FAASA was founded when seven institutions convened on February 22-24, 1976, at the Ybor City Campus of Hillsborough Community College.  Their goal was to develop a strategy to address the educational, economic, and cultural concerns of students of African descent enrolled in colleges and universities across the state of Florida.  The group of collaborative institutions formed the Florida Black Student Union (FBSU).  FBSU was comprised of Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River Community College, Miami-Dade Community College, Palm Beach Community College, and St. Petersburg Junior College.​

 

African American students at private colleges and universities had previously initiated similar meetings.  However, they were regional rather than statewide. Their meetings tended to focus on the problems and concerns of African American students at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs).  FBSU’s first official meeting represented the first statewide effort to unite Black students throughout the state of Florida, including public and private institutions. The first FBSU President’s Conference was held in 1976 at the University of Central Florida. This set the precedent for holding two major annual meetings which are now the National Black Student Leadership Institute in the fall and The Annual State Convention in the Spring. 

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FSBU was chartered in the 1980s and changed its name from the Florida Black Student Union to the Florida Black Student Association, FBSA. During the same period, FBSA established its “PACE Plan” to promote political activism, academic excellence, cultural awareness, and economic empowerment. The organization changed its name again in 1989, as delegates at the 14th Annual State Convention, co-hosted by the Black Student Unions at Florida International University and Miami-Dade Community College, voted to change the name to the Florida African American Student Association, Incorporated.  In the Spring of 2015, FAASA became an official 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization, the Florida African American Student Association Education Foundation, Incorporated. FAASA’s history has remained vibrant and productive, as we actively advance our mission and serve as the official voice for students of African descent at Florida colleges and universities.

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