In December 1980, the Purdue Black Alumni Organization was founded at the Commemorative Conference to recognize the 10th anniversary of the Black Cultural Center and the first Black alumni reunion.
We are an inclusive group of alumni, friends, faculty, and staff committed to the advancement of the Black community at Purdue. We support people of color at Purdue by:
Our Objectives From the 1980 Constitution
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You can learn more about Purdue’s Black history in Black Purdue, a feature-length documentary that begins with David Robert Lewis (CE 1894), one of the first Black students at Purdue.
Black Purdue takes us from a world of exclusion and isolation through cataclysmic social change and seminal student protests, ushering in an era of achievement at Purdue. Black social change was once confined to a corner in the Sweet Shop, but it eventually became part of the mainstream on campus and in the curriculum, sparking the attention of faculty and the Board of Trustees. Black Purdue is a remarkable tale of evolution that inspires us to believe in the power of hope.
Join Us
Join the Purdue Black Alumni Organization through a Purdue Alumni Association membership.
To learn more, visit our membership page