African American Colloquium Records
UA4.6.6

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Historical Context/ Background Information

Scope and Contents

Arrangement

Administrative Information

Collection Inventory

Box 1: African American Colloquium

Summary Information

Repository

UNC Asheville Special Collections and University Archives

Title

University Archives - African American Colloquium Records

ID

UA4.6.6

Date [inclusive]

1991-2002

Extent

0.5 Linear feet

Physical Description

Contains correspondence, proposals, syllabi, assignments, student documents, written notes, statistical data, demographics, receipts, newspapers, printed articles, flyers, brochures

Location Note

Located in University Archives, Row 2, Section 3

Language

English

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Historical Context/ Background Information

The African American Colloquium was proposed and started by Dr. Dwight Mullen in 1991. The colloquium was created to give African American students, particularly first-year students, a support system at UNCA. Students were introduced to black faculty members who served as lecturers and advisors, and students were also assigned peer mentors who could give them advice about college and other personal matters. During the pilot years the colloquium met once a week at the side door of Highsmith Student Union and the course counted for one credit hour.As the years progressed, the colloquium gained acknowledgement as an official, university-recognized course. When it received this recognition, the African American Colloquium went from being a once a week, one credit hour class in 1991 to in 2002, a course that met twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Karpen Hall, and counted for three credit hours.

When the African American Colloquium first began, students of all academic stages attended the same course. In later years, however, both an African American Colloquium I and an African American Colloquium II were offered to students. First-year students took the African American Colloquium I, and upperclassmen took the African American Colloquium II. This divide between the students allowed the colloquium to be better tailored to specific groups of students.

Throughout the years that the African American Colloquium was provided, students learned about a variety of topics. They often learned about African American history, politics, and literature. But, the primary focus of the colloquium was teaching students how to successfully navigate their college careers. The colloquium also had different themes each semester. For instance in 1992, the theme of the course was “Academic Identity.” In 1995, the theme was “Study and Struggle.” In 2001, the focus of the course was African American music, and in 2002, the theme of the course was “Tradition and Survival.” The theme influenced the content of the course including lectures, reading materials, assignments, exams, and the class trip.

The class trip was an important aspect of the African American Colloquium. The nature of the class trips was determined by the focus of the course in a given semester, and the trips were always related to the African American experience. In 1992, the class traveled to Charleston, South Carolina over Fall Break. There, students toured historical African American sites, and they even attended a church service. In 1995, the class took a trip to Washington, D.C. where they visited Smithsonian museums, the National Mall, and toured Howard University, a historically Black university.

In 1997, the class went to Alabama where they participated in a tour of Civil Rights sites in the state. Activities included: vising the Tuskegee Institute, visiting the George Washington Carver museum, touring Dexter Ave Baptist Church, visiting the Civil Rights Memorial, and touring the Voting Rights Museum in Selma, AL. The class took a trip to Savannah, Georgia in 1998, where they toured facilities such as the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum. In fall of 2001, the class went to Tennessee, Memphis in particular, and Mississippi to learn about the roots of Black music in these places. In Memphis, the students toured the Smithsonian’s Rock-N-Soul Museum, the National Civil Rights Museum, visited the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and enjoyed entertainment on the famous Beale Street. After their time in Memphis, the class traveled to Tunica, Mississippi, where they toured the Blues Legend’s Hall of Fame Museum. Then the class went to Clarksdale, MS, where they toured the Delta Blues Museum and visited the Clarksdale Gospel Festival. Finally, the class journeyed to Nashville where they toured Fisk University.

In the fall of 2002, the class took another trip to Alabama where they toured Civil Rights sites. After their venture in Alabama, the class traveled to Atlanta, GA where they toured the King Center & Ebenezer church and visited local colleges in the area such as Clark University. The African American Colloquium was designed to help African American students find their place at UNCA, a predominantly white institution. Beyond that initial goal, the colloquium provided students with knowledge of their history and gave the students somewhere and someone to go to when they needed advice.

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Scope and Contents

This collection contains correspondence, proposals, syllabi, assignments, student documents, written notes, statistical data, receipts, newspapers, printed articles, flyers, and brochures pertaining to the African American Colloquium taught by Dr. Mullen and a variety of other professors and faculty members at UNCA. The materials in the collection document the planning, organization, and progression of the African American Colloquium. The course was catered to African American students, particularly first-year African American students, at UNCA, and it intended to provide these students with a support group that would help them successfully navigate through their college years.

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Arrangement

The African American Colloquium collection consists of one box of materials. In the box, folders one through eleven are sorted in chronological date order. Folders twelve through fourteen are not categorized by date because they are not specific to the course, but they are still associated with the colloquium.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

UNC Asheville Special Collections and University Archives

Custodial History

Donated by Dr. Dwight Mullen

Processing Note

Processed by Zaria White, Fall 2019

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Collection Inventory