The first Black student enrolled in Carleton was Franklin B. McDaniel, who in 1874 was a student in the preparatory academy for two years. The preparatory academy taught a few Black students including the first Black woman at Carleton, Angelina Weld Grimke. In 1949, the first Black student, Alvis Lee Tinnin, graduated from Carleton with a degree in English. Following him, throughout the 1950s a few Black students could be found every few years in Carleton's overwhelmingly White student body. Changes started in the 1960s when admissions started to actively seek and enroll Black students. This effort was aided in 1964 when Carleton received a Rockefeller grant with the express purpose of growing the Black student population on campus. With a growth in the student population, came new student organizations to support the Black community and challenge racism on campus. The 1970s continued this trend, further expanding the Black population of Carleton and Black student organizations. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, after the Rockefeller grant ended, the number of Black students dropped and varied under different admissions strategies and policies. Some student organizations continue to work on campus supporting the Black community. 

Organizations for which the archive contains a wealth of information have received their own pages here, while other important organizations which have limited documentation are featured on the "Additional Black Student Organization" page.