On this date in 1969, Black students took over Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota.
The Morrill Hall takeover resulted from many decades of neglect and discrimination of Black students by the University. Despite an increase in Black students at the University and colleges and universities nationwide, the faculty and administration had remained indifferent to their cultural and racial needs. The two-day siege, orchestrated by nearly 70 people, was spearheaded by the Black students at the school.
The takeover resulted in changes in the cultural and academic life at the school. As a result, the University established the Martin Luther King Program and the Afro Studies Department.
