1948: Alpha Phi Alpha is founded as the first social fraternity. It was established by black MSU students. Its goal was to provide service to mankind and the advancement of interracial groups.

1948: David W. Dickson is hired as MSU's first black faculty member. He taught English until he resigned in 1963 to work at Federal College in Washington, D.C.

1952: Business and public service major Don Vest becomes MSU's first black cheerleader. He also was a member of the gymnastics team.

1954: Founded Feb. 3, Alpha Kappa Alpha becomes the first black sorority on MSU's campus. It had 17 members who involved themselves in service projects such as giving guided tours of the campus and visiting a veterans' home.

1954: The Brown vs. Board of Education case takes place.

1955: The bus boycotts in Montgomery take place.

1957: The first black in the U.S. to earn a doctorate in Speech and the first to be granted full professorship at MSU is Professor William Harrison Pipes. He worked at MSU until he retired in 1975.

1961: Freedom rides begin in the South.

1962: The Mississippi Riots take place.

1963: Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech.

1967: Patty Burnette, a black student, is crowned "Miss MSU." She represented MSU in the Miss Michigan Pageant.

1968: King is assassinated by James Earl Ray.

1969: Blanche Martin served two consecutive terms as the first black person to be a member of the Board of Trustees. Martin was an All-American football star when he attended MSU.

1970: MSU hires its first black president, Clifton R. Wharton. He was responsible for the performing arts center during his eight-year term, which was later named after him.

Sources: MSU Archives, The Seattle Times, Western Michigan University