The first known African American graduate of HBS was Wendell Thomas Cunningham (MBA '15). Over the subsequent five decades, fewer than 50 African American students attended HBS. In 1968, the African-American Student Union was launched at HBS to address the challenges students experienced as a racial minority in the classroom as well as broader socio–economic issues faced by African Americans nationwide. You can learn more about the history of African Americans at HBS on the Agents of Change: The Founding and Impact of the African-American Student Union exhibition website. It includes key early AASU documents, copies of select brochures from the annual AASU career/alumni conferences, and alumni profiles. The HBS Archives contains the records of the African American Student Union from 1968-1997, as well as the papers of Black HBS faculty Andrew F. Brimmer and David A. Thomas and alumnus Benjamin Tanner Johnson,.

In addition, the HBS Alumni Bulletin contains information and articles about alumni and programs. The Bulletin can be searched online: HBS Alumni Bulletin 1925-1941, HBS Alumni Bulletin 1941-1950, and HBS Alumni Bulletin 1951-2001.

Please Ask Us! or reach out to the Baker Special Collections and Archives Reference Staff directly at specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu if you are interested in accessing records or have any additional questions about our collections or services.