Black Student Takeover of the Administration Building

In 1969, the United Black Association (UBA) occupied the university’s administration building to force the University of Cincinnati to evaluate the ways Black students were being treated on campus. The takeover started at 11:00 a.m. and lasted until the following day. The United Black Association submitted a list of demands to the administration to which the UC's president later agreed, stating that the majority of the demands were already planned to be put in motion before the student takeover. Leading the pack, a Black student leader shouted the list of 18 demands through a bullhorn while leading the march to the administrative building. A crowd of 150 black and white students overtook the administration building, which is present day Van Wormer Hall and location of this stop, stood on the front steps, and refused to leave until UC’s President acknowledged the list of demands. When the President would not directly address the list, students began boycotting class out of protest. The list of demands that the United Black Association presented to the administration included ensuring that housing was nondiscriminatory, active recruitment of Black faculty and administrators, and Black history education at UC. The student demonstration was only resolved when a public statement was made by UC’s president and the UC Student Senate voted and passed a resolution endorsing almost all of the demands on the list. After the takeover, the UBA also helped create the African American Cultural and Resource Center currently still standing on campus, yet many of these student demands still have not been met.