ICC Accessible Timeline
The ICC is dedicated to creating a haven of respect, education, and celebration that aims to develop critical consciousness and awareness of the myriad cultures of Brandeis University. It also works to foster a welcoming community where diverse experiences and perspectives are valued and dedication to the understanding of cultures and ethnicities is essential. This timeline is devoted to honoring the past, present, and future of the ICC and the diverse peoples that help create, shape, experience, and strengthen its deep roots and community.
1960-1964: Civil Rights Movement
Brandeis students were heavily engaged in the Civil Rights Movement. Many students traveled South to participate in the Freedom Rides and Sit-In Movements. Brandeis and other local colleges picketed Boston Woolworth locations in February 1960. In 1963, over 600 Brandeis students pledged fasts for the “Food for Freedom” national campaign. The following year, Brandeis students organized more than 40 colleges and universities to partake in another one-meal fast; they raised $10,250 in food relief for Black voting rights activists in Mississippi. Despite students’ involvement in the civil rights, racism was still very present on campus. For more information about Black History at Brandeis, see Black Brandeis, Black History by Dr. Chad William's 2019 AAAS 130B Class.
1963: Latin American Studies Founded
Additionally, Brandeis University created its first interdisciplinary program in Latin American Studies in 1963. It was one of the first of its kind in the United States. More interdisciplinary cultural studies programs would be established in the years to come; however, the road was not without struggle. Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the now Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies (LACLS), Professor emerita Silvia Arrom said, "I'm so impressed by [former Brandeis President] Abe Sachar's vision in founding the program 50 years ago, in the faculty for its excellence and ambition, and thankful to our donors for helping us revive and strengthen this gem of a program that makes Brandeis so special. It makes me proud to have been part of this distinguished enterprise."
1968: Afro-American Society
Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the Afro-American Society presented a list of 14 demands to President Abram Sachar; some of the demands included the need for more recruitment of black students and the creation of an Afro and Afro-American Studies concentration. In April, the Advisory Committee on Afro-American Student Affairs was formed; however, their deliberations were delayed by the Faculty Educational Policy Committee (EPC), who did not discuss the creation of an Afro and Afro-American Studies program until September 25, 1968. Additionally, their request for Morton May Hall (now the Shapiro Admissions building) to become the African Cultural Center was denied.
1969: Ford Hall Occupation
In 1969, the Afro-American Society presented the administration with a list of ten nonnegotiable demands. Read more about the 11-day Ford Hall Occupation here. The creation of the Afro and Afro-American Studies Department was officially approved on April 24, 1969. Ronald Walter, a political science professor, became the first chair of the newly-formed department.
1970-1971: Grito
Grito, an organization of Puerto Rican and Mexican American students, was formed ca. 1970. On March 19, 1971, Grito, along with a representative from the Afro-American Society, presented a list of three non-negotiable demands to the Brandeis Board of Trustees. They demanded: 1., the admission of 15 Latino freshmen with financial aid packages for the upcoming 1971-72 academic year; 2., the permanent hiring of a Latino recruiter by the admissions office; and 3., a Latino graduate student, recruiter, or admissions staff member with direct input in admissions decisions of Latino applicants. Naomi Vega, one of the Grito representatives, said, "The University must face up to its social responsibility to the oppressed third world groups - Afro-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, and native Americans. The only reason the University recognized its responsibility to Afro-Americans is because it has been compelled to. We feel Brandeis will not recognize its responsibility to Latinos unless we force them to."
In 1971, Grito also picketed and boycotted Kurz Dining Hall on behalf of the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. The union had called for a nationwide boycott of non-union lettuce.
1971: BAASA
While the Brandeis Asian American Students Association (BAASA) was officially formed in Fall 1971, the Brandeis Asian community had been politically active for a while. Even before BAASA's founding, they headquartered and organized the National Student Strike in May 1970 from Professor Fellman's Pearlman Hall office. BAASA was also heavily engaged in demonstrations and community work in Boston's Chinatown as well as leading campus dissent against the Vietnam War and American imperialism. Read more about the history of BAAS in this timeline, created by Ellie Tang Kleiman ‘21.
