San José State University Civil Rights and Campus Protest Collection
MSS-2010-07-07
R. Schuyler Selden. Updated by Natalie Sanchez, April 2016.
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
2010
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Telephone: (408) 808-2062
Fax Number: (408) 808-2063
special.collections@sjsu.edu
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: San José State University Civil Rights and Campus Protest Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2010-07-07
Physical Description:
3 boxes
(5.83 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1967-1990
Date (bulk): 1968-1970
Abstract: The San José State 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. Newspaper Clippings and News Releases, 1967-1972 (bulk 1968-1970);
Series II. Student Publications and Campus Events, 1967-1990 (bulk 1968-1970); Series III: Protest Ephemera, 1967-1972.
Language of Material:
English
.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
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.
Preferred Citation
San José State University Civil Rights and Campus Protest Collection, MSS-2010-07-07, San José State University Library Special
Collections & Archives.
Processing Information
Collection processed and finding aid EAD encoded by R. Schuyler Selden. In April 2016 changes were made to the arrangement
and organization of the collection by Natalie Sanchez. The collection was arranged into three series from its original two
series. The third series was created for ephemera materials. The first two series were given new titles. Materials in Series
I and II were re-housed in new archival folders and labeled according to original folder titles. The topical arrangement of
the collection was kept. An accrual was made to the collection as well. Protest materials donated in 2008 by SJSU alumn Bruce
England were added to Series II. In 2019, an accrual from United Black Students for Action was added to Series III. In June
2024, Survival Fair Photographs and Ephemera were removed from Box 3 by Samantha Garcia and moved to the San José State College
Survival Faire Collection.
Organizational History
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.
Scope and Content
The San José State 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
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.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into three series: Series I, Newspaper Clippings and News Releases, 1967-1972; Series II, Student
Publications and Campus Events, 1967-1990; Series III, Protest Ephemera, 1967-1972.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California State University, San José -- History
Civil Rights -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area
Olympic Games (19th : 1968 : Mexico City, Mexico)
San José State University -- History
Social movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Edwards, Harry, 1942-
Box 1
Series I: Newspaper Clippings and News Releases
1967-1972
1968-1970
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series documents the campus protests at San José State during the 1960s and 1970s. The collection includes local media's
coverage of campus unrest, including the following: student demonstrations against Dow Chemical recruitment, the ROTC campus
presence and recruitment, protest against housing discrimination, athletic discrimination, protest at the 1968 Olympic Games,
presence of Black Panther members on campus and the role of faculty member Harry Edwards. Formats include newspaper clippings,
magazines and flyers.
Arrangement
This series is arranged by topic.
Box 1, Folder 1
Black Students and Black Experience
Box 1, Folder 3
Chicanos and Mexican American Studies
Box 1, Folder 4
Ombudsman Investigates Discrimination
Box 1, Folder 7
Racial Problems at San Jose State College
Box 1, Folder 8
Job Recruitment on Campus
Box 1, Folder 10
National Student Congress- Campus Protest
Box 1, Folder 11
San Jose State College Students and Faculty
Box 1, Folder 15
Women's Movement and the Women's Studies Program at San Jose State
Box 1, Folder 16
Lectures at San Jose State
Box 1, Folder 17
Students for a Democratic Society
Box 1, Folder 18
School of Humanities and Arts- Black Studies Division
Box 1, Folder 19
J.B. White and Campus Unrest
Box 2
Series II: Student Publications and Campus Events
1967-1990
1968-1970
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series document local student response to the national and international events in the late 1960s early
1970s such as the change in U.S. Selective Service draft policy, police violence, Black pride, the Vietnam War, invasion of
Cambodia and America's involvement in violence in the Middle East. Student action included protest marches, fund raising events,
political rallies, calls for action for specific causes, informational pamphlets covering international events, local police
harassment and information on civil rights. Items include protest information flyers, case studies of several South Asian
countries, instructions for activism, teacher's strike information. Formats represented in this series include newspaper clippings,
posters, flyers, photographs, negatives and realia.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically by topic.
Processing Information
The last folder in this series has been moved to Box 3 due to the size of the materials in the folder.
Box 2, Folder 1
1968 Olympic Black Athletes' Views and Boycott Responses
Box 2, Folder 2
Olympic Athletes: Life & Sports Illustrated
Box 2, Folder 3
Information Flyers and Fact Sheets (1 of 2)
Box 2, Folder 4
Information Flyers and Fact Sheets (2 of 2)
Box 2, Folder 5
Flyers for Events and Protests
Box 2, Folder 6
Newspapers, Clippings and Flyers
Box 2, Folder 10
Bruce England Student Protest Collection
Box 2, Folder 11
Report: "Student Unrest At San Jose State College, 1967-68"
Box 3, Folder 6
Pres. Robert D. Clark Statement "The College Crisis"
Box 3
Series III: Protest Ephemera
1967-1972
Arrangement
This series is arranged by topic and size.
Box 3, Folder 1
San Jose State President Clark and Harry Edwards Discrimination Meetings, 1967
Box 3, Folder 5
United Black Students for Action Silkscreen Patch: In Liberty We Trust
1970