Gerald Grow photographs of student strike at San Francisco State College, 1968-1969., circa 1968-1969

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Summary

Creators:
Grow, Gerald
Abstract:
Photographs of the San Francisco State College student-led strike taken by Gerald Grow, an English Department faculty member and striker.
Extent:
48 Photographic Prints (b&w; 3.5 x 5 in.)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Gerald Grow Photographs of Student Strike at San Francisco State College, 1968-1969, larc.pho.0072, Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University.

Background

Scope and content:

Photographs of the San Francisco State College student-led strike taken by Gerald Grow, an English Department faculty member and striker. Contains images of groups of students and faculty demonstrators, including members of the Black Student Union (BSU), Third World Liberation Front (TWLF), and American Federation of Teachers (AFT); flags, signs and puppets; police in riot gear standing in formation and riding on horseback; student medical volunteers, and members of the press. Includes a few photos of BSU leaders Nesbit Crutchfield and Bridges Randall, one photo of Ian J. Grand, coordinator of the Experimental College at San Francisco State College, and one photo of author, activist, and San Francisco State professor Kay Boyle.

Biographical / historical:

The 1968-1969 San Francisco State strike was the longest campus strike in United States history. In November 1968, student groups led by the Black Student Union and the Third World Liberation Front went on strike with a list of fifteen demands, most requesting more minority representation in the curricula and the faculty. On November 13, after a week of conflict, police arrived in riot gear and the campus was shut down. On December 2nd, major confrontations occured between students and acting University President, Dr. S. I. Hayakawa. Days later, the American Federation of Teachers, Local 1352 joined the students and set up picket lines. On March 20, 1969 an agreement was signed ending the five-month long strike. The negotiations laid the foundation for the establishment of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State and let to the formation of numerous other ethnic studies programs at universities around the country.

Gerald Grow taught in the English Department of San Francisco State College from 1968-1971. Grow recalls of the strike: "The leaders of the AFT asked for volunteers to circulate through campus and take pictures, as a way of signaling to all participants that their actions were being observed and recorded, with the explicit hope that this would reduce the chance of violence." (See case file)

Acquisition information:
Donated by Gerald Grown in 2010, accession number 2010/011
Physical location:
Collection available on site.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright has been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Archives. Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Gerald Grow Photographs of Student Strike at San Francisco State College, 1968-1969, larc.pho.0072, Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University.

Location of this collection:
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722, US
Contact:
(415) 405-5549
specialcollections@sfsu.edu
Website