Changing Academia Forever

The most effective and long-lasting student strike in U.S. History took place at San Francisco State College in 1968. The first Black Student Union, the first Black Studies Department, the only College of Ethnic Studies, and the admission of thousands of students of color resulted from this four-and-a-half-month strike which shut down 80% of the campus. It has been called the movement which “changed academia forever.” 


Black students were only a small percentage of those on campus, but they managed to engage thousands of white, Latino, Asian, and indigenous students; SDS and the Third World Liberation Front; the faculty union; and a huge portion of the San Francisco Community. In the end, they were able to win most of their 15 demands. 


The book is written by two participants in the strike, one a member of the BSU leadership. Oral histories of strike leaders are integrated with discussion of the events and significance of this movement. What were the politics and strategies? Why was the strike successful and what are the insights for today’s mass movements?


Perfect for courses such as:

Introduction to Black Studies | Introduction to Ethnic Studies | Recent U.S. History | Protest Movements | Higher Education | Urban Education | Multicultural Education | History of Education | Philosophy of Education | Oral History | Qualitative Methods | African-American History | African-American Education | African-American Politics


Acknowledgements

1. Introducing the Struggle and the Authors

2. The Vision, the Visionaries, and the Early Years of Struggle

3. Organizing Before the Strike, the Development of Black Studies, and the Stories of Bennie Stewart and Don Smothers

4.  The Demands Are Set, The Strike Begins, and The Story of Terry Collins

5. The Strike Coalition and the Story of Danny Glover

6. What Came After the Strike?

7. Trying to Live by the Black Studies Philosophy

8. Analysis