Brothers and Sisters United records

Collection

Identifier: ARCH184

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection contains newspaper clippings, event planning and promotional materials, meeting minutes, membership lists, correspondence, general financial records and reports, and a number of foundational documents for Brothers and Sisters United (formerly the Black People’s Union and AASA). This collection mostly spans from the early 1970s up to the early 2000s with a handful of documents from the early 2000s up until 2018.

Dates

1971-2018

Creator

Brothers and Sisters United (University of Hartford) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

The materials in this collection may be protected by copyright law (U.S. Code: Title 17). Any use of the material which exceeds fair use requires permission from the copyright holder. Researchers are solely responsible for obtaining the proper permission(s) for their use of the material.

Biographical / Historical

Brothers and Sisters United (BSU) originally was referred to as the Black People’s Union and was founded around the early 1970s with the oldest documents pertaining to the organization dated to 1971. The Black People’s Union was founded to help build an on-campus community for Black students that would aid in supporting the political, economic, cultural, and educational interests of the Black students. The Black People’s Union later changed their name to the African American Students Association (AASA) in 1982 and then again changed their name to Brothers and Sisters United in 1994. BSU outlined a number of points in its mission statement in their constitution which included making Black students aware of their identity and ancestry, to continue the struggle for liberation of all Black people, aid in the interests of Black students by making the University more respectful of the needs of Black students, and to establish communication with other minority groups in an attempt to build and foster a greater community. This mission remains constant throughout all iterations of the organization.