Timeline: 1945

The Douglass Center opens.

Raymond Eugene Suggs was elected the first Black captain of the Champaign High School football team for 1945-46.

The Legato Club, a chapter of the Association of Negro Musicians (NANM), was established by Julia Walden Valentine. Its goal was to promote classical and traditional music, knowledge of Black composers and produce public concerts and other musical events.

November: The formation of the Student Community Interracial committee (S-CIC) consisting of students, faculty, and townspeople was held at Wesley Foundation.

November 8: Writer and poet Langston Hughes visited University of Illinois, giving a guest lecture at Gregory Hall, hosted by Gamma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. In March 1957, Hughes made an extensive visit to the campus, during the University of Illinois Festival of Contemporary Arts.

1945–1946: Quintella King and Ruthie Cash became the first African Americans to be granted housing in the University of Illinois dormitory, opening its residence halls to a few African-Americans.