The San José State University Civil Rights and Campus Protest Collection documents the civil unrest that occurred during the Civil Rights and Anti Vietnam War movements at San José State during the 1960s and the 1970s. The collection contains (Series I) Newspaper Clippings and News Releases, 1967-1972; (Series II) Student Publications and Campus Events, 1967-1990; and (Series III) Protest Ephemera, 1967-1972. San José State students were very active in the anti-war protests of the era. This collection documents local student response to Dow Chemical and ROTC recruitment, and the unequal treatment of Black and Latinx students, as well as athletes. The most notable protest took place during the 1968 Olympic Games when track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos accepted their medals with the black power salute. This event sparked a series of protests on campus led by faculty member Dr. Harry Edwards.
Primary contact: Carli Lowe (bio)