Progress in the Face of Racism: 1960s UO President Arthur Flemming
This is the fourth of a series of blog posts highlighting the ongoing work of the Documenting UO History Project within the University Archives. A major part of this project is researching and documenting the often untold and hidden histories of the university’s diverse and underrepresented communities. This year our focus will continue to focus on Black history on campus, specifically Black student activism from the 1960s to present. Prior posts can be seen here.
I began my current research on Black student activism on the University of Oregon campus by researching campus life in the 1960s, this led me to perhaps the campus’s most progressive president, Arthur S. Flemming. President Flemming was popular among students and less popular with conservative Oregonian’s and the university’s board of trustees. In my interview with Herman Brame, one of the University of Oregon’s founding Black Student Union members, he offered insight into what it was like working with President Flemming firsthand. Brame’s experience provided the perfect contrast for my analysis of Flemming’s tenure.
President Flemming arrived on the Oregon campus in 1961 after serving as the United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Eisenhower from 1958-1961. Flemming quickly became popular on campus, particularly with students. He championed the rights of minority students and even defended the constitutional rights of the Communist Party, allowing representatives to speak on campus. Brame’s experience with working with UO President Flemming in the 1960s was incredibly positive. Brame, as well as many other activists, students and staff applauded President Flemming for being a progressive forward-thinker. In fact, President Flemming had an open door policy with the BSU, something that Brame confirmed in his interview.
Flemming’s presidential records, which are available in the university archives, are filled with communications to Black Student Union and other student activist groups. In a memorandum sent to all staff on April 24, 1968, Flemming wrote, “I am establishing a President’s Committee on Racism at the University of Oregon. The committee is to address itself to the issue of racism as set forth in the memorandum of the University Black Students Union presented to me last week… Which will also prevent any manifestation of racism in the future, thus enabling the university of Oregon to serve effectively each Black Student or other minority group student who becomes a part of our University community.” Flemming addressed the Black Student Unions list immediately, creating a committee which also included black student representation. Flemming suggested to the Board of Higher Education that the University of Oregon be allowed to immediately establish an Educational Opportunity Center, a state system admission for minority students and a special financial program for economically disadvantaged students with a particular emphasis on the needs of black students. Despite Flemming’s best efforts, the State Board was slow or unresponsive to fund such programs, and Flemming’s tenure at Oregon was nearing an unfortunate close.
According to the University of Oregon’s presidential history summary within the office of the president , Flemming was loved by students, but received a great deal of criticism from Oregonians for his liberal philosophies, and was urged to resign his position at University of Oregon and subsequently left the school in 1968. In fact, President Flemming was so popular with students than when word leaked that he might be leaving Oregon, the Oregon student government petitioned urging Flemming to stay. In an article in the Statesman Journal in February of 1968 titled “Flemming Petitioned to Remain,” the article stated, “The University of Oregon student senate Thursday night passed a motion strongly urging UO president Arthur Flemming to stay on his post. A group of students are also circulating a petition urging Flemming to stay.” It is not often that college students protest the departure of a college president, but Flemming had garnered the respect of Oregon’s student body. Other speculated that it was Flemming’s “itch for the Potomac” and a return to Washington D.C. that lured him away, either way, it was a loss for Oregon.
Although the administration attempted to address the Black Student Union list of demands after Flemming’s departure, much of the list was ignored. Flemming’s forced transition was a big loss for the University of Oregon, and a big gain for the U.S. government and Civil Rights Movement, as Flemming moved on to serve as chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights from 1974-1981.
As I have begun my research on the history of black activism on the UO campus, I’m finding several alarming trends. The obvious being that many of the issues that made black students and staff feel marginalized in 1968, have remained problems to this very day. There is, of course, minimal improvement in certain areas, which tends to go in line with national trends. Another issue seems to be that the university administration begins initiatives to remedy Black student demands but their momentum continually loses steam before projects are seen all the way through. Historically the process often starts with UO administration receiving complaints from black students, the administration then initiates the creation of a series of task forces made up of predominantly white members, the task forces begin to address some of the issues at hand, eventually the task force dissolves, then several years later the same issues are brought up by a new group of black students. This cycle of complacency is further perpetuated by an overwhelming white surrounding community. As Brame so insightfully pointed out, “It will take the support of the university as well as the community if UO hopes to create a more welcoming space for people of color.”
Our next blog posts will include information on UO President Robert D. Clarke and Black student activism on campus in the late 1960s and early 1970s. President Clarke succeeded Flemming as university president at the peak of anti-war and civil rights protests in Eugene.
Each month new blog posts will include recent findings as part of the the overall project and research. This is a very collaborative and open project so we welcome all participation and topic suggestions. This project will only be successful with a diverse community of scholars and students working together to find and document these testimonies. If you or anyone you know is interested in contributing to the process or participating in an oral history interview please contact us.
Information for this article was collected from the following sources:
Statesman Journal. “Flemming Petitioned to Remain.” February 1968.
Brame, Herman. “Herman Brame, 1968 UO Graduate & Founding BSU Member.” Interview. University of Oregon Archives and Special Collections, November 1, 2016. Accessed November 14, 2016.
“Memorandum to Staff.” Arthur S. Flemming to Administration & Faculty. April 24, 1968. University of Oregon Archives and Special Collections, Eugene, Oregon.
University Archives Photographs, UA Ref 1, Special Collections and University Archives.
Joseph Foley
Student Research Assistant
Documenting UO History Project
