For Members Only Publications

Scope and Contents note

The For Members Only publications, dating from 1981 to 2010, contain three different forms of publications including newspapers, newsletters, and magazines. The collection is organized chronologically by publication title. For Members Only published Blackboard Magazine and Black Beat (a supplement to Blackboard). The major themes of these publications include: civil rights, racism; local, national, and international news; politics, sports, art, student life, religion, sexuality, pop-culture, and fashion. Some important subject matters include: Apartheid, Black History Month, Black Liberation Month, African American Communism in Chicago, the Gulf War, and Hurricane Katrina. The third publication is a literary magazine entitled Voice & Vision. Each issue of this publication focuses on a different theme. This collection reflects the shift in how Blackboard was used as a publication for the student body, moving originally from a political voice for students on campus to an open forum to express their ideas on different aspects of African American culture outside of its political voice. This collection is significant because it provides an example of the shifting racial issues and concerns that the African American student population faced.