Imani: Trinity College Black Student Union

Members of TCB ca. 1977. Photo credit: The Trinity Ivy

Previous Names: Trinity Association of Negroes (TAN), 1967-1968; Trinity Coalition of Blacks (TCB), 1968-1989; Pan-African Alliance (PAA), 1989-1997.

Imani: Trinity College Black Student Union is the current name for a student organization dating back to the late 1960s which provides awareness, community, and support for the entire College community, particularly to “foster a welcoming environment to its students of color, provide representation for these students, and to promote coalescence amongst the greater Trinity College community, as well as the Hartford community.” Imani means “faith” in Swahili.

In April 1967, Trinity College's thirteen Black students joined together to form the Trinity Association of Negroes (TAN) “[t]o foster an awareness of their heritage, responsibility, and capabilities as [B]lack students.” The group promoted the social, political, cultural, and educational lives of Black students at Trinity. They sponsored lectures, put on plays and performances, organized dances, and facilitated Black History Month events on campus.

On April 22, 1968, arising from a climate of frustration and miscommunication, TAN, along with members of Trinity College's Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied together a group of 168 students to stage a sit-in, holding the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees and President Albert C. Jacobs captive for several hours during a regularly scheduled meeting in Downes Memorial.

Changing their name from TAN to the Trinity Coalition of Blacks (TCB) later in 1968, the group, on multiple occasions, made demands to the administration to create a better environment for Black students. In January 1969, they submitted a 12 point ultimatum. Among these 12 points was the request for at least 11% of incoming freshmen classes to be made up of Black students, at least one Black professor to be hired for every undergraduate department, and a curriculum revision to make courses more relevant to Black lives and culture. The ultimatum was met with a response from President Theodore Lockwood and increased communication between members of the TCB and the administration about implementing the points.

In March 1971, the TCB delivered another list of seven demands to the administration. The list focused again on the implementation of Black studies in the curriculum, the group wanting a Black Studies Program officially organized. This list also focused heavily on the need for financial aid and support from the College for Black students, with the TCB moving forward to advocate for the development of Black Scholarships.

TCB also played a major role in calling attention to racism displayed by the school. In 1973, they organized a sit-in and strike at WRTC, the campus radio station, following the cutting of Black programming. The group was also vocal about the profiling and discrimination students of color had experienced by campus security and guards. In 1989, the group—renamed the Pan-African Alliance (PAA)—participated in a sit-in at the office of the Dean of Students. Thirty-five Black students occupied the room from 8:20 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., dressed in black and refusing to speak. Around midday, a representative from the group read aloud a letter stating that the administration knew racism on campus existed but that they refused to acknowledge or fix it. Their demonstration was met by President James English and members of the administration drafting a policy document on racial harassment.

The group was renamed Imani: Trinity College Black Student Union sometime in or before 1997. In that year, Imani had to react quickly to the College's hasty plan to demolish Umoja House and build a new one further down Vernon Street. This plan was modified through the efforts of the Black Alumni Organization, Imani, and the Trinity College Black Women's Organization. Instead of suffering the fate of demolition, the building which is now occupied by Umoja House was lifted from its foundations and moved down the street next to Campus Safety, where the College remodeled and renovated it in the fall of 1997. In February 1999, Imani helped sponsor the visit of Reverend Jesse Jackson to speak about re-energizing activism on campus and beyond. In November of that year, the College hosted the first Black Student Union conference, in which Imani's leaders played a significant role. In the fall of 2000, Imani joined other student groups—La Voz Latina, the Carribbean Students Alliance, Hillel, MOCA, TCBWO, AASA, and EROS—in support of a proposal to create a multicultural requirement within the curriculum.

Imani has been funded from a variety of sources. For instance, in 2004 funding came from the Student Government Association, the Tutorial College, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Faculty Club.