50th anniversary of Black Thursday at UF recognized
By Voleer Thomas
The University of Florida celebrated and discussed the historical, cultural and institutional impact of a protest that shaped the Black community on campus.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Black Thursday which happened on April 15, 1971 when 70 students marched into President Stephen C. O’Connell’s office with a list of demands, including having the university address the shortage of Black faculty and students at UF.
“What I admired most about the students who protested 50 years ago was their courage of conviction.,” said David A. Canton, Ph.D., director of African American studies at UF. “Many of the students paid the ultimate sacrifice when they withdrew from UF. The students protesting at UF were part of an international movement for freedom and equality.
UF Alumni Reflect On Black Thursday And The Black Student Experience
By Audrey Mostek
April 14, 2021
Betty Stewart-Fullwood was among the 100-plus Black students who left the University of Florida after the administration’s response to their demands for better treatment in 1971.
“It was the principle of the matter,” Stewart-Fullwood recalled Tuesday during a virtual panel discussion commemorating the 50th anniversary of the campus protests commonly known as Black Thursday. “I needed to walk out, even though I came back.”
Three times on Thursday, April 15, 1971, groups of Black Student Union members entered Tigert Hall in an attempt to speak with then-UF President Stephen C. O’Connell. The BSU wanted, among other things, UF to enroll and hire Black students and faculty, create a minority affairs department, and “the fair and equal treatment of our Black brothers and sisters” on staff at the university.