African-American Student Union (AASU) records

The African-American Student Union (AASU) was officially founded at Harvard Business School (HBS) amid the social turbulence of the late 1960s. Five HBS students, Clifford E. Darden, A. LeRoy Willis, Lillian Lincoln Lambert, E. Theodore Lewis Jr., and George R. Price, came together to address challenges they experienced as a racial minority at HBS as well as broader socio-economic issues faced by African Americans nationwide. In a 1969 letter to HBS faculty, AASU members stated that “(1) the seriousness of the racial situation and the socioeconomic condition of Black people demand a major and positive response from all institutions which form part of our society; and (2) Harvard Business School, as one of the major educational institutions in the nation, must accept its share of the challenges and risks associated with the upgrading of educational opportunities of Blacks and other minority groups.” AASU members proposed four core goals: increase Black enrollment in the MBA program; raise more fellowship funds for Black students; add new courses relevant to Black students; and promote meaningful social interaction and career development. Working closely with Dean George P. Baker and others in the HBS administration, members of AASU succeeded in raising the number of African American students. They also created the impetus for increased fellowship funding, courses on economic development in underserved communities, and broader representation in the HBS faculty. In 1971, HBS formed the Council for Opportunity for Graduate Management Education (COGME) with nine other graduate business programs across the country with the mandate to provide financial support and increase minority enrollment in member schools.