On this day in 1968

Dec. 14, 1968

Police arrest Black Student Union member John Cleveland during the student strike that began in 1968 at San Francisco State College. Credit: San Francisco State University Photographic Timeline Project, Photo by Nacio Jan Brown

San Francisco State College suspended classes in response to a strike that began a month earlier. Students, faculty and local activists carried out the strike to call for equal access to higher education, for more senior faculty of color and for a curriculum that would embrace the history and culture of all people. 

The Black Student Union and a coalition of other student groups led the strike. Clashes between the students and San Francisco Police tactical squads made national news. The strike lasted five months, longer than any other student strike in higher education history in the U.S. 

As the result of the strike, the college established departments of Black Studies and Ethnic Studies, leading the way for universities across the nation. 

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