"No Blacks on Campus"

"No Blacks on Campus," ca. 1972

During the late 1960s, many followers of the Black Power movement found they had difficulty defining a "black" identity. In response, members began trying to define “blackness”: what did it mean to be black? What beliefs demonstrated “blackness?"

Previously, to some black students, the “ideal” student was seen as one who did well in school while not antagonizing or challenging white professors and administrators. Some charged that this definition forced students to be focused on “individual survival” versus collective “racial uplift”--that is, to be "students" first and "black" second. In response to this, members of the Black Power movement emphasized a new kind of black student: the new definition became a picture of one who did well in academic pursuits while remaining committed to the welfare of other black students and black social causes. Furthermore, it was seen as imperative that black students be black both "inside and out"--to identify with their race politically, intellectually, emotionally, and physically.

In an editorial dating from the 1972-1973 school year, SAAC member and transfer student Karaan Rabu’s “No Blacks on Campus,” tackled the question of black identity in the SAAC's official newsletter. Ultimately, Rabu accused black students at NC State of not fully embracing black culture and, subsequently, their fellow black students.

In this scathing open letter, Rabu wrote, "As far as I'm concerned, there are no true blacks on this campus. Not to offend those who believe themselves to be true blacks, but those of you who talk of it and leave it at that, it is you to which I am speaking." Rabu identified "blackness" not with "parties or social events," but causes that black students should "come together and work for." These include the establishment of an Afro-American Department and the establishment of a black cultural center. Rabu called for unity among the students, encouraging them to “communicate to each other, get all over our heads together, find out what is going on, stop the whitey before he stops you.”

Ultimately, Rabu’s “blackness” is specified as not solely external, but internal as well; this internal "blackness" manifests itself in the support of relevant causes, as well as an embrace and coming together of fellow "Black American students."

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