In the establishment of the Africana Studies program, the Committee for Afro-American Studies (CAAS) requested only one full-time appointment in the program, the director, perhaps as a means of expediting its approval—the College would only have to fund one new faculty line. In practice, that meant the faculty director not only taught but managed the program, developed curriculum, and advised majors as well as the African American Society. This arrangement persisted for forty years, making the contribution of students’ time, effort, and advocacy to the program invaluable.
Life-long Commitment
Virgil Logan ’69 was a founding member of the Bowdoin Undergraduate Civil Rights Organization (BUCRO) and Society. When rumors in the Orient spread that BUCRO, whose responsibilities fell under the scope of the Society, might die, Logan fought for its survival so that civil rights activity at Bowdoin could remain an integrated, campuswide endeavor. Like several of the early black graduates, Logan remained committed to AAS and the Society after he graduated. When, in 1989, the Program and Society celebrated their twentieth anniversary, Logan was dying of AIDs and too sick to attend. Instead, he sent the Society this list of requests that the College see through on behalf of black students, past and present, at Bowdoin.