Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research. Access to unredacted BOC and BGSO administrative records is restricted. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for more information.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council, RG 08/02/06e, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council were transferred to Special Collections and University Archives in 2017.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Black Organizations Records commenced in April 2018 and was completed in December 2019.

Administrative History

Founded on the Virginia Tech campus in 1985, the Black Organizations Council (BOC) is the umbrella and resource body for the Black student organizations. BOC serves to ensure the betterment of the Black community through providing a unified voice for the Black community in a university population where the Black community lacks adequate representation. BOC also serves as a liaison between the administration, university organizations, and the Black community, provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of information, promotes the Black organizations individually and collectively, coordinates events which require the participation of all entities of the Black community and supports the development of campus camaraderie within the university community. BOC has a mission of being the governing, representing, and coordinating body for the primarily African American student organizations. We will also provide activism and advocacy, while meeting the challenge of the social and political forces affecting the Black community. We encourage each representative organization to empower themselves to create a paradigm in the area of leadership and service in the community.

Source: BOC GobblerConnect page, https://gobblerconnect.vt.edu/organization/BOC .

Scope and Content

This collection contains video cassette tapes of events and programs relating to the Black community at Virginia Tech and programs of other minority groups. It also contains 3 boxes of pictures of events and programs relating to minority groups at Virginia Tech. The events documented include Black History Month programs, the Donning of the Kente ceremony, Multicultural Center events, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian American Student Union cultural heritage programs, book signings, and guest speakers. There are also pictures of various faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, the collection contains flyers and calendars from the Black Organizations Council and related organizations, a binder of slides of paintings, drawings, and portraits, accounting documents, a history of events booklet, and folders of records, minutes, and other documents.

Arrangement

The collections has been divided into six series.

Series 1: Operational Records includes documents related to the running of the Black Organizations Council. This series is divided into four subseries: administrative files, meeting agendas and minutes, photographs, and financial records.

Series 2: Member Organizations includes photographs and other records related to student organizations that were members of the Black Organizations Council. This series has one subseries: Black Graduate Student Organization.

Series 3: Other Campus Organizations includes constitutions from the Jewish Student Union, University Council, and Student Budget Board as well as materials about the Interfraternity Council, the Asian American Student Union, and the Cultural Centers Advisory Committee.

Series 4: Events includes information about event planning by the Black Organizations Council, videos and photographs of events hosted in whole or in part by the Black Organizations Council, and videos and photographs of events hosted by other campus organizations. This series has nine subseries: Afrikan Awareness Weekend, Asian American Student Union, Black History Month, Black Student Leadership, Celebration of Diversity, Donning of the Kente, Filipino-American Student Association Culture Night, State of the Black Union, and Other Events.

Series 5: Presentations and Resources includes research from presentations given by members of the Black Organizations Council and materials maintained by the Black Organizations Council as resources for its membership.

Series 6: Black Cultural Center and Multicultural Center includes photographs of these two centers. This series has three subseries: Displays, Internal and External Views, and Faculty, Staff, and Students.

Index Terms

Subjects:

• African American history
• Johnson, Nicole
• University Archives
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University