📅 JFK campaigning at the U of I in 1960. ⁣ ⁣ In 1963 President John F. Kennedy would send a letter to colleges and universities, including the U of I, asking for their help with civil rights issues. The University’s Board of Trustees agreed to help. ⁣ ⁣ Later that year: ⁣ ⁣ Student and faculty vigils at the U of I over the Sixteenth Street Church bombing in Birmingham, Ala., inspire similar vigils around the country.⁣ ⁣ The Illinois Student Senate creates a campus civil rights commission.⁣ ⁣ Stay tuned for more memories and milestones throughout the month and a feature on Black student life in the Spring 2023 issue of Illinois Alumni magazine.⁣ ⁣ #BlackHistoryIsAmericanHistory | #PresidentsDay