February 1972- April 1973: Third World Coalition
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Brandeis students of color were simultaneously forging individual and collective political identities and firmly holding Brandeis accountable to its marginalized communities. In December 1972, BAASA, Grito, and the Afro-American Society_ (Afro)joined forces to protest the University's cuts in financial aid allocations to minority students in 1972. Together, they formed the Third World Coalition (TWC). They submitted a list of four proposals to the administration regarding financial aid policies. By Spring 1973, the administration had failed to met the demands - and only marginally increased the minority financial aid pool by $10,000 instead of the requested $100,000. Brandeis also denied recognition of Asian students as a minority group. In response, the TWC initiated a "Teach-In" in March, 1973 and expanded their list of demands. This was followed by a protest in Bernstein-Marcus on April 2, 1973. The day-long occupation ended when the administration threatened to prosecute the occupying students. Those students were subjected to an intense disciplinary action. The administration did not address any of the TWC demands.
February 1975- April 1975: Campus Support Coalition (CSC)
In Spring 1975, the administration announced a massive funding cut to the Transitional Year Program (TYP) from $80,000 to $35,000. Within days of the public announcement, members of Afro, BAASA, Grito, the Women's Coalition, the United Farm Workers Support Committee, and the Waltham Group formed the Campus Support Coalition (CSC). Building upon TWC's work only two years prior, the SC released their demands in a student publication (see left). They held sit-ins, protests, demonstrations, and sent letters to the administration; however, the university did not comply with the demands. Friction within the SC between moderates and activists ensued.
April 29, 1975 - May 5, 1975: Pearlman Hall Occupation
After the University made further cuts to the TYP program, a multi-racial group of students called the Student Action Group (SAG) began their occupation of Pearlman Hall. Their demands were the same as CSC with the addition of amnesty for the occupying students. Of the 28 anonymous students who occupied the building, the spokespersons (led activities outside the building) were Ben Tai of BAASA, Martha Hernandez of Grito, Larry Rothbart of Afro, and Jaime Perez of Grito. After six days, the university finally agreed to several of the demands, including the recognition of Asian students as minority students and an increase to the TYP budget. For more information about the Pearlman Takeover read this zine by Ellie Tang Kleiman '21. The SAG victory also inspired the creation of a Student Union, recognized in the 1975 Student Union Pamphlet. "But beyond the economic results of the struggle, two other victories were won: over the course of the struggle, the beginnings of strong, multinational unity were forged; and second, students recognized the need for a permanent defense organization to defend themselves.”
October 1975: Brandeis Gay Alliance
1975 marked the formation of the Brandeis Gay Alliance (BGA), a supportive community of gay, lesbian, and bisexual students.
April 1976: First Annual Conference on Latin America
The first annual Conference on Latin America was also held on April 2-3, 1976. Ed Ramos '78 and Dulce Gomez '76 along with the Latin American Studies Department organized the event. The presentations and workshops covered current events in Haiti, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and the Dominican Republic. Ramos said one of the conference's goals was to educate people on Latin American concerns. Read about the 1979 Conference here!
1979- 1987: Divestment Moment
Tom Ranuga, one of the few South African students at Brandeis, called for Brandeis to divest its shareholdings in multi-national firms operating in South Africa. It wasn't until 1987 that Brandeis announced it would fully divest from South Africa.
1980-1983: Re(Naming) New Clubs
The early 1980s marked the (re)naming of different cultural and social groups on campus. The Afro-American Society transitioned to the Black Afro-American Party (BAAP) in 1981 before becoming the Brandeis Black Student Organization (BBSO) ca. 1983 - a name that continues today. In 1982, Grito disbanded to organize Nosotros. Nosotros Vice President Manny Mayor explained that Grito had an "image of being too political;" thus, didn't attract a large part of the Brandeis Hispanic community. Triskellion, the Brandeis Lesbian/Gay Coalition, was also founded in 1982.
1981 -1983: Early Student Publications
Many groups also began publishing their own newsletters. In 1981, BAASA published Eastern Tides. Check out some of their early publications here! In 1983, Nosotros and the BBSO also began publication. Libby Grant '83, News Editor for the BBSO's Ebony Focus, said, "Our goals are to let minority and black students know what's going on on this campus and at other campuses. We will also have spotlights on minority professors and students. There are hidden talents on campus which don't come out."
