The Center for Black Studies

In 2005, the Center for Black Studies was established to affirm the university’s commitment of fulfilling its diversity initiatives. Southern Miss was desegregated in 1965 when Raylawni Branch and Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong became the first African-American students enrolled at the university. Fifty years of progress is evident in the wide-ranging programming, research, teaching, and service activities organized and supported by the Center for Black Studies. The mission of the Center is two-fold: to promote research and provide educational opportunities related to the history and culture of African Americans and the Black Diaspora and to facilitate connections between the University and the various social, political, and economic entities that address Black experiences.