Timeline: 1972

The Douglass Library officially became a branch of the Champaign Public Library.

James Burgess, Jr. was elected as State’s Attorney, the first Black elected county-wide. In 2014, President Barack Obama signed a bill designating the James R. Burgess Post Office Building at 3rd and Green Streets in Champaign, IL, on the University of Illinois campus.

April 15: The Nu Delta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority was chartered at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

May 19: The Epsilon Xi Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity was charted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

May 21: The first Cotillion Ball, featuring six high school students, was held at the Ramada Inn in Champaign, IL. It was sponsored by a Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. It became an annual event.