Black Students and Community at MSU
Despite the victory over segregation through the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, universities across the South, especially their clubs and organizations, took time to follow suit. Many clubs at Mississippi State University were segregated early on, leading to many African American students deciding to start their own. However, involvement on campus was not without pushback.
Shortly after desegregation, as more black students began registering at MSU, the Afro-American Plus organization formed. Its goal was to create safe spaces as well as opportunities for black students at MSU. In this article, it explains that Afro-American Plus became university recognized. This was monumental as it was one of the first organizations led by black students to be recognized. Their goals of improving the social lives of their members as well as improving relations with other races on campus were already proving a success.
However, progress for black students was never without its difficulties. In this newspaper article, the owner of a local hangout spot for students called the Triangle Club reportedly threatened a few black students and forced them to leave. A white student at the club named Andy Rushing saw the incident and told the owner that he would not be returning to the club, to which the owner reportedly threatened his life as well as inciting hateful speech against the black students. This shows that, despite the university no longer being segregated, many would not yet accept desegregation as a reality. This, in turn, led to black students taking the initiative to create their own outlets into the community.
Despite pushback, African American students were able to get approval for two black sororities: Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta. The Panhellenic President, Mary Karre, expressed her eagerness to welcome these sororities to campus. After many hardships, more black organization and involvement flooded MSU, cementing black students’ place in the University.