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.
“Blacks at Bowdoin”
Among the most significant efforts of AAS and the Society during their early years was the recruitment of black high school students. The efforts begun with Project 65 and BUCRO evolved into the Brotherhood Internship Program (BIP), created and managed by Robert Johnson ’71, Richard E. Fudge ’72; Eldridge Butler ’71, Roderick Taswell ’73. This was a mentorship program that matched black students at Bowdoin to black junior high students in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and coordinated college visits and advising throughout their time in high school. Around the same time, Bowdoin’s admission team began enlisting the Society to write content for a pamphlet series, “Blacks at Bowdoin,” for prospective students.