Afro-American Action Committee Scholars LLC

Affiliated Courses:

• Fall Semester
  • MLK 1001, AFRO 1011, ECHO Courses
• Spring Semester
  • MLk 1002, AMIN 1003, ECHO Courses

Dr. King’s Beloved Community was not a utopia, but a realistic and achievable goal—a society grounded in justice, equal opportunity, and love of one’s fellow human beings. In this LLC, we ask students to think critically about what it means to build that community right here at the University of Minnesota. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Advising Program, founded in 1969, is the oldest, longest-standing, and only accredited program of its kind in the nation, recognized by the Association of Black Cultural Centers.

A key part of that conversation involves understanding the historic Morrill Hall Takeover on January 14, 1969, when more than 70 Black students—many of whom were members of Students for Racial Progress (STRAP)—took bold action to challenge institutional racism at the University of Minnesota. By occupying Morrill Hall, the University's central administrative building, they directly confronted university leadership and delivered seven demands to President Malcolm Moos, calling for meaningful and lasting change. These demands included:

• The establishment of an Afro-American Studies Department.
• Full scholarships for Black high school students.
• Increased recruitment of Black faculty and staff.
• A Black advisor to counsel Black students.
• Guidance and counseling programs specific to Black students.
• The addition of African-American history and culture courses.
• Increased admissions of Black students at the University.

As a result of their efforts, the University established what is now known as the Department of African American & African Studies—one of the earliest of its kind in the country.

We are not interested in performative allyship or surface-level engagement. We are cultivating future leaders, activists, educators, and advocates who are ready to carry forward the spirit of the students who sat in at Morrill Hall—students who demanded more, not just for themselves, but for generations to come.