About the BCC
The Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center (BCC) serves as a hub for connection, support, and celebration within the Vanderbilt community. Originally known as the “Afro House,” the center was renamed in 1984 in honor of Bishop Joseph Johnson (B.D. ’54, Ph.D. ’58), the first African American student admitted to Vanderbilt University in 1953.
For more than 40 years, “the house,” as it is affectionately called, has been a place of refuge and community. Today, the BCC has grown to offer programming, events and resources for the benefit of all in the Vanderbilt community.