Public Art Symposium

Justice from Then to Now: Honoring the Association of Beaver College Blacks

Please join us on Thursday, March 27th, 2025, 4:30pm – 6:30pm, in Landman Library, Beaver College Reading Room, for the Justice from Then to Now Symposium and Public Art Reveal honoring the Association of Beaver College Blacks. 

The Association of Beaver College Blacks started in the 1960s as a student group advocating for a more equitable Beaver College (present day Arcadia University). ABCB advocated for more representations of the African Diaspora on campus by demanding more books, classes, events and professors/mentors who reflected that background. The legacy of ABCB can be seen on Arcadia’s campus today with the Black Excellence Society (a student group that changed its name from the Association of Beaver College Blacks to the Black Excellence Society in 1984), as well as other student groups that utilized ABCB’s work and advocacy as a blueprint. 

N.E. Brown, the 2024 artist-in-resident at Arcadia, worked with Professor Krista Proffitt’s public art class to conduct oral histories with the founding and early ABCB members. This project included designing and building memorial benches and a sculptural vase to honor the members and legacy of ABCB. This upcoming spring, Arcadia University would like to celebrate the Association of Beaver College Blacks by holding a symposium and art opening with three of the founding and early members of ABCB. This symposium will discuss what the members of ABCB accomplished over 40 years ago, and how their advocacy can be an inspiration for activism in today’s tumultuous times.

RSVP Here!