St. Clair Drake, Keynote speaker at the First Annual Symposium: Towards an Afro-American Philosophy for the 1990s - March 28-30 1985 Purdue University. From Purdue Buildings and Campus Scenes digital collection.
Crowd standing with flags at Latino Cultural Center dedication on September 15, 2006. From Purdue Buildings and Campus Scenes digital photograph collection.
Archives and Special Collections is in continuous communication with the different cultural centers on campus to transfer records to the archives as they become available.
Purdue University has an extensive history with Asian American and Asian students. Today, Asians and Asian Americans constitute the second largest student demographic on campus. The Asian and Asian American Resource and Cultural Center (AAARCC) was founded in January 2015 as a result of dedicated efforts by students, faculty and staff, including protests and demands. As one of six cultural and resource centers on Purdue’s campus, it has become an integral part in fostering and supporting a diverse and inclusive campus environment. This collection documents the history and activities of the center since its founding in 2015. The collection also contains materials about events hosted by the Asian and Asian American-focused student organizations. Of particular interest might be the material from the 2013 Art Voice Exhibit “The Languages and Politics of Inclusion,” as it reflects expressions of Asian and Asian American identities at Purdue. The collection may be useful for researchers interested in diversity and inclusion events at Purdue in the twenty-first century. Types of materials include: printed materials (flyers, poster, brochures), photographs, artifacts, and clippings.
The Purdue University Black Cultural Center, founded in 1969, serves to provide support and a home-away-from-home for Black students, as well as education for the general campus community. The materials in this collection document the programs, activities, and community created by and surrounding the Black Cultural Center. The Center was originally located in a house on University Street, where it existed for nearly 30 years before a new center opened in 1999. The Black Cultural Center includes a library, study rooms, and meeting rooms for student and staff use. Throughout its existence, the BCC has hosted and sponsored numerous programs, events, and activities through its mission to further education, awareness, and understanding among different cultures.
The LGBTQ Center records (1973-2018) document the history and activities of the center since its founding in 2012. As one of six Cultural and Resource Centers at Purdue, the collection contains materials from related relevant events co-sponsored by the center or attended by staff and LGBTQ community members. Some materials prior to the founding of the Center relating to LGBTQ student organizations are also included in the collection. Of particular interest might be the documentation of creating LGBTQ courses and establishing a LGBTQ studies minor as well as the various 2015 drafted reports on racist incidents on campus, students’ intercultural knowledge and competence, and Safe Zone data. Another highlight of the collection is the 2016 Banner of Hope, as it reflects concerns and thoughts of a vulnerable student population in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election. The collection was transferred by the LGBTQ Center in 2013 and 2017. The collection may be useful for researchers interested in diversity and inclusion events and activism in and around Purdue University in the twenty-first century. Types of materials include: correspondence, printed materials (flyers, brochures, posters), photographs, artifacts, plaques, newspaper clippings, digital videos.
Latino Cultural Center records documents the programs, activities, and community created by and surrounding the Latino Cultural Center. This includes records, publications, correspondence, and media related to the Latino Cultural Center and its goals and activities, both within Purdue University and the Greater Lafayette area and surrounding communities. This collection may be helpful to researchers interested in minority communities, student life, immigration studies, and minority women leaders.