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Guide to the San José State University Civil Rights and Campus Protest Collection
MSS-2010-07-07
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Title: San José State University Civil Rights and Campus Protest Collection
Dates: 1967-1990
Bulk Dates: 1968-1970
Collection number: MSS-2010-07-07
Creator:
San José State University
Collection Size:
3 boxes,
3.42 linear feet
Repository:
San José State University. Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: The San José University Civil Rights and Campus Protest Collection, 1967-1990 (bulk 1968-1970), documents the civil unrest
that occurred during the civil rights and anti-Vietnam movements at San José State during the 1960s and the 1970s. Between
1968-1972, college campuses became the center point for a variety of protests and demonstrations, and as the Vietnam War escalated,
students across the U.S. protested the presence of Dow Chemical and ROTC recruiters on college campuses. San José State students
were very active in the anti-war protests of the era. This collection documents local student response to Dow Chemical and
ROTC recruitment, the unequal treatment of African-American and Hispanics students, and athletes. The most notable protest
took place during the 1968 Olympic Games when track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos accepted their medals with the black
power salute. This event sparked a series of protests on campus led by faculty member Harry Edwards. This collection is arranged
into two series: Series I. The Civil Rights and Campus Protest, 1967-1972 (bulk 1968-1970) and Series II. Campus Protest and
Student Publications 1967-1990 (bulk 1968-1970).
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections &
Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to
the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections
& Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital
reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Civil Rights and Campus Protest Collection, MSS-2010-07-07, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Collection processed and finding aid EAD encoded by R. Schuyler Selden.
In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established Minns' Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers
in the city. Named after its principal, George W. Minns, the institution was formally established as the first California
State Normal School by the State Legislature in 1862. A decade later, the Legislature voted to move the Normal School to San
José, and the school relocated to its new home on Washington Square prior to the fall term of 1872. After a fire destroyed
the Normal School building in 1880, the Legislature authorized $200,000 to construct a new building on the same site. Completed
in 1881, the building was commonly referred to as the Second State Normal School. After several names and curriculum changes,
Minns' Normal School is now San José State University, offering more than 134 bachelor's and master's degrees with 110 concentrations,
and is recognized as one of the top public universities granting such degrees in the West.
The 1960s political environment ushered in a new era social reform and high hopes for social progress. The election of John
F. Kennedy offered the promise of a "New Frontier," which inspired a variety of social movements that promoted civil rights,
women's liberation, identity politics, and anti-war. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 reaffirmed
the struggles of the civil rights movement. Despite these gains a growing disillusionment followed with assassinations of
political leaders that included Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, and Malcolm X, the escalation of the Vietnam War,
violent police repression, and political corruption.
College campuses became the center point for a variety of militant protests and demonstrations opposing the Vietnam War, the
military draft, and recruitment by Dow Chemical and the ROTC. It has been estimated that two million men and women engaged
in campus protests. By the 1970s student protest escalated with the killings at Kent State and Jackson State followed by
mass protests at over 760 college campuses including a protest at San José University.
Events at state colleges mirrored other college campuses. Demonstrations occurred relating to the 1967 Dow Chemical campus
recruitment, ROTC recruitment on campus, the 1968-1969 faculty strike regarding labor organization, and response to use of
excessive force against demonstrators by local police. Other social protests at SJSU focused on racial discrimination on campus,
housing discrimination, and fair treatment of African American and Hispanic students. San Jose State became internationally
known as result of the 1968 Olympic Games, where track stars Tommy Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in solidarity
with black power militants and the Black Panther Party. Prior to this event, the black student population had experienced
extreme discrimination on campus and in housing. Faculty member Harry Edwards and the United Black Students for Action organized
protests against institutional racism. President Clark worked to eliminate racial discrimination on campus by creating an
ombudsman to address all discrimination concerns. He was one of the few college presidents at the time willing to work with
the student population and to enforce new policies that prohibited racial discrimination in athletics, student clubs and Greek
societies, and in housing.
The San José University Civil Rights and Campus Protest Collection, 1967-1990 (bulk 1968-1970), documents the civil unrest
that occurred during the civil rights and anti-Vietnam movements at San Jose State during the 1960s and the 1970s. Between
1968-1972, college campuses became the center point for a variety of protests and demonstrations, and as the Vietnam War escalated,
students across the U.S. protested the presence of Dow Chemical and ROTC recruiters on college campuses. San Jose State students
were very active in the anti-war protests of the era. This collection documents local student response to Dow Chemical and
ROTC recruitment, the unequal treatment of African-American and Hispanics students, and athletes. The most notable protest
took place during the 1968 Olympic Games when track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos accepted their medals with the black
power salute. This event sparked a series of protests on campus led by faculty member Harry Edwards. This collection is arranged
into two series: Series I. The Civil Rights and Campus Protest, 1967-1972 (bulk 1968-1970) and Series II. Campus Protest and
Student Publications 1967-1990 (bulk 1968-1970).
Allen, Roger.
Harry Edwards: We Get What's Ours or We Burn it Down. Spartan Live (Winter 1968): pp. 7-9/
Gilbert, Benjamin F., and Burdick, Charles.
Washington Square, 1857-1979: The History of San José State University. San José, California: San José State University, 1980.
Jones, J., Wood, P.H., et al.
Created Equal: A Social and Political History of the United States, Volume II (from 1865) (2nd Edition). San Francisco, California: Pearson Education Inc., 2009.
San José State University. About SJSU. http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/
Walsh, James P. San José
State University: An Interpretive History, 1950-2000. San José, California: San José State University, 2003.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/twodays/peopleevents/e_antiwar.html. Retreived August 17, 2010.
This collection is arranged chronologically by topic
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
San José State University -- History
California State University, San José -- History
Civil Rights -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area
Olympic Games (19th : 1968 : Mexico City, Mexico)
Social movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century