Black
Student Strike at the University of Wisconsin-Madison of 1969
In
February of 1969, at the University of Wisconsin Madison black student along
with white allies, held a strike and blocked many entrances to campus buildings
to back up the thirteen demands that they deemed were non-negotiable. The students held rallies in hopes to educate
the community around them about racial inequalities. Classes were boycotted and
students marched to the state Capitol to prove a point. While entrances of the
building were blocked the lecture, halls were blocked as well. As the actions
were growing the National Guard was called to the campus to try and end the
protest. Although the National Guard was called to help protect the campus and
end the protest the guards didn’t even put a dent in the crowds. They made it
easier for non-striking students to sympathize. The protest itself lasted about
two weeks and was among the largest in the university's history. This was known
as the Black Student Strike although white students had joined too. The strike
itself is known for forever altering the campus.
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| Black Strike at UW-Madison (1969). Image courtesy by Race, Politics, Justice. |
The Black Student Strike at The University of Wisconsin-Madison was started during an era of heightened
political activism during the Vietnam War. During this tie, many campuses were
rioting. Not only during a time of political activism but black activism which
was focused on finding an identity during the Civil Rights movement. Many saw
this era as the Black Power era—a time where black Americans wanted to have an
identity and matter in the nation. At the University of Wisconsin Madison, the
Black Student Alliance brought thirteen demands that they believed were
immediate and needed to be put in effect immediately. These demands derived
from the Black Student union being tired of not being treated equally on
campus. Their frustration grew with the school administration board and
believed these demands were the only way to get their voices heard. The
students called for Black studies Department, the addition of black faculty
members in counseling positions and the recruitment of 500 black students to
the university.
The university was a public institution, but it was believed that the institution
was not taking care of the public, leaving out the Black students. The strike
that broke out came to a surprise to most but was rooted in tension that has
been brewing for years. The tension started back when Ruth B. Doyle’s academic
achievement program in 1966. Doyle was known as an integrationist faculty
member in hopes to bring in more disadvantage black students to the campus.
Although Doyle's goal was to bring in black students, she declined the black
student's request for a Black Studies Department and an all-black residence
hall floor. She believed it would do more to segregate than integrate but the
Black students saw her manner of denying the request of the black studies as a
sign of inequality. The Black students at the university did not believe they
existed at the campus and that the changes they wanted were not being heard on purpose.
The students involved in the protest had strong opinions about the demands they
wanted. There is a website that had voice recordings along with quotes and statements were given by those students who were involved. This gives a strong view as the
words come from those who felt personally attacked by the university The Black Student
Strike of 1969.
The
students were very brave to draft up thirteen demands and deem them non-negotiable
but that’s just what they did. It was believed without the demands nothing
would change on the campus. The demands were necessary to make the black community
thrive in school. The biggest demand was creating the Black Studies department.
This was important to the Black student union as it would give appreciation to
black history and give students a sense of equality within the campus. The thirteen
demands can be seen as controversial as a lot of demands required the changes
had to approve by a committee of black students. This created a sense of bias
in the community as it was important to create equality for blacks on the
campus and give them what they want but white students were not being included
in what they wanted to do. The strike, in the end, was very influential and
gave black students more of an identity on the campus. The events gave students
a sense of importance on campus and that changes were madding made finally.
Below is an image of the thirteen demands the students took to the student
board.
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| 13 Demands (1969). Image courtesy by The Libraries of University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives. |
I have never heard of this protest at the University of Wisconsin Madison. The most interesting thing I learned from your post is that both black and white students participated in the protest. I think this protest is an excellent example of protest in the twentieth century United States because it demonstrates the political activism that took place during the years of the Vietnam War. This also shows that young people were involved in activism during this time and they desired to have their voice heard. We often hear about the Kent State protest that took place around this time, but this provides another example that demonstrates youth protest in the United States during the twentieth century. This connects to my research on the Native American occupation of Alcatraz island because young people were also involved in this protest. This demonstrates that the youth took on a new role during this time and voiced their opinions on issues they felt needed changed. The protest at the University of Wisconsin Madison connects to Gaudium et Spes because the protestors were protesting for what they felt was the "common good" and they desired improvements for their group.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find amazing about this protest is that I had not heard about it before today. In that respect it is similar to my post on the Los Angeles Bus Riders Union. It goes to show that protests do not have to be popular or widely known outside of their own communities to be effective. It is encouraging to see groups of people like these protesters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison succeed in making their collective voices heard, and I am happy to be able to learn about them now.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of this protest before but it's pretty shocking how much it has in common with the protest at Oregon State that I did my first blog post about. Both took place on large college campuses the the same year and both were lead by the Black Student Union on campus. I think the major difference between the two is that in this case, the protesters were more organized and knew exactly what they wanted to achieve. In the Oregon State protest, members of the Black Student Union simply staged a walk-out and began boycotting classes in hopes to raise awareness of inequality on campus. While this worked and they did raise awareness of their issues, I think that they could have been more successful if they had been more organized and united, with a list of demands that they hoped to achieve from the start. I think that having some sort of concrete goal, like the 13 demands from the students in this case, is important for a protest if they hope to make real change rather than just raise awareness of an issue. Even if in the end, only some of the demands are met, that means that the protest has still succeeded in making some real, concrete change.
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