Interested in learning more about Trotter Multicultural Center's move to State Street? Click here to learn more about the events leading up to the opening of the new building in April 2019.
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Our History
The Trotter Multicultural Center, as it is known today, began as Trotter House, a Black Student Cultural Center. It is part of a long legacy of activism brought on by African American students united under the Black Action Movement (BAM)-- a legacy that connects other departments and centers including but not limited to; the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS), Multi-ethnic Student Affairs (MESA), the Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP), The DPE Program and Multicultural Lounges, and the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives (OAMI).
Named in honor of William Monroe Trotter (1872-1934) at an old house on the corner of South and East University Street, Trotter House opened for operation on November 15, 1971 and offered workshops for art students led by African American artists; sociology and psychology classes; orientation meetings for incoming students; academic and career counseling; a chess clinic; parties and dances; and a heavily attended weekly luncheon. After sustaining damage by a fire, the Trotter House was established on Washtenaw Avenue in 1972.
Trotter House continued to grow, and in 1981 Trotter House was renamed as the Trotter Multicultural Center, which expanded and deepened a focus on intersectional liberation and intercultural collaboration. Today, the Trotter Multicultural Center is a vibrant hub of student engagement that provides intentional space for community engagement that promotes intercultural and multicultural engagement, racial healing, and transformative development across all generations and cultures.
Click here for more information on the history of the Trotter Multicultural Center.
Trotter Multicultural Center History Project Team
Along with ongoing efforts to honor and celebrate the history of the Trotter Multicultural Center, the History Project Team is developing a multi-modal narrative of the history of the Trotter Multicultural Center and William Monroe Trotter.
- Elizabeth James, Program Associate, Department for Afroamerican and African Studies, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
- Charles Ransom, Multicultural Studies Librarian, University Library
- Edras Rodriguez-Torres, International Studies Librarian, University Library
- Stephen Ward, Director, Semester in Detroit; Associate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies and Associate Professor in the Residential College, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Our Why
Trotter Multicultural Center is more than just a building—it's a home away from home, where students are not invisible or hyper-visible—they are celebrated and supported. Rooted in generations of care and compassion, Trotter is a space where students don’t just survive—they thrive! Here, they lead, learn, and connect across identities and cultures. Our students get to chose how they explore challenge and build community, which nurtures belonging and empowers students to discover who they are and how they’re connected to others. Our core value pairings (Courage & Discernment, Creativity & Collaboration, Equity & Excellence, Dignity & Compassion) help guide our approaches to stewarding forth the legacy of ensuring theres is space on campus for any student to experience and co-create the environment that supports their wellbeing.
Timeline of William Monroe Trotter's Life
Over the years, curiosity about the man for whom the William Monroe Trotter Multicultural Center takes its name, peaked among faculty, staff, and students. Indeed, those with some sense of the Center’s history—those, in fact, who knew that the Trotter Multicultural Center emerged in the aftermath of the black student protest movement of the 1970s—and those with little-to-no knowledge of any of this social movement history, all began to wonder about William Monroe Trotter himself.
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