Interview of LaQuita Henry by Jennifer Grabmeier
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Date
2019
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Publisher
Ohio State University Archives
Abstract
LaQuita Henry was raised in Dayton, Ohio, and decided to attend The Ohio State University on the recommendation of the Young Republican organization she participated in while she was in high school. After she arrived at Ohio State, her politics aligned more with the Democratic Party, and she became a member of the Black Student Union. She was one of four female students who were on a campus bus after a BSU meeting on April 25, 1968, when they were ordered off the bus because they’d been discussing the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. a few weeks before. Members of the BSU decided to raise the incident, which involved campus police, at an already scheduled meeting with OSU administrators the next day, April 26, at the Administration Building (now Bricker Hall). Word spread about the incident, and the meeting turned into a sit-in. Henry was one of 34 students, all African-American, who were indicted on felony charges that included kidnapping. She and the other women on the bus were later expelled. However, she returned to Ohio State a few months after her expulsion and was surprised to see positive changes had been made even in the short time she was away. While on campus in 2018 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sit-in, Henry noted the many positive changes that she witnessed that reflect a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion than when she attended the University. To see Henry and three other students talk about these events, please go to http://go.osu.edu/CarmenCollection1968.
Description
Interview conducted at the Blackwell Hotel, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
The media can be accessed here: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/OralHistory/20180427_Henry_LaQuita.mp4
The media can be accessed here: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/OralHistory/20180427_Henry_LaQuita.mp4