Office of Black Student Engagement
Creating, sustaining, and promoting Black scholarship, culture, history, and leadership. We coordinate an array of educational, cultural, and social programs focused on the Black experience at the University of Florida, the United States, and across the African diaspora.



Learn About Black Thursday
On the morning of Thursday, April 15, 1971, approximately 70 members of the University of Florida Black Student Union went to the university’s main administrative building, Tigert Hall, with a list of six demands addressed to UF’s then-president Stephen O’Connell. The demands were initiatives and action to support the experience for and education of Black students. After three attempts to present their concerns to O’Connell, the students refused to leave.
Our
On the morning of Thursday, April 15, 1971, approximately 70 members of the University of Florida Black Student Union went to the university’s main administrative building, Tigert Hall, with a list of six demands addressed to UF’s then-president Stephen O’Connell. The demands were initiatives and action to support the experience for and education of Black students. After three attempts to present their concerns to O’Connell, the students refused to leave.

