In the second part of our two-part series on key moments in Washington University’s Black history, we will examine events from the 1968 publication of the first Black Manifesto through the present day.

Washington University Graduate Workers Union launched a Valentine’s day campaign, the University hosts its annual Day of Discovery, Dialogue, and Action and two WU faculty members were awarded NEH fellowships.

If the University truly wants to establish itself permanently as the flourishing, vibrant, politically-active campus it becomes in the days preceding presidential debates or major elections, change starts from the top down.

Despite concerns about the intent of the event, the Day of Discovery and Dialogue, which was designed to open a discussion at Washington University about issues of diversity and inclusion, was hosted on the medical school campus last Wednesday and on Danforth Campus last Thursday.

A University-wide “Day of Discovery and Dialogue” on the subject of race and ethnicity addressed issues of racism and diversity on campus that have become increasingly prominent following recent events in Ferguson.