Making the Past Work for the Future

THE NEW BOOK, “Revolution to Evolution,” is a thoroughly researched and richly detailed history of the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity. Author Emile Pitre, ’69, covers more than 50 years of stories of innovation and tenacity. In 1968, a courageous group of students risked expulsion and arrest to draw attention to their cause of making the University of Wahsington a more diverse and inclusive campus. They presented a letter describing the institutional racism they encountered on campus and listed demands that included developing a Black studies program and recruiting and tutoring non-white students. Their public demonstrations culminated in the occupation of the president's office. And then, to the surprise of many, the University’s leaders—who had been working to address some of these issues for years—capitulated. Within weeks, the school was developing a Spe- cial Education Program dedicated to serving minority and economically disadvantaged students. By that summer, six Black and two Native American students were hired to recruit nonwhite students from around the state. And by June 1970, the UW had its first Vice President for Minority Affairs, Samuel E. Kelly, making advocacy and support for underrepresented students a priority for the UW as a whole. The book features profiles of the original activists, the driven and dedicated staff and the decades of students who not only survived, but thrived on campus.