DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | University of Iowa Afro-American Cultural Center, 1968-2009 | 2005-02-25 Iowa City Press-Citizen Article: "Cultural Center place for support"

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University of Iowa Afro-American Cultural Center, 1968-2009

2005-02-25 Iowa City Press-Citizen Article: "Cultural Center place for support"

UI News  Page 2A Friday, February 25,2005 
Iowa City Press-Citizen 

[handwritten]
Organizations: Afro-American Cultural Center

Cultural Center place for support

Facility is a resource for the university community. 

By Vida Brenner
Iowa City Press-Citizen

In the 1960s a decade of turmoil and change, the University of Iowa initiated a program of affirmative action and minority student recruitment that brought almost 1,800 minority students, mostly black students, to the predominantly white university.
     In 1968, during the presidency of Howard Bowen, the Office of Special Support Services began recruiting students who needed financial aid as well as academic and personal counselling. 
   Enrollment numbers and the listing of programs, however, so not describe the situation of those students who, coming from the nation's big cities might have trouble adjusting to Iowa City and university life. 
    The Afro-American Cultural Center, established in 1968, provided a welcoming atmosphere for students and gradually became a cultural resource for the entire university community.
    The black students, many from housing projects in large cities, had adjustments to make. They may have left communities that had a larger population of black residents than that of Iowa City but where the physical area is relatively small, said Phillip E. Jones, Vice President for Students Services and Dean of Students at the University. 
   The black students had to make the same adjustments and had to mature just as white students do who come from small towns in Iowa, according Jones. 
   " Because of the unfamiliarity of place, but also of people, it is the same for all students who come to a community that is larger and smaller at the same time. The school environment is larger (than some neighborhoods or small towns with populations of 600 people) but the community is smaller," Jones said. 
   The environment in Iowa City provides clean streets, green trees and lawns, a river and a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere in a community where almost everyone is under the age of 25. For the black student, the environment may be nice than their home neighborhoods, but they  may see very few older black students among the student population of 30,000. 
   " In that first semester, the students can't wait to get home, and then they can't wait to get back to campus," Jones said. 
   The Cultural Center is a place where a student is not alone in adjusting to the new environment. There is support there. It is a place where you can be who you are. 
  It's a place where as Jones said " You're not alone. You'll be OK."
   In 1967, Charles Derden, president of the UI Afro-American Student Association, and several other students proposed the establishment of a Black Studies program. 
    According to the late Phillip G. Hubbard, an engineering professor, UI Dean of Academic Affairs in the 1960s and UI's first black professor, the Afro-American Cultural Center was similar to other university sponsored places that fit the special needs of a particular category of students, such as the International House, Language House, Honors House and the Women's Resource and Action Center. 
    The first location for the Afro-American Cultural Center in 1968 was in the former UI News Service building, 3 E. Market ST., across from the Iowa Memorial Union. Benny Hawkins, a recently retired professor in the University Dental College and a retired Lt, Col,. in the Air Force Dental Corps from 1968 to 1978, visited the Afro-American Center on Market Street.
    " It was mostly a gathering place for undergraduate students to socialize and discuss problems. Graduate students were too busy to participate in activities," Hawkins said. 
   In 1971, after the first house was razed to make space for a parking lot, the center moved to 26 Byington St. just north of Hillcrest Hall. 
    The center used to have so many programs and so many dances that the students literally " danced the house down," Jones said. The center beam in the floor began to crack and bend and the house because uninhabitable. 
   The center moved in 1974 to its present location at 303 Melrose Avenue. 
     With the passage of time and the proliferation of organizations for black students, the Afro-American Cultural Center is no longer the only place for socializing. 
   It does offer, however, programs and lectures for the general public that reflects the black experience through movies, speeches, forums and poetry. Groups that have used the center over the years include the Darwin T. Turner Theatre Ensemble ( formerly the Black Action Theatre), the Black Genesis Troupe, the Writers' Workshop, poetry classes, the Voices of Soul and many professional student organizations, including law and nursing. 

