In 1968, 70% of the students in the San Francisco Unified School District were nonwhite, however they made up only 4% of the students at San Francisco State College (SF State) (now San Francisco State University). In early 1966, Jimmy Garrett and Jerry Varnado meet at San Francisco State College and formed the nation's first Black Student Union (BSU). Like many colleges and universities across the United States, the curriculum at SF State was not an inclusive one and, in an attempt to address this, students created the Experimental College and the BSU also taught its own classes. This was not enough and, in the spring of 1967, representing the BSU, James Garrett proposed, among other things, the establishment of a Black Studies department at SF State. When other nonwhite students made similar demands, they were told that they would have to share whatever allocation was made to the Black students. Instead, the students formed the Third World Liberation Front, a coalition of the Black Students Union, the Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor (a Filipino American Students Organization), the Asian American Political Alliance, El Renacimiento (a Mexican American student organization), and the Latin American Students Organization. Although the students came from different cultures, they felt they were united in their shared history of colonial and imperial oppression and they knew, for sure, that they were united in being excluded from the college's student body and curriculum.
After a beloved English instructor, George Mason Murray, was fired, the BSU and Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) joined forces and, on November 6, 1968, went on strike. The united groups presented a list of 15 demands, 10 demands of the BSU and an additional 5 demands of the TWLF. In solidarity, the students of the BSU and TWLF were joined by other students and faculty, with the rallying cry, "On strike! Shut it down!"
Despite arrests and violence, the students held out for five months, in what became the longest student strike in U.S. history. The strike ended on March 20, 1969, and the students won some of their demands. The most notable was the formation of a College of Ethnic Studies, the first in the country. Soon after, the TWLF went on strike at University of California, Berkeley, making similar demands to those it made at SF State. This strike lasted two months and ended with the establishment of an ethnic studies department at UC Berkeley. What was achieved by the united students at SF State and UC Berkeley is truly admirable. They persisted, despite the violence they faced. They showed up, in solidarity even when they were arrested. They stood for equity and inclusion, even as the curriculums they were taught told them they were not important.Because of their strength, will, and bravery, we are learning more and more about all of our histories and cultures. The movement has not yet fulfilled its goal, but forward momentum continues. In 2017, Oregon became the first state to require ethnic studies in its K-12 curriculum and, as other states decide to do the same, they also continue to work on how to improve what they teach. A law passed in 2020 now requires students to take an ethnic studies class in order to graduate from the California State University. These courses have purpose - in addition to the importance learning a history that is not solely that of the victor, schools that teach ethnic studies have lower dropout rates, better grades, and ethnic studies programs benefit all students, including white ones.
Perhaps when the BSU and TWLF came together to fight to be seen in education, they knew (because of how it impacted them) the power of knowledge. Maybe they understood the strength that came in their unity. I wonder, did they see how far into the future their stance would, and still does, ripple, not just in education but in all of our lives?