1987: The Spark : Advisory Committee on students of color
In 1987, the University Advisory Committee on Students of Color was formed to research the academic and social concerns of minority students on campus. They reviewed University admissions policies, retention, comfort on campus, accessibility of support services, curricular issues, hiring of POC faculty and administrators, and establishing connections with secondary schools. The 12-15 person-committee consisted of university administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Professor Malcolm Watson (Psychology) and TYP Director Thompson Williams co-chaired the committee. Some members of the committee included Associate Director of Student Life Phyllis Brown, Amruta P. Mhatre (grad), and Guildren Torres '89. In May, the committee submitted their list of recommendations to former President Evelyn Handler. While a few recommendations were implemented immediately, many were deferred or rejected outright. One of the proposed recommendations was the creation of an intercultural center, but Handler immediately rejected it saying that the new academic dean "best meets the academic and social objectives envisioned by the committee.
December 1989: Concerned Members of Brandeis Community
Following Handler's response to the recommendations offered by the Advisory Committee on Students of Color, several students formed the Concerned Members of the Brandeis Community. They called for the administration to address the needs of the "total person-academic, cultural, social, and financial." In December, the Concerned Members of the Brandeis Community demonstrated against the administration's paternalism and called for the creation of an intercultural center and curriculum reform. John Hose, former Associate Vice President for University Affairs, said, "It was not and is not a possibility" due to budgetary constraints. Instead, the administration agreed to the creation of an intercultural library. The library, which would cost significantly less than an intercultural center, was to be located in the renovated Morton May Memorial Hall.
1989: Intercultural Library
The intercultural library was established in Summer 1989. BBSO President Cornelius Salmon '89 said, "It shows the university has an interest in students of color and an interest in regard to diversity." Read more about the Intercultural Library founding here!
1990: Barnes and Nobles Boycott
Lawrence Holcomb, a sociology student, said, "I walked into the bookstore with a couple of my friends who, like me, happen to be African American. I felt the burdensome weight of a pair of eyes upon me...I looked up, and sure enough, a man with a business suit was staring unabashedly at us while talking to someone who I perceived to be a store employee." Protesting racial profiling, Holcomb and black student leaders called for a boycott until managers Tom Fitzgerald and David Strati were removed from the university bookstore.
1991: Caribbean Connexion
Caribbean Connexion was founded by Nadine Cuffe.
March 1991: Petition for Swig
In an open letter to the Brandeis community, the Intercultural Center Push Committee petitioned for Swig, formerly the Athletics Facilities, to become an intercultural center. Read the petition here!
November 1991: Uscab Endorses Intercultural Center
Several petitions were heard for the future use of Swig. After much deliberation, the Usdan Student Center Advisory Board (USCAB) recommended the Swig Student Center become the Intercultural Center.
1992 — 2002: Rev. Nathaniel Mays Named ICC Director
Rev. Nathaniel Mays was the ICC Director from 1992-2002.
January 17, 1992: Phyllis Brown Named Interim Director Of The Intercultural Center
Phyllis Brown, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, was named Interim Director of the ICC.
March 4, 1992: A Vision Realized
The Intercultural Center celebrated its opening in the Swig Student Center on the Brandeis campus. The theme of the celebration, "A Vision Realized," recognized the efforts of the organizing and advocacy student group known as the Push Committee. The center's nine founding student clubs included ¡Ahora!, AZAAD, the Brandeis Asian American Student Association, the Brandeis Black Student Organization, Caribbean ConneXion, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, the Korean Student Association, Sepherad, and the South Asia Club (aka South Asian Students Association). Read the program here!
1997: Intercultural Library Moves
With the support of the center's advisory board, director and student leaders, books in the Intercultural Center library were integrated into the university's main library.
1999: First Culture X Performance
Culture X is sponsored by the Intercultural Center and is Brandeis University's signature production celebrating diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism on campus. Every year, dozens of student performers educate and entertain through dance, music, poetry and other forms of artistic expression, making Culture X one of the most powerful and popular shows on campus. Read about the founding of Culture X and all the performances in this timeline.
March 16, 2002: ICC’'s 10th Anniversary
“The Intercultural Center celebrates its 10th anniversary with a jam-packed roster of performances by students and alumni at Culture X. President Jehuda Reinharz remarks that the center "has surpassed our greatest expectations" and praises director Nathaniel Mays for his many contributions during his 10 years at the helm.”
2003 — 2006: Susie Talukdar Named ICC Director
Following the Rev. Nathaniel Mays' promotion to assistant dean for student life and diversity services, a new Intercultural Center (ICC) director was hired: Suzie Talukdar '96. She recalled, "When I first started Brandeis (as a student), it was the first full year that the center was open, and so I became familiar with the center through the clubs I was part of." While Talukdar was a student, she was involved with the South Asian Club and the Muslim Student Association. Read more about Talukdar here!