[photo]
Special to the Press-Citizen 
The University of Iowa African-American Cultural Center, 303 Melrose Ave., offers programs and lectures for the general public that reflect the black experience through movies, speeches, forums and poetry.

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UI News Page 2A Friday, February 25,2005 Iowa City Press-Citizen [handwritten] Organizations: Afro-American Cultural Center Cultural Center place for support Facility is a resource for the university community. By Vida Brenner Iowa City Press-Citizen In the 1960s a decade of turmoil and change, the University of Iowa initiated a program of affirmative action and minority student recruitment that brought almost 1,800 minority students, mostly black students, to the predominantly white university. In 1968, during the presidency of Howard Bowen, the Office of Special Support Services began recruiting students who needed financial aid as well as academic and personal counselling. Enrollment numbers and the listing of programs, however, so not describe the situation of those students who, coming from the nation's big cities might have trouble adjusting to Iowa City and university life. The Afro-American Cultural Center, established in 1968, provided a welcoming atmosphere for students and gradually became a cultural resource for the entire university community. The black students, many from housing projects in large cities, had adjustments to make. They may have left communities that had a larger population of black residents than that of Iowa City but where the physical area is relatively small, said Phillip E. Jones, Vice President for Students Services and Dean of Students at the University. The black students had to make the same adjustments and had to mature just as white students do who come from small towns in Iowa, according Jones. " Because of the unfamiliarity of place, but also of people, it is the same for all students who come to a community that is larger and smaller at the same time. The school environment is larger (than some neighborhoods or small towns with populations of 600 people) but the community is smaller," Jones said. The environment in Iowa City provides clean streets, green trees and lawns, a river and a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere in a community where almost everyone is under the age of 25. For the black student, the environment may be nice than their home neighborhoods, but they may see very few older black students among the student population of 30,000. " In that first semester, the students can't wait to get home, and then they can't wait to get back to campus," Jones said. The Cultural Center is a place where a student is not alone in adjusting to the new environment. There is support there. It is a place where you can be who you are. It's a place where as Jones said " You're not alone. You'll be OK." In 1967, Charles Derden, president of the UI Afro-American Student Association, and several other students proposed the establishment of a Black Studies program. According to the late Phillip G. Hubbard, an engineering professor, UI Dean of Academic Affairs in the 1960s and UI's first black professor, the Afro-American Cultural Center was similar to other university sponsored places that fit the special needs of a particular category of students, such as the International House, Language House, Honors House and the Women's Resource and Action Center. The first location for the Afro-American Cultural Center in 1968 was in the former UI News Service building, 3 E. Market ST., across from the Iowa Memorial Union. Benny Hawkins, a recently retired professor in the University Dental College and a retired Lt, Col,. in the Air Force Dental Corps from 1968 to 1978, visited the Afro-American Center on Market Street. " It was mostly a gathering place for undergraduate students to socialize and discuss problems. Graduate students were too busy to participate in activities," Hawkins said. In 1971, after the first house was razed to make space for a parking lot, the center moved to 26 Byington St. just north of Hillcrest Hall. The center used to have so many programs and so many dances that the students literally " danced the house down," Jones said. The center beam in the floor began to crack and bend and the house because uninhabitable. The center moved in 1974 to its present location at 303 Melrose Avenue. With the passage of time and the proliferation of organizations for black students, the Afro-American Cultural Center is no longer the only place for socializing. It does offer, however, programs and lectures for the general public that reflects the black experience through movies, speeches, forums and poetry. Groups that have used the center over the years include the Darwin T. Turner Theatre Ensemble ( formerly the Black Action Theatre), the Black Genesis Troupe, the Writers' Workshop, poetry classes, the Voices of Soul and many professional student organizations, including law and nursing. [photo] Special to the Press-Citizen The University of Iowa African-American Cultural Center, 303 Melrose Ave., offers programs and lectures for the general public that reflect the black experience through movies, speeches, forums and poetry.