San Francisco State College Strike and Black Studies Movement (1960s)

Overview

• Transcript centers on San Francisco State College (State College) in a suburban setting and its role as a non-elite, working-class institution that serves lower and middle-class students who often commute by car or trolley.
• The state finances for students: $6$ dollars spent on each university student for every $1$ dollar spent on a state college student. This ratio highlights perceived underfunding of state colleges relative to universities.
• In 1968, State College experienced the longest and most bitter college strike in American history up to that point: lasted five months; at the peak, over $80\%$ of the campus did not attend classes in solidarity with the strike.
• The strike brought together Black students and other people of color via the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) and a broad coalition demanding changes to the class and racist structure of education.
• The broader educational vision expressed is that education should affirm dignity, worth, and pride of students’ communities and empower graduates to return as teachers, social workers, etc., to raise consciousness about poverty and racism both locally and globally.
• Third World students pressed to implement a new form of education that serves Black, Third World, and White communities in San Francisco, not just traditional academic goals.
• There was a multi-year process to establish Black Studies; attempts to create a Black Studies department began about $2.5\text{ years}$ prior, including several committees (IPC committee and others) and attempts to secure accreditation and funding. By September, they had created a Black Studies department in name, but lacked accreditation and funding.
• A common refrain throughout the discussion: when institutions and authorities reject or mismanage reform, articulate direct confrontation and resistance while maintaining solidarity with the working class.
• The larger critique is that the education system and corporate interests track students early and ration opportunities based on class, race, and wealth, with tracking leading to college tracks for some and vocational tracks for others, aligning with corporate labor needs.
• The conversation intertwines with broader anti-racist, anti-capitalist rhetoric about power, racism, policing, and the social control mechanisms that sustain inequality.
• The narrative includes explicit, unapologetic language and calls for solidarity across races and classes, while also featuring inflammatory slurs within a historical, documentary context.

Key Concepts and Arguments

• The purpose of education versus the reality of education:
  • Ideal: education should recognize dignity and empower communities.
  • Reality: education perpetuates racism and class division unless restructured.
• The Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) demands:
  • Power to change the class and racist nature of education.
  • A new kind of education benefiting Black, Third World, and White communities.
• Black Studies movement:
  • Initiated around $2.5\text{ years}$ before the talk (roughly mid- to late-1960s) with persistent committee work.
  • Despite formation of departments, accreditation and funding were blocked by administrative and accreditation barriers.
• The tracking system in education:
  • Initiated in early grades (third grade) by corporate-driven demand for workers and unemployed labor reserves.
  • Two tracks:
  • College track: aimed at high-paying jobs and access to higher education.
  • Vocational track: designed for working-class kids, leading to low-paying jobs, unemployment, or military service.
  • Each track has dedicated teachers and books, meeting in separate classrooms.
  • IQ tests and “educational toys” (expensive for some families) perpetuate inequality, making it harder for working-class kids to reach the college track.
• Policy critique and power dynamics:
  • Corporate bosses control education; the system needs workers for production and a pool of unemployed labor.
  • The real power behind institutional decisions is held by trustees and corporate-backed boards, with figures like the unnamed trustee (referred to as part of a large corporation) and other powerful actors cited as beneficiaries of global imperial activities.
• The rhetoric of oppression and resistance:
  • Police portrayal as oppressors; “pigs” and “blue coats” are invoked as embodiments of state violence.
  • The line between protest and “scabbing” is framed as a moral and legal boundary within the picket line.
  • Calls to unite across communities and reject top-down suppression of legitimate protest.
• The relationship between education, police, and legal systems:
  • Police and injunctions frequently targeted strikes; the AFT and labor unions faced police and state repression as part of the broader struggle for workers’ rights and student rights.
• The broader ethical and political stakes:
  • Liberation requires confronting the power structures that perpetuate racism and poverty.
  • They argue for direct action and solidarity to transform institutions.

Timeline and Historical Milestones

• 1960: State College had $12\%$ Black students.
• 1968: Black population dropped to $3\%$; attributed to the tracking system and corporate influence on education.
• 1968: The longest and bitterest campus strike in U.S. history up to that time, lasting five months; up to $80\%$ of students not attending classes at the peak.
• Pre-1968 to 1968: Black Studies movement began about $2.5\text{ years}$ earlier, with attempts to establish a Black Studies department via multiple committees (IPC and others) and fundraising/accreditation processes.
• Following six weeks of student strike, the faculty union (AFT) joined the strike with labor council support.
• Ongoing calls to action included meetings at City Hall and public demonstrations to demand systemic change.

