Mission Statement

The mission of the Black Student Union Founders Institute, a collective of San Francisco State College Alumni, is

• to tell the actual story of the formation of the Black Student Union and Black Studies Department,
• to reinvigorate the concept of Black Student Union and Black Studies programs/departments,
• and to re-inspire them to service that uplifts, advances, and meets the needs of the Diaspora of Black communities in the United States.

Vision Statement

The Black Student Union Founders Institute will become the nation’s foremost leadership organization for fostering and supporting education, program development, and community action that is relevant to improving the quality of life in the Black Community and for increasing the relevance of Black Studies to that effort.

In the future the Black Student Union Project will

• Tell the story of the actual struggle to form the first Black Student Union and Black Studies Department at California State University: San Francisco (formerly San Francisco State College) making it universally accessible, relevant, and useful.
• Establish and operate a foundation committed to re-invigorating the purpose and function of Black Student Unions and Black Studies programs/department in the United States.
• Offer innovative ways to educate our people to prepare them to make change and improve the quality of life in our communities.
• Engage in activities and events that make our mission and vision known.

Values Statement

Understanding that Black communities in the United States are no longer concentrated in one place but have become dispersed, we view the black community not as separate entities but one Diaspora within the U.S.  Members of our collective take the responsibility of remembering and transmitting our story:

• Recognizing that since the struggle at San Francisco State College, we have maintained our commitment to the principle of education as change that uplifts and improves the quality of life in our community.
• Recalling that our struggle was based upon the historical use of education as a catalyst for radical change in our struggle to survive and to advance our communities.
• Determining that as a community of elders, our stories are important.  We will tell the stories, remembering our history, and the importance of our story to teach and enable our youth to recapture, restate and recommit to the influential and far-reaching impact of education on our existence as a people.