Race and Social Justice
Penn State Alumni Association, Robert Wilson Interview Transcript (1988)
Penn State Alumni Association interviews 23 black students and faculty of Penn State about their experience at the university. Among them is Robert Wilson, a former student frustrated by the small black population on campus.
Penn State Alumni Association, Robert Wilson Interview Transcript (1988)
Cyril E. Griffith and Merle U. Fox, Letters Regarding PSU Black Studies Program Exhibition (April-May 1977)
Exchange of letters between Cyril E. Griffith and Merel U. Fox highlights the difficulties of promoting the idea of Black Studies at commonwealth campuses.
Cyril E. Griffith and Merle U. Fox, Letters Regarding PSU Black Studies Program Exhibition (April-May 1977)
Pennsylvania State University Department of Public Information, “Woodside Commission Hearings” (June 22, 1970)
After a series of student protests in 1970, Penn State students were arrested and faced a conduct hearing, which resulted in questionable sanctions ranging from a letter home to expulsion.
Pennsylvania State University Department of Public Information, “Woodside Commission Hearings” (June 22, 1970)
Ron Scott, “Speech on the Black Panthers, Kent State, and Campus Climate” (May 6, 1970)
In the aftermath of the Kent State shootings and amid threats to execute Bobby Seale, Black Student Union leader Ron Scott speaks at a rally of PSU students.
Ron Scott, “Speech on the Black Panthers, Kent State, and Campus Climate” (May 6, 1970)
Students for a Democratic Society, “SDS Students’ Strike Pamphlet ” (April 24, 1970)
At the peak of student activism in 1970, the Students for a Democratic Society issued a pamphlet calling for a student strike.
Students for a Democratic Society, “SDS Students’ Strike Pamphlet ” (April 24, 1970)
Pennsylvania State University Department of Public Information, “Statement by Penn State President Eric A. Walker” (April 21, 1970)
Following student unrest and damage to campus, Penn State University's President Eric Walker issued his public response.
Pennsylvania State University Department of Public Information, “Statement by Penn State President Eric A. Walker” (April 21, 1970)
Steering Committee to Reform the University, “Nine Demands to Dr. Walker” (February 17, 1969)
Amid a culture of uproar in 1969, patterns of violent protests on Penn State's broke out regarding ROTC involvement, the muting of minority voices, and gender inequalities. In their 1969 letter to Dr. Eric Walker, the Steering Committee to Reform the University expressed nine demands to be met by the leadership of Penn State University. Dr. Eric Walker replied in an in loco parentis tone to parents and students alike.
Steering Committee to Reform the University, “Nine Demands to Dr. Walker” (February 17, 1969)
The Frederick Douglass Association, “Demands of the Douglass Association” (1969)
In 1969, members of the the Frederick E. Douglass Association issued a list of demands to the university administration to improve black student representation on campus.
The Frederick Douglass Association, “Demands of the Douglass Association” (1969)
James Frakes, “Is There a Jim Crow Problem at Penn State?” (April 1947)
PSU Undergraduate James Frakes publishes a critique in a student literary magazine arguing that there is a Jim Crow problem at Penn State.
James Frakes, “Is There a Jim Crow Problem at Penn State?” (April 1947)
