, the administration promised to comply with the rest of the BSU demands including the establishment of Black Studies Department.
January 1969 The United Front was formed at UCSB and the organization organized frequent rallies to promote awareness of the presence of oppressive actions and racist statements at UCSB and Isla Vista on the part of police officers and landlords.
February 3-4, 1969 Six UCSB students active in BSU were arrested during an early-morning raid by Santa Barbara County Sheriffs, who were quoted as using racial slurs such as "damned niggers". Twelve hundred students turned up at the County Courthouse in protest of the targeted arrest of six BSU members.
April 17, 1969 Professor Otey Scruggs, Co-Chairman of the Committee on Ethnic Studies and Professor of History, presented the Executive Committee of Letters and Science with a proposal for the comprehensive implementation of a Black Studies Program at UC Santa Barbara. Headed by a Black Assistant to the Chancellor, the program was to be governed by a board called the “Kaaba”, composed of representatives of the diverse units. Kaaba is the name of the black stone in the center of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. May 22, 1969 Black Studies Department officially begins. Nearly one month after the official request of the Black students.
July 14, 1969 Groups interested in the implementation and development of the Black Studies Program met between July 14, 1969 and September 26, 1969 to prepare curriculum recommendations and course offerings for the upcoming Fall quarter. Additionally, academic personnel and faculty were recruited.
September 1969 Black Studies opened with an initial Fall enrollment of 83 students. Enrollment reached 428 at the end of the first year. The creation of the Center for Black Studies Research and the Black Studies Library followed soon after.
1969 Bill James becomes the first African American Associated Students UCSB Student Body President.