Free Schools, the First Ethnic Studies Programs, and New Ways to LearnMain MenuNew Educational Directions in the 1960sThe Free School Movement and Public Alternative SchoolsSchools-within-schools: Counterbalance at Queen Anne High School, SeattleJames Brown's funk anthems: Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud (1968) and People, Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul (1973)Setting out with a research question in mind . . .Background to the Strikes at SFSU and UC BerkeleyCommunity Involvement in the Third World Liberation Front StrikesHighlights of the TWLF Demands at UCBThird World Solidarity DayStrike PamphletA Colloquium to Explain the Strike to UC Berkeley ParentsDepartment of Third World Studies Benefit DanceHow to Strike Without Resisting ArrestCollecting Donations for Bail MoneyDemonstration on Sproul Hall PlazaPolice Move InBattling in the Streets for Ethnic Studies ProgramsThe First Ethnic Studies CoursesThird World Liberation Front Demands: UC BerkeleyReading Lists for First Ethnic Studies Courses, UC BerkeleyEthnic Studies 130 Student Caucuses: Independently-Run Interest GroupsRonald Takaki's Solutions for Cultural TransformationUC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Faculty's Experiences in the 1970sAmiri Baraka class on African American LiteratureEthnic Studies Today: Both Challenged and AffirmedHow Ethnic Studies Changed American Scholarship and TextbooksConcluding ThoughtsResources and AcknowledgementsAuthor Bio and Creative Commons LicenseText-to-Image RelationshipCathy Kroll0c0427ebd621fb54b22b23c07748d7202fcfe9c8
George Murray, a graduate student instructor in English at SFSU and the Black Panther Party's Minister of Education, was dismissed from his teaching post for giving a rousing speech at Fresno State. He urged the audience to pay attention to the connections between US imperialism abroad--the Vietnam War--and the subjugation of people of color both internationally and at home.
November 1968 - March 1969: 5-month strike at San Francisco State University demanding the reinstatement of George Murray and the creation of an Ethnic Studies program at SFSU. The strike inspires a similar series of demonstrations at UC Berkeley in 1969.
After numerous arrests and physical violence against demonstrators, SFSU administration agrees to form the College of Ethnic Studies, the first ethnic studies program in the country. Courses focusing on Black Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicano/a Studies, and Native American studies become part of the standard curricula at SFSU, and students can major in these academic disciplines.
At UC Berkeley across the Bay, Black students, Asian American students, Chicano/a students, and Native American students banded together to put forward demands for ethnic studies programs.