Oscar W. Ritchie became the first black faculty member at Kent State and at any state university in Ohio when President George Bowman appointed him as a full-time faculty member in 1947.

The Black Student movement began at Kent State University in the fall of 1967.

The Black United Students (BUS) was first organized on May 21, 1968.

For a long time, Kent State was one of the few northern college teams to have African American players. In the late 40s, the players voted to reject an invitation to a post-season game in segregationist Florida rather than leave their black teammates behind.

From 1969-1975, Kent State only kept records of black students. It began recording all minorities in 1976.

Currently, 13 percent of all undergraduate students are minorities. There are approximately 1,949 black students on campus.

Contact Kelsey Leyva at [email protected].