The Afrikan Student Union (ASU) is an organization dedicated to serving all Black students, staff and faculty at UCLA. ASU was formed at UCLA in 1966. Its purpose was to increase the enrollment of Black students; as the Black population was comprised entirely of athletes at that time. The organization’s founding was influenced by the increase in student activism brought on by the Civil Rights movement. The organization’s founding ideology was wrought by its early leaders of the Black Panther Party and the United Slaves Organization (“US”) during the 1960s. Recinents of this influence are still present in current ASU traditions as we still celebrate traditions such as Kwanza.,the national Civil Rights Movement, and the urban rebellions that engulfed the Greater Los Angeles Area in the 1960’s. During that period, the ASU Chairperson and several other student organizers created the High Potential Program at UCLA. This program’s goal was to increase Black and Latino student enrollment at UCLA. As as a pilot program, student leaders worked in South Central LA and East LA where they directly enrolled African American and Latino students. Sadly the program soon ended; yet, its creation birthed the Academic Advancement Project in 1970. From 1968-69, the High Potential Program increased the number of qualified minority students admitted to the University.

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Afrikan Student Union (ASU) at UCLA

Afrikan Student Union (ASU) at UCLA's headquarters in Los Angeles, CA, United States

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