Institutions, People, and Groups Mentioned

• San Francisco State College (State College) – the setting and primary target of student/faculty demands.
• Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) – coalition of Black students and students of color demanding changes to education.
• IPC committee – one of several internal committees involved in the Black Studies initiative.
• AFT – American Federation of Teachers; the faculty union that joined the strike after six weeks.
• Trustees and board of trustees – cited as the power base for decision-making and corporate influence (one member described in connection with a large multinational corporation with interests in Venezuela, Peru, Central America).
• Hayakawa – cited as a symbol of the power structure; described as a puppeteer or representative of authority.
• Reagan – mentioned as a political figure aligned with the power structure (depicted as part of the system oppressing student and worker movements).
• Dudley Swim – named as a trustee connected to corporate interests and global power structures.
• Police and “pigs” – portrayed as enforcing the status quo and suppressing protests.
• Black mother with 15 grandchildren – representative voice conveying personal stake and critique of education quality and pride.
• Huey Newton (and a misattributed Dewey Newton) – cited as sources of a unifying revolutionary sentiment about power and change.
• Callers and campus community members – include a caller comparing activism to a roller coaster and others expressing mixed reactions.

Key Quotes and Pivotal Passages (contextualized)

• “Niggers of the world unite behind what you know is right.”
• “The education that the world people need is one that sees the dignity and the worth and the pride of the people from which they come.”
• “Black studies department didn’t mean anything. And that was after two and a half years of work.”
• “You gotta come out and call him for what he is. He’s a dog. He’s a racist dog.”
• “If you don’t fight him, he’ll step on you.”
• “The level we have moved on has been a level of need, a level that directly affects our lives.”
• “A factory that automates itself into an oncoming cybernetic society does not compromise with the workers.”
• “Power to directly control and direct our lives.”
• “Unite. Unite.”
• “They are trying to teach us political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”
• “The will of our people is greater than the technology of the man.” (Huey Newton referenced)

Numbers, Statistics, and Formulas (LaTeX-formatted)

• Ratio of state funding for university vs. state college students:
  • $\frac{6}{1} = 6.$ (The state spends $6$ dollars on each university student for every $1$ dollar spent on a state college student.)
• Black student representation:
  • In $1960$: $12\%$ of State College students were Black.
  • In $1968$: $3\%$ of State College students were Black.
• Demonstrated scale of strike:
  • Duration: $5\text{ months}$.
  • Peak participation: $\ge 80\%$ of the campus not attending classes.
• Black Studies initiative timeline:
  • Initiated about $2.5\text{ years}$ prior to the discussed events.
• Financial figures:
  • Trustee-linked corporate wealth: $450,000,000$ (involved in interests across Venezuela, Peru, and Central America).
• Other time references:
  • “Two and a half years ago” (relates to the start of Black Studies efforts).
  • “In 1960” and “In 1968” (yearly data points).
• Population and family references:
  • A Black mother: described as having $15$ grandchildren.

Connections to Broader Themes and Real-World Relevance

• Racism and class in higher education: The transcript links university access to race and class through funding disparities, tracking, and limited access to Black Studies as a discipline.
• Student and worker solidarity: The strike illustrates intersections between student activism and labor unions (AFT) and how cross-identity solidarity can reshape institutional norms.
• Education as social control: The tracking system and accreditation hurdles are framed as mechanisms to maintain the status quo, supporting corporate profits and low-wage labor pools.
• Power and policy: The discussions emphasize the influence of corporate boards and trustees in shaping education policy and resource allocation, often at the expense of marginalized communities.
• Ethical and strategic implications: The narrative presents both reformist and radical approaches—institutional committee work versus direct action and strikes—to achieve social justice goals.
• Real-world relevance: The themes echo ongoing debates about college access, funding formulas, affirmative action equivalents, tracking, and the role of ethnic studies in higher education curricula.

Ethical Considerations and Language

• The transcript contains explicit racial slurs used in a historical, critical context. When studying this material, one should distinguish the speakers’ critical aims from endorsement of such language.
• The content reflects a radical critique of systemic racism and capitalism, urging readers to analyze power structures and advocate for equity and inclusion. It also highlights the potential risks and ethical tensions involved in direct-action tactics.

Summary of Implications

• The SF State strike and Black Studies movement highlighted the connectedness of race, class, education, and power in late 1960s America.
• It demonstrated how student-led movements can catalyze institutional reform, even in the face of accreditation barriers and political resistance.
• The discourse underscored the necessity of aligning educational reforms with broader social justice aims, including economic equity, community empowerment, and cross-group solidarity.