2003: ICC's Budget Increases!
In 2003, the Intercultural Center’s budget was increased. This was done so that retention funds would not be drawn upon as it had been done for years before. As the ICC continued to grow, another professional staff member was added in May of 2003. A full-time administrative assistant was hired to provide support to the Director and to help manage services provided to club leaders, members, and visitors.
May 2006 — 2007: Renovations To The ICC Building
The Intercultural Center presented the administration with a $105,000 proposal to renovate the second floor of the ICC building in order to create a multipurpose room. The space contained offices for seven clubs and an office for the ICC director. They argued that the offices were not useful because of their small size. "The renovation will really allow more people to take advantage of the space of the ICC and see it as a resource," ICC Director Sujan Talukdar said. Due to funding delays, the renovations were stalled until 2007. Read about the Summer 2007 renovations here!
September 2006 — 2016: Monique Gnanaratnam Named ICC Director
Monique Gnanaratnam was named ICC director following Talukdar. Read more about Gnanaratnam’s initial hiring here!
March 4, 2007: ICC's 15th Anniversary
Newly hired director Monique Gnanaratnam helped the Intercultural Center celebrate its 15th anniversary. Anthony Brooks '92, a social studies teacher in Long Island and a member of the committee that first petitioned the Brandeis administration to create an African Cultural Center on campus, delivered the keynote address. A cabaret of cultural expression and performances filled out a full afternoon of events. Several alumni accentuate the event's theme, "Telling Our Story," by describing the many ways the Intercultural Center positively impacted their lives.
October 28, 2011: First Soar & Women Of Color Conference
The first SOAR and Women of Color Conference was held at Brandeis on October 28, 2011. The theme was ”Phenomenal.”
2012: Lavender Graduation
Lavender Graduation was started in 2012 as a way to recognize LGBTQIA+ and allies who were graduating. The event recognized both the work students have done towards creating a queerer Brandeis and the need for ongoing and further institutional support from Brandeis. The name for the event is derived from Betty Friedan’s infamous derision of lesbian feminists as the “Lavender Menace.” While the word lavender may be used derogatorily, through events like Lavender Graduation, queer students, faculty, and staff on campus are working on reclaiming it. The first Lavender Graduation at Brandeis was hosted by the ICC.
2012: Brandeis Queer Resource Center (QRC)
The Brandeis Queer Resource Center (QRC) was founded in 2012.
March 2, 2012 — March 3, 2012: ICC's 20th Anniversary
The Intercultural Center celebrated its 20th anniversary. Elaine Wong, Senior Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences for Undergraduate Education, was honored with the center's Inspiring and Creating Change Award, for her unwavering support of the ICC over many years. The weekend of events also includes a panel discussion with ICC alumni, titled "Stories of Change," and a lantern ceremony on Chapels Field. Read more about the anniversary here!
2014: Gender And Sexuality Center
The Gender and Sexuality Center was established as an advocacy and resource entity for lesbian, gay, same-gender loving, bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual students, staff and faculty at Brandeis. Read about their official opening here!
2016 — 2021: Madeleine Lopez Named ICC Director
Madeleine Lopez was hired as the new ICC director in July.
2016: Indigenous People's Day Teach-In Founding
The ICC hosted the first Brandeis Indigenous Peoples' Day Teach-In.
February 28, 2017 — March 1, 2017: ICC's 25th Anniversary
The Intercultural Center celebrated its 25th anniversary. Janice Johnson Dias '94, president and co-founder of the GrassROOTS Community Foundation, delivered the keynote address. The weekend celebration also included a panel discussion on the founding of the center as well as the ICC annual cultural showcase, Culture X.
2021: Habiba Braimah Named ICC Director
Habiba Braimah, a 4th year Ph.D. student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management was named the new director of the ICC.
2021: Roses In Concrete
In Fall 2021, Roses in Concrete was founded. It is a Leadership & Mentorship Program for Black, Latinx, Asian and Indigenous college and Waltham high School students and supporters. The program fosters educational, leadership, mentorship, and professional development opportunities. For more information, visit our website!
2022: ICC's 30th Anniversary
The Intercultural Center celebrated its 30th anniversary called, “Continuing the Vision.” The ICC celebrated with numerous events, including the ICC Alumni Career Panel on March 3rd, the ICC History Panel on March 4th, The State of Blackness on April 1st, and the Alumni Brunch on April 2nd.