Records of the Harvard-Radcliffe Afro-American Cultural Center

In January 1969, the Faculty Committee on African and Afro-American Studies, chaired by Henry Rosovsky, published a report on Afro-American Studies at Harvard. The Rosovsky Report, as it was known, recommended the establishment of a social and cultural center for black students. Due at least in part to this recommendation, the Harvard-Radcliffe Afro-American Cultural Center, also known as HRAACC, was established in the fall of 1969 as a non-profit corporation administratively and financially separate from Harvard University.

Initially housed at 20 Sacramento Street, the Center aimed to unify the black student community on campus, and to establish channels of communication and exchange with the wider black community. The Center was overseen by a Board of Trustees of students and community members, and a paid staff. The Center sponsored events and programs involving the community, such as the Help a Brother program and the Black Host Family project. The Center also dispensed funds to member organizations, including the Kuumba Singers,Harvard-Radcliffe Afro-American Dance Theatre, the Dennis Wiley Black Ensemble, and Black C.A.S.T. (Black Community and Student Theater or Black Community and Students Together). The Center put out several publications, including The Word, a calendar of events, and the Journal of Afro-American Affairs (previously titled the Journal of Negro Affairs). The Center worked closely with the Association for African and Afro-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe (AFRO), with which it shared office space.

Responsible for its own fundraising, the Center faced increasing financial difficulties in 1973. In 1974, the executive director resigned. By the fall of 1974, the Center relocated to 1750 Cambridge Street and became a fully student-run organization, with some faculty advisors on its Board of Trustees. In 1978, the Center moved again. With continuing financial troubles, and struggling to stay relevant in a changing environment, the Center began working closely with the Harvard Black Students Association. The BSA, founded in 1976, shared membership with the Center. The Center began coordinating programming of the BSA and other groups. By 1979, the Center was renting space in the Phillips Brooks House. It was still registered as an undergraduate student organization in 1984, but increasingly, the role it once played was assumbed by the BSA, which grew to be an umbrella organization for black student groups.

In January 1969, the Faculty Committee on African and Afro-American Studies, chaired by Henry Rosovsky, published a report on Afro-American Studies at Harvard. The Rosovsky Report, as it was known, recommended the establishment of a social and cultural center for black students. Due at least in part to this recommendation, the Harvard-Radcliffe Afro-American Cultural Center, also known as HRAACC, was established in the fall of 1969 as a non-profit corporation administratively and financially separate from Harvard University.

Initially housed at 20 Sacramento Street, the Center aimed to unify the black student community on campus, and to establish channels of communication and exchange with the wider black community. The Center was overseen by a Board of Trustees of students and community members, and a paid staff. The Center sponsored events and programs involving the community, such as the Help a Brother program and the Black Host Family project. The Center also dispensed funds to member organizations, including the Kuumba Singers,Harvard-Radcliffe Afro-American Dance Theatre, the Dennis Wiley Black Ensemble, and Black C.A.S.T. (Black Community and Student Theater or Black Community and Students Together). The Center put out several publications, including The Word, a calendar of events, and the Journal of Afro-American Affairs (previously titled the Journal of Negro Affairs). The Center worked closely with the Association for African and Afro-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe (AFRO), with which it shared office space.

Responsible for its own fundraising, the Center faced increasing financial difficulties in 1973. In 1974, the executive director resigned. By the fall of 1974, the Center relocated to 1750 Cambridge Street and became a fully student-run organization, with some faculty advisors on its Board of Trustees. In 1978, the Center moved again. With continuing financial troubles, and struggling to stay relevant in a changing environment, the Center began working closely with the Harvard Black Students Association. The BSA, founded in 1976, shared membership with the Center. The Center began coordinating programming of the BSA and other groups. By 1979, the Center was renting space in the Phillips Brooks House. It was still registered as an undergraduate student organization in 1984, but increasingly, the role it once played was assumbed by the BSA, which grew to be an umbrella organization for black student groups.