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Omaha 54 Exhibit now open in UNO Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections

This exhibit is composed of materials from the Student Unrest Collection highlighting the history of the Omaha 54, a group of students who protested inequalities on UNO’s campus.

wooden and glass display cabinets with newspaper clippings, old photos, and old papers

1st Floor – During the 1960s, UNO students voiced concerns about the unfair treatment of Black students, faculty, and staff, and the dearth of courses that focused on Black history and culture. These concerns were largely ignored by the administration. On November 10, 1969, UNO students, some of whom were members of the student group Black Liberators for Action on Campus (BLAC), peacefully protested in the office of UNO’s president, Kirk Naylor. As a result of this peaceful sit-in, 54 students were arrested under the 1969 anti-riot law LB 3181. Students were bailed out by Black community organizations including the NAACP, the Urban League, Wesley House, Ernie Chambers, and others.

The bravery, activism, and sacrifice of the students became the catalyst for the creation of UNO’s Department of Black Studies. This sit-in was part of a larger, national demonstration of campus unrest, encompassing activism from San Francisco State University to Cornell University. It sparked conversations and heated debates about what a Black Studies program or department should, and could, encompass on college campuses.

The exhibit is composed of materials from the University Archives, primarily the Student Unrest Collection. Visitors can examine newspaper clippings from The Gateway student newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald, and the Omaha Star as well as documents from President Kirk Naylor, UNO Faculty Senate, and UNO Student Senate.

Visitors are reminded that items on display are primary sources, items created in a certain time that reflect the cultural norms and biases of the time in which they were created. Language and images found in these primary sources may be considered upsetting, offensive, or obscene by today’s standards. All materials on display have been digitized and are available online through the Archives and Special Collections digital collections page.

Part of this exhibit also highlights the Omaha 54 celebration held in July 2021, as part of Charting Our Path: Celebrating 50 Years of Black Studies. The UNO Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections and the Department of Black Studies hosted an event that brought members of the Omaha 54, their families, and the community together to honor the activism and sacrifice of the Omaha 54. Photos in the exhibit captured moments of speeches, sharing memories, and the reading of names to honor the former students.

The exhibit is on display in UNO Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections, located on the first floor of Criss Library, now through September 3, 2023, and is open to the public during normal Library hours, Monday-Thursday 7 A.M.-9 P.M., Friday 7 A.M.-5 P.M., Saturday 9 A.M.-5 P.M., Sunday 12 P.M.-9 P.M. The exhibit was curated by Claire Du Laney, Outreach Archivist.

About Charting Our Path

Charting Our Path: Celebrating 50 Years of Black Studies is a cooperative project of the Department of Black Studies and UNO Libraries. The project will honor the 50th anniversary of the Department of Black Studies in 2021-2022 through campus and community speakers, exhibits, and events as well as supporting expanding research, creative activity, and open access instructional resources. Support is provided by UNO’s Strategic Investment in Social Justice, Inequality, Race, and Class initiative. Charting Our Path is one of the ‘Telling Our Story’ proposals and was funded for 2021-2023. The project leads are Dr. Cynthia Robinson, Amy C. Schindler, and Claire Du Laney.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha Libraries

UNO Libraries fulfill the UNO mission through dynamic services, highly qualified and adaptive personnel, unique and extensive collections, and accessible learning spaces and environments. With its two locations, Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library on UNO’s Dodge Campus and in KANEKO-UNO Library located in Omaha’s Old Market, UNO Libraries provides UNO students, faculty and staff, and the Omaha community with the resources and materials needed to excel academically and professionally.