Important People
This SF State activist described himself as an "aspiring revolutionary" and was a member of the Black Student Union and was also a business major at SF State in 1967.
Nesbit Crutchfield
How did students in the BSU and Third World Liberation front make the administration at SF State aware of what they wanted to happen?
They created a list of 15 demands explaining what they wanted to the University President and Board.
Why did the SF State Strike originally start, on November 1, 1968?
Because Professor George Mason Murray was fired for speaking out against the Vietnam War.
Which major activist for racial equality was assassinated just before the SF State Strike?
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
What kind of students did SF state agree to admit?
Nonwhite students.
This activist with the Third World Liberation Front was an Asian American Studies major and criticized the way that Asian people were represented in the University.
Penny Nakatsu
What did students refuse to do until their demands were met?
They refused to go to class.
Name one of the 15 demands of students at SF State.
1. Creation of Black Studies Department 2. Paying Dr. Nathan Hare, chair of the Black Studies Department, fairly. 3. Giving the Black Studies Department control over its own hiring and curriculum. 4. Admitting more Black Students 5. Admitting all Black students who wanted to attend in the past and were denied. 6. Adding 20 more Black Studies teachers 7. Hiring a Black financial aid officer. 8. No punishment for the strike. 9.Protecting Black Studies from being cancelled 10. Rehiring George Mason Murray.
Which war was the United States involved in during the SF State strike, despite it being unjust/racist?
The Vietnam War
What new college was formed at SF State because of the strike?
the College of Ethnic Studies
This popular English Professor at SF State was also the Minister of Education for the Black Panther Party and was fired for criticizing the racism of the Vietnam War.
George Mason Murray
What was the "War of the Flea"?
a campaign to disrupt the normal operations of the school. Students put cherry bombs in toilets and checked out huge quantities of books to overwhelm the school's library system.
Why did teachers and white students end up joining the strike? What did they do?
They believed that without ethnic studies, they themselves had been denied a proper education. They created their own demands.
What were some of the challenges facing the Black community in SF during the 1960s?
Police Brutality and Poverty
What was the job that Penny Nakatsu and other students had after the strike?
Developing an Ethnic Studies curriculum from scratch
Who was hired to reopen SF State after the students shut it down (an English professor very popular with conservatives like California Governor Ronald Reagan)?
S.I. Hiyakawa
How did students react to cops coming on campus?
They threw rocks at them, yelled at them, made art against them, and supported each other against their attacks.
What did S.I. Hiyakawa do in early January 1969, despite students having a right to protest and free speech? What happened to students who refused to follow his commands?
Banned students from gathering on campus, mass brutal arrests of over 500 people.
What was wrong about the way SF State was treating Black students?
They weren't accepting Black Students to the university, and refused to create a Black studies class or department.
Why is it important that we still have Ethnic Studies today?
Ethnic studies is a way of embracing all of the cultures that make up the world. “If we don't understand each other, how are we going to get along? Ethnic studies is something that’s important, not just for people of color so we know about our histories and cultures and destinies, but for all people."
Who is Jason Ferreira?
a professor in the Department of Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State’s College of Ethnic Studies.
How long did students boycott going to classes and march on/around the campus at SF State?
over 5 months!
When did the strike end?
March 20, 1969
Why was the Third World Liberation Front formed in the 1960s?
To unite students from Asian, Black, and Latine backgrounds with a shared history of colonial and imperial oppression (racism).
T/F: Ethnic Studies is now a graduation requirement for high schools in California.
True!